Coffee Morning Friday 14th October – The Plough Inn, Pontesbury

The next open Coffee Morning will be held on Friday 14th October at The Plough, Pontesbury. All are welcome to come and have a coffee and chat and meet other people from the local area.

Following the success of the “100 Club” in 2022, we will be running the club again in 2023. Should you wish to join the 100 Club for 2023, please bring your £12.00 subscription, to be in with a chance of winning some fabulous cash prizes throughout the year!

If you have any donations of bottles, chocolates etc. that can form part of our Christmas Tombola Stall, these would be gratefully received. Please bring along any donations for the Tombola at the coffee morning or the luncheon event (see below).

Luncheon Club Friday 28th October – The Public Hall, Pontesbury

A new venture being piloted by the Good Neighbours is a Luncheon Club, which will be held on Friday 28th October at the Public Hall in Pontesbury. The event starts at 11.30 am and all are welcome to attend.

A hearty meal will be served, for which a small charge will be made towards the running costs, and a chance to socialise and meet your neighbours and others from the local community.

If the event is a success, it is intended that this would become a monthly event, so please support the first Luncheon Club if you are able to do so.

Should you wish for more details on any of the above events, please contact the Pontesbury Rea Valley Good Neighbours on-call mobile phone, on 07944 891953, or speak to any of the Pontesbury Rea Valley Good Neighbours volunteers at the Coffee Morning, and they will be pleased to help.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR SURGERY

If you are aged 50 + you may be eligible for a Covid booster and flu vaccination. Please contact the surgery to book an appointment to attend one of our vaccine clinics.

If you are eligible to receive the Covid booster / and /or the Flu vaccination this year you will be invited to attend the Practice.

Please support your Surgery.

On THURSDAY 8^th SEPTEMBER 2022 from 1:00pm Pontesbury & Worthen Medical Practice will be closed for training.

We will be open as normal from 8:30am on FRIDAY 9^th SEPTEMBER 2022.

If you need medical treatment that cannot wait until the surgery is open again please ring 111, or in an emergency please dial 999.

Please note due to recent IT issues out of our control dispensary are currently dealing with a back log of prescriptions, this may mean your prescription will take longer to process than usual.

You will receive a text message when your prescription has been dispensed and is ready for collection. If we do not hold a mobile phone number on your record please allow 7 days before attending the surgery for collection.

Please be respectful to all staff, they are here to help you. Staff are working extra hours to resolve this. Violent, threatening or abusive behaviour including shouting and swearing will not be tolerated at this practice.

We appreciate your understanding and patience.

We are currently experiencing technical issues with our clinical IT system affecting all departments within the surgery, Please be patient with us whilst our provider resolves these issues. Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding.

Please be kind and respectful to all of our staff during this challenging time. Thank you

‘Get yourself checked’ is the message from GPs, Clinical Pharmacists and healthcare professionals across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin this Cervical Cancer Screening Awareness Week.

To mark the week in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (Monday 20 to Friday 24 June 2022), patients and members of the public are being encouraged to schedule regular screening check-ups with their GP practice to help catch the early signs of cancer.

‘Get yourself checked’ is about cervical screening (a smear test), tying into the national campaign, but will also focus on bowel and breast screening checks too. The week aims to raise awareness of the importance of regular screenings and help to banish any concerns that people might have about getting themselves checked over.

To spread the message, two pop-up events are taking place on Wednesday 22 June at Anstice Park in Telford TF7 5BB and Thursday 23 June at Tesco Extra in Harlescott, Shrewsbury SY1 4HA, from 10am until 4pm.

GPs, cancer specialists and healthcare professionals will be available to offer informal advice and guidance on how to book a screening, what to expect, as well as the opportunity to have a blood pressure check.  

Dr Jess Harvey, GP and Clinical Lead for South East Shropshire, said: “I cannot stress enough the importance of regular screening checks and how these help in the early detection of cancer. According to national statistics, UK screening programmes for cervical, bowel and breast cancer save an estimated 9,000 lives a year. Screening saves lives, it really is as simple as that.

“The decision to pull together our own local screening campaign came about to spread this very important message and to help people overcome any hesitancy they may have about attending a screening.

“There really is absolutely nothing to worry about when attending a screening appointment – your GP or healthcare professional is only concerned in checking your overall health and picking up on any signs that might need further investigation.

“If we check ourselves regularly, we stand a better chance of catching illnesses quicker and making full recoveries.

“Health checks are available, free of charge, to help detect cervical cancer, bowel cancer and breast cancer, and I’d encourage everyone to take them up. If you’ve missed an appointment or have not taken up a screening invite, please speak with your GP practice today.”

As Ukrainian refugees start to arrive in the county, the NHS and local councils are gearing up to provide specialised support. Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has created a dedicated page on its website to help Ukrainian refugees access important healthcare information. The page will act has a hub for guidance on using NHS services as well as signposting to other organisations that can help. Click here to take a look.

