News:

Seasonal Flu Campaign 2009

Are you aged over 65? Do you have heart problems or a chest complaint? Do you have kidney disease or diabetes? Do you have lower immunity or look after someone else? If yes, please contact the surgery to book your free seasonal flu jab.

SWINE FLU

The National Pandemic Flu Service has been launched. Advice for patients is as follows -

If you require information call the swine flu information line on 0800 1 513 513.

If you require treatment call the National Pandemic Flu Service on 0800 1 513 100 or visit

www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu

Thank you.

If you have any questions:

Please see the HPA website http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListName/Page/1240812233855?p=1240812233855

Please also see advice / information sheet on our website

Exciting New Telephone Service Launched - September 2009

A new way for you to book, check or cancel your Doctor appointment is now available at the surgery!

When you telephone you will be offered the opportunity to use an automated system. Please follow the instuctions given carefully. This service is available 24/7 so even when the surgery is closed you can book, check or cancel an appointment!

For more information, please pop in and pick up a leaflet from the lobby or see Reception.

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Extended Opening Hours - Tuesday and Saturday

These appointments are in addition to our normal service. This service is specifically designed for those patients who find it difficult to attend a routine/ review appointment during normal working hours. Appointments must be pre-booked in advance.

You will not be seen without an appointment in an 'extended hours' surgery.

Announcements

31 Jan - 01 Mar
National Heart Month

Everyone’s going Red for Heart for National Heart Month this February. It’s all in aid of the British Heart Foundation and we’d love you to join in.

01 Jan - 28 Feb
Ovarian Cancer Awareness

Our aim is to improve survival rates for women with ovarian cancer. We can only achieve this with your support – so get involved!

BBC Health

Fertile forties pregnancy warning

Experts fear older women are ditching contraception in the mistaken belief that fertility inevitably wanes at a certain age.

Brain injury linked to gambling

Californian scientists think they may have discovered the part of the brain which makes people fear losing money.

'Third-hand smoke' risk warning

Lingering residue from tobacco smoke that clings to upholstery, clothing and the skin releases cancer-causing agents, warn experts.

Cancer nurses funding row

Gordon Brown has given more details of Labour's plans to provide dedicated one-to-one specialist nursing for everyone in England diagnosed with cancer.

Exercise 'can cut gallstone risk'

Doing lots of exercise drastically cuts the risk of developing painful gallstones, UK researchers have found.

Genes reveal 'biological ageing'

Scientists say they have pinpointed gene variants that might show how fast people's bodies are ageing.

Better child-diabetes care urged

A "shocking" number of children are suffering potentially fatal complications of diabetes each year, a charity says.

Premature birth gene clue found

DNA differences which appear to affect the risk of giving birth early have been found by US scientists.

GPs warn about 'population rise'

New Scottish GP practices should be set up in areas which are likely to see population increases, the BMA says.

Artificial pancreas diabetes hope

Scientists in Cambridge show that an "artificial pancreas" can be used to regulate blood sugar in children with Type 1 diabetes.

Yahoo Health

Autism risks detailed in children of older mothers (AP)

A boy with autism at a treament center. Women over 40 are nearly twice as likely to give birth to an autistic child than a mother under 30, researchers said in a study that found more evidence of links between autism and maternal age.(AFP/File/Liu Jin)

AP - A woman's chance of having a child with autism increase substantially as she ages, but the risk may be less for older dads than previously suggested, a new study analyzing more than 5 million births found.

Ethics debate over blood from newborn safety tests (AP)

A one-day-old baby boy's heel is pricked for blood during a phenylketonuria (PKU) test at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. A critical safety net for babies — that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn — is facing an ethics attack. States increasingly are storing the leftover blood samples for later medical research, often without parents' knowledge or consent — prompting lawsuits in two states and work in many others to give parents a greater say. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

AP - A critical safety net for babies — that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn — is facing an ethics attack.

Bad malaria pills in Africa raise resistance fears (AP)

AP - High rates of the most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are poor quality — including nearly half the pills sampled in Senegal — raising fears of increased drug resistance that could wipe out the last weapon left to battle a disease that kills 1 million people each year, according to a U.S. report released Monday.

