A Bradley Stoke doctor has told Jack FM he sees between four and six people each week concerned about their weight.

The radio station is running a feature on exercise this week – finding out how easy or hard it is to get it into our daily lives, in a bid to try and combat obesity.

Dr Tim Garrod, of Bradley Stoke Surgery in Brook Way, said:

“The patient has to take an active part in the management of their obesity.”

“In particular, aspects such as diets and physical activity. You cannot get away from the fact that if you eat more calories than you burn off, you will put on weight.”

Read more: Exercise Needed To Combat Obesity (Jack FM)

Related links:

• Doctors in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Sport and Leisure in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
• Slimming Clubs in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)

Last night’s BBC Panorama programme exposed a catalogue of shocking incidents at Winterbourne View [map], a residential care home for adults with learning disabilities, which is located in the Vantage Business Park (off Old Gloucester Road).

The hospital’s private sector operator, Castlebeck, has apologised unreservedly and suspended 13 employees.

Patients and staff from the home help to maintain the orienteering course in Bradley Stoke’s Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve as part of a community-based therapy project (The Journal reported in September 2008).

Read more:

• Patient abuse caught on film labelled ‘torture’ (BBC)
• Castlebeck statement to Panorama (BBC)

Dear Journal,

Can your newsletter please look into and report on how impossible it is for working people to get an appointment to see a doctor at Bradley Stoke Surgery?

I have tried ringing up in the 8:30-9:30 window; never to get to talk to anyone.

When after 20 plus attempts, then someone will tell me all the appointments are gone.

I have made my self late for work by going there in the morning, only to find myself behind 25 other people.

We clearly desperately need more GPs in Bradley Stoke.

The current service is a poor joke, at the expense of people’s health.

Please investigate as I am sure I am not the only one thinking this.

Yours sincerely,

Impatient2 (anon)

A report in the Bristol Evening Post claiming that Town Councillors are looking into the possibility of providing a shelter outside Bradley Stoke Surgery “so that people queuing to see a doctor don’t have to stand in the rain” has been rubbished by Town Mayor Ben Walker.

Cllr Walker told a meeting of the Town Council’s Finance Committee that the statement, in an article written by the paper’s Political Editor Ian Onions, had been misreported.

The reference to a shelter was presumed to refer to proposals for a bus shelter at the Brook Way/Courtlands northbound stop, that had been discussed at a Council meeting earlier in the year, he added.

Scores of patients are often seen queing outside the Brook Way surgery between 8am and 8:30am, in an attempt to secure a same day appointment with a doctor.

Patients trying to book an appointment by phone are often frustrated to find that all the appointments are taken by the time they get through.

A massive investment that tripled the size of the surgery in 2010 seems to have made little difference to the chances of securing a same day appointment, judging by responses to a recent message in The Journal’s forum.

It’s always the same every time I call now – if you get an appointment they’re at hugely awkward times (especially if you work) or not with your own doctor. Now, this is the first time I’ve been told they’re totally out of appointments for a particular day. What is going on?? How can they be out of appointments by 8.50am?

Is the surgery in Little Stoke any better? I’m getting quite frustrated with that place at the moment.

The event will showcase the free support available to smokers in the area to help them kick the habit for good.

Lindsay Thomas, Head of NHS South Gloucestershire’s Stop Smoking Service, said:

“We helped over 1,500 people in South Gloucestershire quit smoking last year. This is a great opportunity to engage with smokers from across the area that might not have had a chance to find out about the free support and advice available to them.”

David Phillips a Director of Public Health and spokesperson for Smokefree South West said:

“These community events are ideal for reaching smokers who might not know about the wonderful free support across the area in which they live.”

“The local NHS Stop Smoking Services are full of experienced, dedicated professionals who have helped thousands quit in the South West. We hope that these events will make even more people aware of the excellent free service available to them in over 1,000 locations in the region.”

Weekly ‘stop smoking’ advice sessions are held at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre on Thursdays between 4:30pm and 7:30pm.

Related links:

• Stop smoking – get help to quit (NHS South Gloucestershire)
• Advice to help you stop smoking (NHS Choices)

Engineer Mark Trimby, 47, had the organ transplant from his daughter Carly, 24, in March using a new technique pioneered in Japan which potentially offers hope to more patients with advanced kidney failure.

The operation was the first live donor kidney transplant between two people from incompatible blood groups to take place in the south west.

Read more: Transplant op success for family (Press Association)

The session, running from 1:15pm to 3:15pm, will be repeated twice-weekly – on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Sure Start Centre is located within Bowsland Green Primary School, Ellicks Close (off Bowsland Way).

More information: Sure Start Children’s Centres (SGC)

The team will be at the Willow Brook Shopping Centre on Friday 8th January.

Justin Boult, Stop Smoking Adviser at NHS South Gloucestershire, said:

“If your New Years resolution is to give up smoking then you don’t need to go it alone. You are four times more likely to stick to your resolution if you use our free Stop Smoking Service, where we can offer you support, advice and a range of nicotine replacement therapies to help you quit and break the habit.”

Weekly support sessions are held on Thursday at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre.

Read more: South Gloucestershire Council

South Gloucestershire Council announced back in December 2008 that the centre would be set up at Bowsland Green Primary School.

The new facility will be achieved through refurbishment of existing accommodation and the building of an extension.

Read more: Bristol Evening Post