GP practices go orange for the Little Orange Book

Wednesday 20 October 2021

GP practices in Gateshead and Newcastle have gone orange for the relaunch of the NHS’s Little Orange Book, which gives handy health tips for parents of under-fives.

The popular little book is published by NHS Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), with practical information about common childhood conditions. Distributed to all new parents in Newcastle and Gateshead, it helps parents and carers to recognise and respond to a range of common illnesses as well as pointing to the most appropriate service if you need further support.

To celebrate the relaunch, staff at two local practices – The Bridges in Gateshead, and Throckley Primary Care in Newcastle – went orange for the day, donning orange t-shirts and accessories and decorating their surgeries.

Dr Fiona Steedman, GP at The Bridges Medical Practice, said: “The Little Orange Book is regularly used by parents and carers from our practice. We wanted to make sure all our patients knew about the new little orange book by celebrating the launch in our surgery.

“All our staff have participated by dressing up in orange and decorating the surgery. After all it is the bright orange cover that makes the book stand out and easy to reach for when parents need advice.”

The new edition of the Little Orange Book provides up-to-date health advice and new sections including one on Covid-19. It covers everything from common minor ailments like teething, constipation and colds, through to more serious conditions like measles and meningitis.

The booklet uses a traffic light system to help parents and carers decide what action to take when their child is sick.
Dr David Jones, a GP at Throckley and Assistant Clinical Chair at the CCG, said: “The Little Orange Book is a handy tool that arms parents and carers with information to help keep their kids well and prevent unnecessary trips to the GP or hospital.

“It can give advice before a problem arises and enables parents and carers to recognise when it’s appropriate to access medical support. It’s a great tool for health visitors and GPs to share, or for parents to download.

Sometimes, just a little reassurance is needed, other times parents may need a bit of advice or to take action and get medical treatment. The Little Orange Book provides invaluable information and is something all parents, carers and adults who work with children should have a copy of.”

This book was produced by Newcastle Gateshead CCG with help from GPs, health visitors, practice managers and staff, pharmacists, paediatricians and children’s nurses, as well as parents and carers.

Parents and carers can pick up their own copy of the Little Orange Book from GP surgeries, children’s centres or midwives, or download a copy.