Medical Centre

The International Education Fund (IEF) was established by students at Imperial College. the IEF believes in a world without illiteracy where every person enjoys the right to a quality education and a life of respect. The IEF works to facilitate the amelioration of global academic poverty and poor public health. Through promoting international collaborations, the IEF enablea delivery of structured education that aims to improve prospects within communities in the developing world. The IEF's next project will be for Saharawi refugees. The IEF will be providing computers for local schools working alongside a blind school, helping them receive specialist equipment, giving the blind a vision for the future. They will also provide healthcare education across the camps.

New super surgeries are set to be developed at Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals to complement existing emergency care provision. The new super surgeries will be led by GPs and based alongside accident and emergency at both Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals. The centres will provide initial assessment of patients self-presenting with urgent care needs and treatment for those whose condition is best treated by a primary care specialist such as a GP or nurse practitioner. In addition, the super surgeries will build their own lists of registered patients and provide high quality planned primary care. An out-of-hours service for these patients and those registered at all other Hammersmith and Fulham GP practices will also be provided. A 24-hour telephone line will allow people to book appointments at the hospital-based practices, home visits and appointments with a range of community nursing services. Longer appointments can also be requested – a service that patients, particul...

On 5 May 2009, I arrived at my south London general practice to discover that I was at the "epicentre" of the H1N1 outbreak in the UK. Two local schools had been closed because of diagnosed cases of swine flu among their pupils. However, by the time the new cases of swine flu had come to light, many people would have been exposed, some of them developing subclinical infection or minor symptoms and not seeking medical advice. Closing the schools may therefore not limit the spread of the H1N1 virus because exposed and potentially infected people are still carrying out normal social activities. Subsequent research from some of my colleagues at Imperial College suggests that school closure may be beneficial in flu outbreaks. I am more cautious about applying this evidence from areas very far from central London. My local health protection unit was unable to screen people with symptoms who had been in contact with swine flu cases. General practitioners were instead asked to do thi...