Page 6 - Oundle Life March 2025

OUNDLE SURGERY
Healthcare team
It has been a busy start to 2025 at Oundle
Medical Practice. March arrives and brings
with it most welcomed longer days, more
sunshine hours, and warmer weather.
Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of
calcium and phosphate in the body. These
nutrients are needed to keep bones,
teeth, and muscles healthy. Between
late March and early April to the end
of September, most people can make
all the vitamin D they need through
sunlight on their skin and from a
balanced diet. During the autumn and
winter, you need to get vitamin D from
your diet because the sun is not strong
enough for the body to make vitamin
D in the skin. Government advice is
that everyone should consider a daily vitamin D
supplement during autumn and winter months.
Vitamin D can be found in a small number of
foods including oily fish, red meat, egg yolks,
some fortified foods, cereal, and fat spreads.
Cases of seasonal viruses, both Flu and
COVID-19 rose during the latter weeks of 2024
and early in 2025. Flu and Covid vaccinations
delivery continued at Oundle Medical Practice,
alongside the new seasonal vaccination for
2024/2025 season, Respiratory Syncytial virus,
RSV. We anticipate the Spring 2025 COVID-19
vaccination programme to begin in early
April. Joint Committee on Vaccination and
Immunisation (JCVI) have authorised cohorts
for spring 2025 programme to include adults
aged 75 years and over, residents in care homes
for older adults and individuals aged 6 months
and over who are immunosuppressed. An
invitation will be sent to those who are eligible.
Health screening programmes offered to
females include breast screening and cervical
screening. Breast screening is offered to women
aged 50-70 years to detect early signs of breast
cancer. Screening is by invitation, every three
years. Women over the age of 70 years can self-
refer for ongoing mammograms if they wish.
We look
forward to
meeting as
many patients
as we can at
the Surgery
open session,
Women with a predetermined higher risk of
breast cancer will follow a different screening
regime. If you are concerned you have missed a
screening opportunity, or have recently moved,
contact the local breast screening service to
update or arrange a review. The appointment
line can be reached by phoning 01536
491318. The team are based at the
breast screening department, The
treatment centre, Kettering General
Hospital.
Cervical screening is offered to
women and people with a cervix aged
25 to 64 to check the health of cells in
the cervix. It is offered every 3 years for
those aged 25 to 49, and every 5 years
from the ages of 50 to 64.
We look forward to meeting as many patients
as we can at the Surgery open session, Saturday
March 8th 2025, 10.00am – 1.00pm.
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