May 2023

14 Buckden Roundabout May 2023 Village News Buckden WI At our meeting on 4 th April, a presentation was made to Ruth Nicholas with gratitude for more than eight years of service as president of this institute and we welcomed Emma Spencer as our new president. Our speaker for the evening was Sue Jakeman from whom we learned “ All About Bees. ” Sue and her husband had kept bees for about 9 years, in spite of discovering that Sue was allergic to bee stings! Dressed in her bee - keeper ’ s suit, she showed us a typical hive and pictures of the queen and a queen cell, drones (male), and workers (female) describing the behaviour of the hive in terms of her inimitably amusing anthropomor- phisms. The Queen was imagined as dressing in her finery to go on as many as 17 expeditions hunting for multiple suitors (who perished after their airborne encounters) before settling into her part of the hive for five years of continual egg - laying, tend- ed and nourished with Royal Jelly by the workers. The drones, conversely, were pictured lazing with their feet up in front of the TV while the guard bees at the hive ’ s entrance were char- acterised as bouncers. We were astounded to learn that a hive would typically hold fifty to seventy thousand bees in Summer and in Winter the workers strive to maintain a temperature of 38C for the queen by the perpetual movement of their bodies. Information about swarming, the problems of varroa mite, different types of honey and so much more made for an inter- esting evening. On May 2 nd, our speaker will be Liz Dive who describes herself as a ‘ Shakespeare Groupie ’. Her talk is entitled “ Genius Alert. ” The competition is to make as many words as you can from the letters of the word ‘ Shakespeare ’ (no plurals allowed). Visitors are very welcome at any of our meetings. For more information contact: Emma Spencer – tel 07960 018412 Judith Armitage – 01480 811717 Buckden and Little Paxton Patient Participation Group (PPG) We met as a Group again in February, at Buckden Surgery, with Dr. Rizkallah replacing Dr. Newark as our G.P. representa- tive. Our Group is still in the process of reconstituting our- selves as a PPG, which will necessitate becoming an organisa- tion with a set of revised aims and objectives. We will be seek- ing stronger and more defined relationships with both patients and surgery staff, aiming to represent patient views, in influ- encing the development of policies within the Practice. Part of this endeavour will include the effort to recruit new committee members, from a younger demographic, and also from more diverse backgrounds. At our meeting we discussed a plan to offer defibrillator train- ing in June, in Buckden and Little Paxton, with the help of Magpas. Watch out for further news on this initiative, in the Surgery Newsletter and on its noticeboards. You may be aware that the Newsletter is to be updated, with our Group pos- sessing a stronger profile on it, in attempt to heighten aware- ness. We are intending to invite a Social Prescriber to one of our future meetings, in seeking to learn more about their role in the Practice. Also information was provided regarding pa- tients being given access to their health records. By the time you read this some of you will have received a further Covid vaccination, as part of the Spring Booster Cam- paign. Perhaps this occurred through attending the Vaccina- tion Clinic, held at Little Paxton on the 23rd of April. Several of our Committee have served as part of the Volunteer Team, which assisted and supported the Health Professionals in deliv- ering this programme and previous clinics. Also, the Surgery staff will have experienced the knock on effects of the 4 day junior doctors strike, taking place between the 11th and 15th of April. This action will undoubtedly place more pressure on them. There are more activities being advertised by the Surgery. Amongst these, which are led by a Health Coach and a Social Prescriber, are the following. They include a Chair Based Exer- cise Class, for which a referral is required, and two Tea and Chat Groups, one held, at Buckden Village Hall, and another located at Brampton Institute. Further details can be found on the Surgery Newsletter and on the noticeboards. People are probably already aware of the Friends In Deed ser- vice, which members of our Committee contribute to as driv- ers. There is a shortage of drivers to sustain this important village resource, which enables individuals in our community to attend medical appointments at local surgeries and hospi- tals. The latter include appointments at Hinchingbrooke Hospi- tal, Peterborough City Hospital, Addenbrookes, and Royal Pap- worth, and others. Can I echo Peter Mount's call out for new volunteer drivers. Please consider his request to apply. Finally, I wish to provide some information relating to North West Anglia Foundation Trust, through my role as a Public Governor. You may have read about the suspension of gas and air in our local maternity units recently. This service is gradual- ly being re - introduced in the delivery rooms, with the the hope that it can be fully available in the near future. The Trust is liaising with local women who are due to deliver soon, in keep- ing them up to date with developments. From April the 3rd, mask wearing will no longer be mandatory in clinical areas, with only a few exceptions to this rule. And the Trust is still awaiting a Government decision, as to funding for Hinchingbrooke Hospital, as part of the New Hospital Pro- gramme. Rob Gardiner Chair of PPG