Mount Farm Surgery

17/11/2025

National Self-Care Week, 17th to 23rd November

It’s Self-Care Week, and your annual reminder to set aside some time for you.

We’re living longer lives, but not necessarily healthier, with chronic conditions on the rise. Managing stress, well-being and physical health all contribute to a healthy mind and body.

Try some of these ideas:
https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/training-s...-handbook/self-care-ideas-to-get-you-started/

Demand for health services has risen significantly in recent years, with long-term conditions growing. Preventive health is key to a healthier future for both your mental and physical well-being, and self-care is at the heart of this.

Try these self-care ideas:

• Take a mindful walk
• Try meditation
• Set boundaries – it’s okay to say no
• Speak to someone if you’re struggling
• Do one thing that brings you joy

Self-care looks different for everyone – find what works for you.

16/11/2025

Transgender Awareness Week, 13th to 19th November, with Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) on 20th November

Trans Awareness Week helps to raise the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people, and addresses the issues the community faces.

Show you’re an ally with these few tips:
Respecting pronouns – use an individual’s chosen pronouns
Listening to trans voices – hear and validate
Learn – Spend time understanding more, such as s*x assigned at birth, gender identity, and gender expression
Read this guide on being a trans ally. https://lgbt.foundation/help/a-guide-to-being-a-trans-ally/

14/11/2025

From 12:30 to 18:30 on Wednesday 19th November, this practice will be closed for important clinical education and training purposes:

Emergency cover will be provided, please telephone 111 to access these services:

Telephone triage
Face-to-face appointments at Drovers House in Bury St Edmunds
Repeat prescription requests will not be dealt with during these times so please ensure sufficient notice is given to enable your practice to provide these for you prior to practice closure dates.

12/11/2025

Mouth cancer awareness

Mouth (oral) cancer can start in any part of the mouth – most commonly, on the side of the tongue or the floor of the mouth. Early diagnosis saves lives.

Know the warning signs:
Mouth ulcer or sore that doesn’t heal after three weeks
Red or white patches in the mouth
Persistent mouth or tongue pain
Early detection changes lives. If you’re worried, make an appointment.
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/head-and-neck-cancer/mouth-cancer

11/11/2025

Remembrance Day, 11th November

Today, we remember. On Remembrance Day, we honour the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives in service for our freedom.

At 11am, please join our silence to reflect, respect and never forget.

10/11/2025

Anti-Bullying Week, 10th to 14th November

This year, the theme of Anti-Bullying Week is ‘Power for Good’.

Every year, bullying impacts on the lives of so many people, and silence means it carries on. Use your ‘Power for Good’ to speak up and raise awareness when you see bullying, face to face or online.

40% of children were bullied over the last year. Bullying can be in person or online, and includes physical, verbal, emotional and discriminatory behaviour (e.g., racist, homophobic, disability-related). Let’s use our ‘Power for Good’ and stop this harmful behaviour this Anti-Bullying Week.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/types-of-abuse/bullying-and-cyberbullying/

09/11/2025

We’re proud to be a Veteran Friendly Accredited GP practice and to support our veteran community this Remembrance Day.

We know that this Remembrance Day is likely to be particularly challenging for the many veterans in our community and we want you to know that we are trained and committed to effectively identifying and supporting your health needs.

As a Veteran Friendly Accredited practice, our team:

recognises the importance of identifying veteran patients within our community
understands the unique health needs that veterans may have
strives to provide veterans with the very best care and support
knows about the specialist veteran healthcare services that exist
undertakes regular training and development to ensure we’re able to deliver the very best care to veterans in our community and meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant

If you’re a veteran patient, please do let us know that you have served so that we can make sure you receive the most appropriate and best care, if and when you ever need it.

You can learn more about the accreditation and how it supports veteran patients, here: rcgp.org.uk/veterans

09/11/2025

Social media kindness, 9th November

9th November, Social Media Kindness Day, is the annual reminder of the need to post thoughtfully all year round.

We understand that it can be difficult to get an appointment sometimes, or you may have to wait for a callback, but we’re doing our best to help you while under huge pressure. Our team are people too, and online posts left in frustrated haste can be hurtful.

If you’ve got a concern about any aspect of our service, please speak to the Practice Manager. We’re always happy to hear from you.

In a world where you can be anything, be kind!

08/11/2025

Lung cancer awareness

Understanding the signs and symptoms of lung cancer can help with an early diagnosis. This useful video helps to explain the two types of lung cancer, exploring symptoms, testing, stages and treatment options. https://youtu.be/n6TE-Nkws6Q

Did you know lung cancer can affect anyone, not just smokers? This month is a great opportunity to raise awareness of this devastating disease and to help save lives. If you find that any of the following symptoms are affecting you, and last more than three weeks, make an appointment with your GP:

• Persistent cough
• Coughing up blood
• Chest pain or shortness of breath
• Unexplained weight loss or fatigue
• Repeated chest infections

06/11/2025

We’ve had a very friendly local black cat regularly visit our building in recent weeks. We absolutely understand they mean no harm — they are clearly well cared for and very confident around people.

However, we do need to ask a favour.

For infection control and patient safety reasons, we’re not able to have animals wandering into clinical areas — and this cat has now managed to slip through the doors multiple times. We also have several members of our practice team (and possibly some patients in our waiting areas!) who are allergic to cats.

If you are the owner of this cat, would you please be able to help us prevent them from coming into the surgery?

We genuinely don’t want to cause any upset or embarrassment — we just need to keep our clinical rooms, our staff and our patients safe, and to maintain our infection control standards.

If you think this might be your cat, please feel free to message us privately — we’re happy to talk and work out the least disruptive way of preventing future visits. Thank you

05/11/2025

Winter weather warnings and staying warm

Feeling the chill this winter? Keeping warm is essential for your well-being and health. Here are a few tips on warming up when it’s cold outside:

Reduce draughts where you can
Layer up – wear lots of layers of thinner clothing
Cover extremities – hats, gloves, thick socks and scarves
Eat healthily with plenty of hot drinks
Avoid alcohol
Keep moving
Keeping the cold at bay can help you to stay healthy over these wintry months.
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/informatio...keep-well-this-winter/stay-healthy-in-winter/

If you’re retired and struggling with costs this winter, check if you’re eligible for the winter fuel payment. If you were born before 22nd September 1959, you could get help to pay your heating bills for the winter of 2025 to 2026.
https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment

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05/11/2025

We're really keen to hear what our patients think of the service and care they receive from the practice. Please would you take 2 minutes to complete our Patient Survey 2025 - many thanks 😊

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