As you will have been aware, we have, until recently, been unable to hold any further Awareness Days due to the pandemic. We are all hoping that is now behind us and in April this year we resumed our Awareness Days. These are for you, Lapal Medical Practice patients, and we would love to hear from you about any evenings you would like us to arrange. We always have to be mindful of the availability of suitably qualified personnel and these are not a forum for solving people’s medical problems or issues. They are evenings arranged to raise ‘awareness’ of common medical matters and in that way hopefully help patients manage them better. Any suggestions please put them in the Suggestion Box in the Surgery Reception.
Resuscitation Update: April 2024
26 patients attended a very successful evening, organised by the PPG, on 16th April at St
Peter’s church. Paul Groves and colleague, Tina, from Dudley Community First Responders, gave a talk and demonstrated the latest techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency treatment for blood loss. Feedback was very positive and a donation was given to the Charity.
Child Mental Health
On Tuesday 4th February 2020 we held another Awareness Evening about Child Mental Health.
This was well attended and the feedback very positive. Many questions were asked and the service provided by Dudley CCG was explained, including waiting times.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
On Tuesday 9th April 2019 we held another very successful afternoon and evening being taught about Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Please see the document below which gives you details of the very positive feedback we received.
Once again a huge thank you to Jon Whitehouse, a volunteer first responder and his colleague from FASTAID Black Country for their clear and relaxed demonstration.
Weak Pelvic Floor In Women
Awareness Evening – 25th September 2018.
The service manager, CNS and a physiotherapist from the Continence Service of Dudley Health Authority discussed symptoms of a weak pelvic floor in women with an overview of self help and the treatments that are available.
Causes of a weak pelvic floor are:
- Not keeping them active
- Being pregnant/having babies
- Heavy lifting
- Coughing that goes on for a long time (particularly smokers or those who suffer from bronchitis or asthma)
- Being overweight
- Age
- Constipation
Pelvic floor exercises that help relieve the problem as can Pilates. Some suggested exercises are:
- 10 x firm short squeezes, 10 x 10 second squeezes. Do this for 4/6 times per day for at least 3 months and then 2 per day for maintenance. These will be particularly helpful not only if you have a problem but also pre and post natal and pre and post operative.
Further help and advice can be sought from the Continence Team, Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre on 01384 321517.
Dementia Awareness
We held a very successful Dementia awareness evening in March 2018 and below are links to information shared during the evening. There is information about support programmes, and the services Dudley provides. Do take a look, there are various dates for meetings to help carers and those living with Dementia.
Men And Their Plumbing Problems
On Tuesday 4th October 2016 the PPG hosted another health awareness evening entitled “Men and their Plumbing Problems” and both men and partners/spouses attended and listened to our two excellent speakers nurses Angela Nichols and Gill Davey.
Below is a link to read about Prostate Cancer and other problems men may encounter in the ‘plumbing’ department.
If you are in any doubt about any symptoms you have, please see your GP.
The Benefits Of Exercise For Both Our Physical And Mental Wellbeing
44 people attended our Health Awareness Day on Wednesday 15th June.
Helping us all to understand how important this is was Balraj Johal who has a degree in sports medicine.
Balraj came with information about all the exercise facilities in the Dudley area, so there will be no excuse not to make a start!
Please visit our new page ‘Where to Get Fit in Dudley’ which gives details of all that is available in the Borough with contact details. The take home messages from the session and the feedback are contained in the documents below.
Heart Start CPR
We had 40 people attend our heart start CPR course on Wednesday 16th March 2016. This was organised by the PPG in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation course, and was delivered by the Black Country section of the charity FASTAID. The tuition included the following:
- Dealing with an unconscious person
- Signs and symptoms of a heart attack
- Recognising a cardiac arrest and performing CPR
- Dealing with choking
- Dealing with serious bleeding
The picture below shows some of the people who attended the CPR Course, practising their skills.
The feedback from those who attended was very positive. The majority of people felt they had learnt a great deal and 19 people felt they would definitely attempt resuscitation on the way home if required to do so.
A further 17 people said they probably would. Everyone thought the facilities and refreshments were satisfactory and without exception everyone said they would recommend the course to others. Another success!
Our second Awareness Evening on Tuesday 23rd February 2016. We were delighted to see so many of you there, to share information with you and get to know you and for you to have the opportunity to get to know us as well.
Mental Health Awareness
Our Mental Health Awareness day took place in November 2015. The take home messages are detailed below. They may be a useful reminder about what was discussed and for those of you who were unable to attend, they make interesting and useful reading.