Newsletter April 2025

Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, a fantastic annual opportunity to raise awareness of bowel cancer and funds to support the work.

The earlier bowel cancer is spotted, the more treatable it's likely to be. In fact, more than 9 in 10 people survive bowel cancer when it is diagnosed at the earliest stage. However, this drops significantly when diagnosed at the latest stage.

What is Bowel Cancer?

- The bowel is part of the digestive system. It is made up of the small bowel and the large bowel. The large bowel is made up of the colon and rectum.

- Cancer that affects the large bowel is typically called bowel cancer. you may also hear it being called colorectal cancer. This means cancer in the colon or rectum. Cancer that affects the small bowel is called small bowel cancer.

Facts and figures about bowel cancer.

- How common is bowel cancer?

* Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK. Almost 43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK.

* Around 268,000 people living in the UK today have been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

* More than nine out of ten new cases (94%) are diagnosed in people over the age of 50. But bowel cancer can affect anyone of any age. More than 2,600 new cases are diagnosed in people under the age of 50 every year.

* 1 in 15 men and 1 in 18 women will be diagnosed with bowel cancer during their lifetime.

For more information visit bowel cancer UK

We are proud to be a safe surgery for everyone in our community

Everyone in the UK has the right to free care from a GP. If you don't have proof of ID or address, you can still register.

In partnership with Doctors of the World UK, we will ensure that our practice offers a welcoming space for everyone who seeks to use our services.

Pharmacy First

Most pharmacies can help you with seven common conditions without needing a GP appointment:

• earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
• impetigo (aged 1 year and over)- a contagious skin infection
• infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
• shingles (aged 18 years and over)- infection that causes a painful rash
• sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)- infection of the sinuses (behind the forehead, cheeks and nose)
• sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
• urinary tract infections or UTIs (women aged 16 to 64 years)

If you have one of these conditions, you can walk into your local pharmacy or self-refer online

DNA Rates - January 2025

In February, we offered 6076

Newsletter February 2025

PPG AGM & Meeting - Tuesday 4th March

Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) would like to invite you to their AGM and a meeting on Bowel Cancer: the signs & symptoms

• Welcome & AGM: Emerson Samuels, PPG Chair
• Bowel Cancer Talk: Dr Arpa Patel, GP

The meeting will be held at our Purley Surgery on Tuesday 4th March from 6.45pm to 8pm. Refreshments will be available from 6.30pm.

International Women's Day - A Community Collaboration

Mark International Women's Day by joining an event on violence against women and girls. Meet survivors and find out about the services that are available to help support recovery.

Date: 8th March, 3-5pm, Location: Old Lodge Lane Baptist Church, Reedham Park Avenue, CR8 4BQ. Please reserve your free place by emailing chloe.smith@cvalive.org.uk.

We are proud to be a safe surgery for everyone in our community

Everyone in the UK has the right to free care from a GP. If you don't have proof of ID or address, you can still register.

In partnership with Doctors of the World UK, we will ensure that our practice offers a welcoming space for everyone who seeks to use our services.

Pharmacy First

Most pharmacies can help you with seven common conditions without needing a GP appointment:

• earache (aged 1 to 17 years)
• impetigo (aged 1 year and over)- a contagious skin infection
• infected insect bites (aged 1 year and over)
• shingles (aged 18 years and over)- infection that causes a painful rash
• sinusitis (aged 12 years and over)- infection of the sinuses (behind the forehead, cheeks and nose)
• sore throat (aged 5 years and over)
• urinary tract infections or UTIs (women aged 16 to 64 years)

If you have one of these conditions, you can walk into your local pharmacy or self-refer online

DNA Rates - January 2025

In February, we offered 6076 appointments, of which 6.6% were DNA'd (Did Not Attend). By clinician type, this breaks down as:

If these patients had let us know that they were unable to attend their appointment, we would have been able to offer and rebeook these appointments for other patients who needed them.  If you are unable to attend, please cancel your appointment 24 hours in advance either by phone or online - thank you.

Catch Cancer Earlier Campaign

Catching cancer earlier helps to improve outcomes. If you're worried that a symptom might be cancer, please contact us as we're here to help. Visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer/symptoms/ to find out about the symptoms to be watching out for.

appointments, of which 6.6% were DNA'd (Did Not Attend). By clinician type, this breaks down as:

If these patients had let us know that they were unable to attend their appointment, we would have been able to offer and rebeook these appointments for other patients who needed them.  If you are unable to attend, please cancel your appointment 24 hours in advance either by phone or online - thank you.

Catch Cancer Earlier Campaign

Catching cancer earlier helps to improve outcomes. If you're worried that a symptom might be cancer, please contact us as we're here to help. Visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer/symptoms/ to find out about the symptoms to be watching out for.

Published: Mar 12, 2025