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Flu Update
Copy of email from the Senior Tutor and the Bursar, 29th April 2009 Dear all, As you have probably seen from the recent news, there are growing conerns with regard to the possibility of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Several years ago, Lincoln College set up a pandemic flu team, comprising members of the senior management team, the College Doctor and Nurse, other related College officers and representatives of the Junior and Middle Common Rooms. With the advice of the University, the Oxford Primary Care Trust (PCT), and the National Health Sevice, we have developed a framework plan of measures to prepare and respond effectively to such a situation. We are writing to you now because we think it appropriate at this time to provide information for students, Fellows, and staff on the plans that we already have in hand for your safety and well-being. The symptoms of influenza can be found by examining the Department of Health website, or that of the Health Protection Agency. Anyone concerned that they may have contracted influenza should please contact the College Medical Surgery, at 9 King Edward Street (Tel: 01865 242657). If calling out of office hours, you will be redirected to a 24-hour local doctor. If you develop flu-like symptoms, please DO NOT visit the Doctor's Surgery in person, as this may substantively increase the risk of spreading infection. Please also keep the College informed, by notifying the College Office on 01865 279801; or by leaving a message for the Senior Tutor at the Lodge (01865 279800).Lincoln's community is international in its composition: many students, staff and Fellows may have had opportunities to travel during the Easter vacation. We would therefore advise anyone who has recently returned from areas where the infection has presented itself to be particularly alert to any feelings of illness. Please also keep the College informed. Further details and information will be circulated in due course, once a better sense of the situation has become clear. In the meantime, however, we would once again stress that there is no need for any particular sense of anxiety: cases of infection have so far have been isolated and treated. In the meantime, there are one or two things you could do to help yourself and others:
Thank-you for taking the time to read this message: we shall keep you updated as the situation progresses. Sincerely, The Bursar and Senior Tutor, Health
Medical Treatment Your first port of call for minor health problems is the College Nurse, Sandra Wollner. She can be found on the ground floor in between Staircases 7 and 8 in Chapel Quad, and during term-time she will be there at the following times:
Alternatively, you can go to the College Doctor, Dr Gordon Gancz. He is a general practitioner whose surgery is found at 9 King Edward Street (which is just the other side of the High Street from Lincoln, so very nearby). You can make an appointment with him during the hours 8.30-11.00am or 4.00-6.30pm Monday to Friday, by calling 01865 242657. Freshers will be sent a health questionnaire and a form for registering with Dr Gancz's surgery before their arrival (the questionnaire is confidential and won't affect your application - it's just that it can take a few weeks to get your medical notes transferred, so it's useful for Dr Gancz to have some information about medical history just in case you get ill in the first few weeks you're at Lincoln). You are allowed to register with a different surgery in Oxford if you prefer, but most Lincoln students go to the 9 King Edward Street practice. Outside of surgery hours, you can still call the same number and you will be put through to the duty doctors. If you have an accident or need urgent medical care, you can go to the Accident and Emergency department at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington. You can get there by bus (Number 13 or X13 from High Street, outside Queens College) or taxi, or if neither of these is possible, by calling 999 from any landline or mobile phone and asking for an ambulance. If you are not sure whether you need to go to A&E for a particular problem, or have an urgent medical question, you may find NHS Direct useful - they offer a 24-hour nurse-led telephone service on 0845 4647. They also have a very comprehensive website, which includes a health encyclopaedia, answers to common health questions, self-help guide, and information on local healthcare services.In general, students (from any country) are eligible for free treatment from the National Health Service (which includes all of the services listed above). If you are not sure about your eligibility for free treatment, or need further information about the documentation you will need to provide in order to receive it, see this page from the Department of Health. All students are also eligible for help with health costs (such as prescription charges, dentists' or opticians' charges, and hospital travel costs) - for further information on how to claim such costs back or avoid paying them in the first place, see this page.Dental Treatment The College Dentist is Fabian and Associates, which is on the High Street near Lincoln. However, this is a private dental practice, which means that instead of paying relatively cheap NHS dental charges (which you can claim back using form HC1 - see above), you will pay a higher rate for private care. Instead, we recommend that you register with an NHS dentist if possible - we recommend the Oxford Brookes dental practice Studental (they accept Oxford University students as well as Brookes ones, although their website does say that they will prioritise Brookes students at busy times). You can search for other NHS dentists in Oxford here.Opticians, Pharmacies etc Lincoln College doesn't have any special arrangements regarding any of these health services, but you can search for the details of nearby ones using this page. Don't forget that you can get help with health costs by filling in form HC1.Sexual Health
Lincoln JCR and MCR provide free condoms for students at the college. These are available from machines located in the laundry rooms (in the basement of Staircase 8 on the main site, in the basement of Staircase 22 at Bear Lane, and at EPA). Any problems with the machines should be reported to the Welfare Officers. You can also get condoms and free pregnancy tests by asking the welfare officers directly (they will keep this confidential, of course!). Contraception and Family Planning Contraception advice and supplies are also available free of charge from a GP or a Health Authority Family Planning Clinic – in Oxford this is the Alec Turnbull Clinic. The Alec Turnbull Family Planning Clinic provides free contraception advice and supplies, emergency contraception, pregnancy and smear tests, counselling for unplanned pregnancy and referral for termination of pregnancy, as well as information and advice on all aspects of sexual health. It is located at Raglan House, 23 Towns Road, Cowley (take the number 1 or 5 bus) and you don't need to make an appointment - just drop in. You can also contact them by phone on 01865 456666.Sexually Transmitted Infections Advice and testing for sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS is available free of charge from a GP or a genito-urinary medicine (GUM) department - in Oxford this is the Harrison Clinic. The Harrison Clinic offers a drop-in service for HIV and syphilis testing from 1.30-2.30pm Monday to Friday. For all other tests you will need an appointment, but you will rarely have to wait more than one week. The Harrison Clinic is located at the Churchill Hospital (take the number 15 bus). For further details or to book an appointment, call them on 01865 231231. Other Useful Contacts Other services which may be helpful include:
LGBT Welfare Lincoln MCR does not have its own LGBT rep - however, MCR members seeking advice or support on LGBT issues are welcome to contact the JCR LGBT rep, Peter Beaumont. Further information can also be found at the Oxford University LGBT Society webpage. |
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