Just the cure

The Maurice Tate room at Townlands Memorial Hospital in Henley was packed twice last week for the inaugural Bell Surgery talks organised by the patients’ participation group, writes Janet Waters.

“Life planning: wills, probate and powers of attorney”, a potentially complex subject, was elucidated by solicitors from Blandy & Blandy to an appreciative audience.

Many came for the opportunity to ask questions, either during the talk or afterwards in brief private discussions.

The next evening was also very popular with the talk “Rheumatology and arthritis ” delivered by Dr Antoni Chan, consultant rheumatologist and physician at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, and his colleague Dr Jo Kitchen.

This department sees, diagnoses and treats more than 200 different types of rheumatic conditions.

Rebecca O’Leary, one of the 35 attendees, said: “The key message here was early intervention. Dr Chan and his team emphasised that new treatments are available and the faster people report their symptoms, the better the chance of controlling the condition.”

Dr Chan said: “This is the launch of a series of educational talks and I am glad that the rheumatology team started it off with a real buzz. There is so much we can do together for our hospital and NHS and the Royal Berks is committed to supporting the services in Townlands.”

The series of talks continues in the autumn with “Diabetes” on September 19 and “Cardiology” on December 5, both delivered by Royal Berks consultants. Places at these talks are limited.

You can enrol via the surgery