Reminder - Our very first patient coffee morning is running tomorrow between 10am-11am. 

We hope to see you there!

Fancy a free cup of tea or coffee and a chat? Come along to our patient coffee morning on Tuesday 30^th July between 10-11am.

Mackenzie Medical Centre would love to build a better connection to our patients and for our patients to feel more engaged with the practice. Our reception team will host a patient coffee morning on the last Tuesday of every month, starting on Tuesday 30^th July.

We understand lots of people experience feelings of loneliness and social isolation and we would like to send a warm invitation out to any patients who would like to come along. The aim of the session is purely social, there will be no clinicians involved.

You can sign up for reminders about the coffee morning by registering your details here.

If you can spare 2 minutes of your time, we would be grateful if you could complete a patient survey by following this link.

We recognise that sometimes it is not easy to see us during working hours, so we are now offering an extended access service on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

The aim of the service is to offer a greater range of appointments for routine problems. This service is for routine medical conditions and is not an emergency service. If you become unwell out with our core opening hours, of 8am-6pm, please call NHS 24 on 111.

Please speak to our reception team to book an extended access service appointment.

We have been made aware of a confirmed case of meningococcal disease in student accommodation. Please click the below link to view the letter that has been issued to all students from Public Health Scotland. It details what symptoms to look out for and how to get your Men ACWY vaccination, if you have not already been vaccinated. 

25 01 2024 NHS student letter_FINAL.pdf

Health in Mind currently have 5 support groups across the city for unpaid carers: 

Anxiety Support Group

Dementia Support Group

Craigmillar Support Grouo

Depression and Low Mood Support Group

Parent Carer Support Group (mental health / additional support needs)

For more information on dates and times please click here. 

If you feel nervous before going for your smear test, you're not alone.  We have tips that can help make the appointment easier. There are things you can do that will help make your smear test easier.  Find information on cervical screening: www.getcheckedearly.org. It’s important to attend your smear, even if your menopausal or post-menopausal.  The test can help stop cervical cancer before it starts.

Did you know we have a sexual health drop-in clinic every Tuesday between 2pm-4pm where you can attend to have your cervical screening done without an appointment? You can also contact reception on 0131 651 1000 to arrange an appointment at a suitable time for you.

This winter, please help us by getting the right care in the right place by:

• searching NHSInform.Scot for self-help advice on common symptoms and a guide to local services and opening times
• visiting your local pharmacy first to help treat minor illnesses, many can provide consultations without an appointment and prescribe medicines previously only available from your GP
• calling the GP practice for routine or urgent care during normal opening hours
• contacting your dentist for dental problems or an optician for eye problems
• calling 111, day or night, for minor injuries advice and treatment or for urgent care when your GP or dental practice is closed
• dialing 999 or attend A&E ONLY in a critical emergency

For more information please visit: services.nhslothian.scot/rightcare

Health in Mind offer a range of free courses to people over 18 living in Edinburgh, covering a range of topics and explore difference tools and strategies to help support and improve mental health and wellbeing. Courses and workshops are offered either in person (in a variety of locations across Edinburgh) or online (on Zoom). Please note that sign up is required for all of our courses. To sign up, make an enquiry on our website, or call 0131 225 8505.

For more information please visit the Edinburgh Courses page on our website or iThrive for up-to-date details on all of our services. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions or would like to refer someone for any of the courses above.

Mackenzie Medical Centre will undergo an IT system upgrade on Tuesday 28th November and Tuesday 12th December. On these days the practice phone line will not open until 10am. If you need urgent medical attention during the hours of 8am-10am on 28th November and 12th December you should call 07575016785. This number will only be available during these times. 

Our practice doors will remain open for prescription collections. 

The online prescription ordering system will not be available during those times. 

We are looking for volunteers to help with the training of medical students.

Our volunteers are of great value to our medical students to allow them to practise taking medical histories and improve their examination skills.

Any help is appreciated, but we are looking in particular for patients with any of the following conditions:

• ASTHMA
• COPD/ EMPHYSEMA
• LUNG CANCER
• ANGINA
• PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE (CIRCULATION PROBLEM IN THE LEGS)
• HEART FAILURE
• INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (CROHNS, ULCERATIVE COLITIS)
• PEPTIC ULCER, HEARTBURN, REFLUX
• IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
• EPILEPSY
• STROKE / MINI STROKE
• HEADACHE (MIGRAINE, TENSION)

If you are able to help, please ask for a form about helping with teaching at reception, or alternatively speak to your healthcare professional.

As a practice we are aiming to improve our rate of uptake of bowel screening. Bowel screening is offered to people aged 50 to 74 across Scotland, every 2 years, to help find bowel cancer early - when it can often be cured.

It is very important to do your bowel screening and return your postal kit as it can help to pick up bowel cancer early even if you don't have any symptoms. If you don't receive your kit, or you would like to find out more about the bowel screening process here is a link to the Scottish bowel screening website and here is the phone number to order a new kit:

0800 0121833

https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/screening/bowel-screening

The team at Mackenzie Medical Centre are delighted to share the news that Dr Fairhurst has recently been promoted to Professor Karen Fairhurst. Professsor Fairhurst is Professor of Student Learning in Primary Care. Congratulations! 

Our senior receptionist, Anne Coles, will soon retire at the end of September 2023. Anne has worked in the reception team for over 30 years and will be extremely missed by the team and our patients. 

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you have symptoms of a respiratory infection or coronavirus and you:

• have a high temperature or
• do not feel well enough to go to work or carry out normal activities

Try to do this until you no longer have a high temperature (if you had one) or until you feel better.

Symtoms of coronavirus include:

• continuous cough
• high temerature, fever or chills
• loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
• shortness of breath
• unexplained tiredness, lack of energy
• muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise
• not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry
• headache that's unusual or longer lasting than usual
• sore throat, stuffy or runny nose
• diarrhoea
• feeling sick or being sick

Covid tests are available to buy for a small price from a pharmacy.

Think about taking part in Parkruns which run every Saturday at 9.30am.

They are 5km events which you can walk or run, on your own or with friends and family.

 If you want to run the event and don’t know if you can do the distance, couch to 5K, linked below is a really good way to get started with confidence.

Get running with Couch to 5K - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

WHERE IS THE NEAREST TO THE PRACTICE?

The closest Parkrun to the Practice is the Holyrood Parkrun and on the 29^th July some of the practice staff will be volunteering at the event .

If you plan on coming along then, please let us know and we can look out for you there.

You can find the link to get your parkrun barcode here: register | parkrun UK

Details about the Holyrood Parkrun: home | Holyrood parkrun | Holyrood parkrun

Meeting point at St Margaret’s Loch (yellow dot)

15th June is national clean air day. Please find information here: https://www.actionforcleanair.org.uk/campaigns/clean-air-day. 

We increasingly know that pollution is having an affect on health, primarily on our lungs but also we increasingly are realising other parts of our body like our brain (with links to dementia).

This obviously needs real change but we'd encourage you to consider making your way to any appointments today by bus, bike or walking. Remember we have bike parking near the practice, with locks you can borrow if you ever forget yours!