Even if you're careful, drugs can end up in water (AP)

A man dumps a bag of trash at the town landfill, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010, in Bath, Maine. The Kennebec River can be seen n the background. Discarded drugs have been found in water at this land fill and two others in Mane, confirming suspicions that medications thrown into household trash are ending up in water that drains through waste, according to the state's environmental agency. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

AP - The federal government advises throwing most unused or expired medications into the trash instead of down the drain, but they can end up in the water anyway, a study from Maine suggests.

China finds 170 more tons of tainted milk powder (AP)

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2010 file photo, business administration officers check dairy products in a supermarket in Rizhao, in east China's Shandong province. China has found another 170 tons of tainted milk powder in an emergency crackdown that has made it increasingly clear many products discovered in the country's 2008 milk scandal were repackaged for sale instead of destroyed. (AP Photo, File)

AP - The discovery has punched a 170-ton hole in China's promises to overhaul its food safety system. Officials say they've found yet another case where large amounts of tainted milk powder from the country's 2008 scandal that should have been destroyed were instead repackaged.

Is the US swine flu epidemic over? (AP)

Graphic shows reported weekly swine flu cases since Sept. 5,

AP - If the U.S. swine flu epidemic isn't over, it certainly looks as if it's on its last legs. While federal health officials are not ready to declare the threat has passed and the outbreak has run its course, they did report Friday that for the fourth week in a row, no states had widespread flu activity. U.S. cases have been declining since late October.

For obese, vaccine needle size matters (Reuters)

Reuters - Our ever-expanding waistlines may have outgrown the doctor's needle, researchers say, in what could be another casualty of the obesity epidemic.

Men have key role in ending female circumcision: experts (AFP)

AFP - Experts and workers on the ground said Friday that men had a key role to play in the fight against female circumcision in Africa, a day before the International Day against Female Genital Mutilation.

Clinical Trials Update: Feb. 8, 2010 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Older Moms More Apt to Have Autistic Child (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Older moms are more likely to have a child with autism than women who give birth at a younger age, new research shows.

WHO Swine Flu

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 86

As of 31 January 2010, worldwide more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 15174 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 85

As of 24 January 2010, worldwide more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 14711 deaths.

Statement of the World Health Organization on allegations of conflict of interest and 'fake' pandemic

22 January 2010 -- Providing independent advice to Member States is a very important function of the World Health Organization (WHO). We take this work seriously and guard against the influence of any improper interests. The WHO influenza pandemic policies and response have not been improperly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 84

As of 17 January 2010, worldwide more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 14142 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 83

As of 10 January 2010, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 13554 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 82

As of 3 January 2010, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009, including at least 12799 deaths.

Successes and challenges of 2009

30 December 2009 -- The headline that dominated the year was easily the H1N1 pandemic. On 11 June, 2009, WHO declared the start of the first influenza pandemic since 1968. In this episode we listen to WHO's Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, discuss the successes and challenges of 2009.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 81

As of 27 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 12220 deaths.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 80

As of 20 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 11516 deaths.

Comparing deaths from pandemic and seasonal influenza

Efforts to assess the severity of the H1N1 influenza pandemic sometimes compare numbers of confirmed deaths with those estimated for seasonal influenza, either nationally or worldwide. Such comparisons are not reliable for several reasons and can be misleading.

Swine Flu Vaccination Latest!

Welcome to Combs Ford Surgery Online

Combs Ford Surgery serves the population of Stowmarket as well as some of its surrounding villages.

Our team includes 6 GPs, one nurse practitioner, four senior nurses, three health care assistants as well as our practice managers, medical secretary and reception / administration staff.

Normal Surgery Hours

Monday to Friday

8.15am- 6.30pm

Pre-booked only surgery:
Tue 07.00-08.00 & Sat 08.00-11.00

Enquiries and Appointments
01449 678333
Visits and Emergencies
01449 678366
Dispensary
01449 676110

reception We offer a full general practice service including health promotion clinics for diabetes, asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart disease and high blood pressure. We also offer minor surgical procedures on site. We have an on-site dispensing service for any of our patients living more than one mile away from a pharmacy / chemist.

At Combs Ford Surgery, we aim to treat all our patients promptly, courteously and in complete confidence.

Click Here to order your repeat prescription online

Click Here to book/cancel your appointment online

Very important note about email communication:

DO NOT USE EMAIL FOR URGENTCOMMUNICATION

IF USING EMAIL PLEASE ALLOW7 DAYS FOR A RESPONSE

Practice Information

For quick medical advice online or on the telephone contact NHS Direct

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