November 2017 News
A warm welcome to the Millhouse Community and to other readers. The year is flying by and Christmas will soon be here.
The warming weather interspersed with rain showers has been ideal for vegetable gardeners like myself. I find this a relaxing pastime digging over the soil and breaking up the large earth clods by hand as I till the ground before planting. It's probably cheaper to buy vegetables in the supermarket but there is something special about harvesting freshly organic grown 'Little Gem' lettuces, spring onions and radishes at present.
Each week I encounter someone who is struggling with the pressures of work and financial stress. Developing relaxing pastimes like gardening, listening to music or playing an instrument, reading, exercising regularly and sleeping soundly replenishes our energy, enabling us to cope better with the frenetic lives we lead.
In this issue...
- Holiday Hours information
- Nurse achievements
- New HR and Finance mangers
- Longstanding unpaid accounts to be chased up
- Movember and Men's Health
This month Dr Ric introduces some new finding about the effect of Gut Health and Stress on altered brain structures
MILLHOUSE NEWS
Practice Nurses: Congratulations to Leonie who passed her nurse prescribing exams and is now able to consult and write prescriptions for patients with common general practice illnesses. Congratulations too to Michael, whom many of you will have met on reception, who has finished his nursing qualification and will soon commence practice at Millhouse.
Practice Changes: We recently appointed Noreen Cooper as Financial Manager and Lisa Leat to the position of Human Resources Manager.
Overdue Accounts: A more proactive approach in dealing with overdue accounts has been recommended by the new team. We will continue to waive the monthly fee for recently overdue accounts, if this is paid promptly, but we will be more thorough in following-up outstanding accounts where frequent reminders have been sent.
This month - BUGS IN OUR GUT AND STRESS (Our Microorganism Fingerprint)
Dr Ric writes about a visit to see puppies at the Border Collie kennels where we had got our beloved pet Spud twelve years ago. Spud died of cancer recently. Dr Ric says " I watched mother feed her pups and instinctively lick them over and remove any puppy poop from the kennel floor. I knew that mother's instinctual action to keep the pup and kennel environment clean also enhanced her breast milk immune proteins which give added protection to the puppy against disease". The article goes on to explain how human bodies too have mechanisms for sharing mothers' "bugs" with their tiny babies, so that over the first three years of life they can develop a stable community of gut microorganisms. He introduces a new book by Dr Emeran Mayer that explores The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts our Mood, our Choices and our Overall Health. We are now learning that major stress in young people - such as that from a deprived or abusive home can influence gut bugs in a negative way.
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Want to read other articles by Dr Ric and the team?Check the archives.....
Yours in good health
Dr Ric Coleman and the Millhouse Team