It is important that refugees arriving in the UK register with their local GP practice as soon as possible, and not wait until they are ill.

Refugees do not need ID, proof of address or immigration status to register with their local practice – access is available for all.

GP practices are being asked to provide an initial health consultation for all arriving refugees. This consultation will include discussion about medical needs, update immunisations, issue any necessary medication and referrals to specialists if required.

Pregnant women are being urged to book an appointment with either a doctor or midwife at practices, to ensure the right antenatal care is provided for both mother and baby.

Please call the practice on 01743 790325  to register and book an initial appointment.

Opportunity to join Pontesbury and Worthen Medical Practice as Medical Receptionist Apprentice. Please click on the link for further information and how to apply.

https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/1000039364

Are you over 55 and interested in moving more and finding activities near you? Are you ready to do more in your community following the lifting of Covid restrictions?

Please see https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/healthy-shropshire/keep-on-moving-shropshire/ for more information.

Please allow 5 working days for repeat prescriptions. If you receive communication by text from the surgery please wait to receive a text message advising you that your prescription is ready for collection before attending the surgery. If you have a mobile number and do not receive text messages please contact the surgery to update your contact details.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS) declared a system critical incident on Tuesday 29 March 2022. This is in relation to increasing numbers of patients with covid in our hospitals and extremely high levels of staff sickness across our health and care system.  

Both of these issues are having a knock-on effect on other NHS services including GP practices across the county. We are asking all patients to be aware of the exceptional demand we are currently facing, including our own staff sickness levels.  

Our staff are working very hard to accommodate all patient needs. Minor ailments can be addressed via your local pharmacy, and our reception team can pre-book these appointments for you.  
  
Professionals across the county are doing everything they can to rapidly improve the position and apologise for any negative impact this may have on our patients.  

https://beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/A4510-22-4474

Pontesbury & Worthen Medical Practice will be closed for training from 1.00 PM on Thursday 3rd March 2022.

We will open as normal again at 08:30 on Friday 4th March

If you need medical treatment that cannot wait until the surgery is open again please dial 111 or dial 999 in an emergency.

Advance appointments can now be booked online here: https://app.patientaccess.com/login. Or on the NHS APP. These are standard routine Doctor appointments.

In order to use patient access a registration form will need to be filled in at the practice, for which you will need to bring some form of identification such as a driving license or passport. You will then be issued with a PIN number to be able to book online.

When booking the appointment please ensure you put a reason for the appointment (this is only visible to the GP/Practice member) and if you wish to have a telephone consultation and not attend the surgery for a face to face appointment please note the telephone number you wish to be contacted on.

Following the latest government announcement if you need a first, second or booster dose  (Pfizer only) and are aged 18 + we can book you an appointment to attend here at the surgery, please phone 01743 583378 or 01743 583384 to book an appointment into one of our weekday clinics that we are offering.

For second vaccines you must be 8 weeks after your first, for Booster, 91 days after your second vaccine.

There are other local vaccination centres you can attend using the national booking system via 119 or the online booking via the gov website.

If you or anyone in your household has coronavirus symptoms or has had a positive test within 10 days, please do not come into the surgery. 

As a healthcare environment we will still expect patients and staff to wear a mask in the surgery to ensure we protect the vulnerable.

Please be kind and respectful to our staff whilst we work through this situation as best as we can.

Thank you for your co-operation and support, it is very greatly appreciated.

Following the latest government announcement if you need a first, second or booster dose  (Pfizer only) and are aged 18 + we can book you an appointment to attend here at the surgery, please do not contact the surgery, we will contact you.

For second vaccines you must be 8 weeks after your first, for Booster, 91 days after your second vaccine.

There are other local vaccination centres you can attend using the national booking system via 119 or the online booking via the gov website.

If you or anyone in your household has coronavirus symptoms or has had a positive test within 10 days, please do not come into the surgery. 

As a healthcare environment we will still expect patients and staff to wear a mask in the surgery to ensure we protect the vulnerable.

Please be kind and respectful to our staff whilst we work through this situation as best as we can.

Thank you for your co-operation and support, it is very greatly appreciated.

In light of the announcement from the Government this evening we will be reassessing our vaccination provision to offer vaccines to as many of you as possible.

PLEASE DO NOT JUST TURN UP AT THE PRACTICE TO GET VACCINATED

PLEASE DO NOT PHONE RECEPTION TOMORROW AS WE ARE STILL PLANNING .

We will send text messages and contact patients with details of arrangements to everyone that is eligible as soon as we can.

Thank you for your patience.

In order to protect our population and to ensure no disruption in vaccine supply, we are co-delivering influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations in a joint effort with our neighbouring colleagues across Shrewsbury and the surrounding areas. The clinics will be run centrally at Severn Fields Health Village, with clinical support from each practice involved. Clinics will be running on weekends until the end of December. As always, we appreciate your support. You will be invited to book an appointment either by text, letter or phone call when you are eligible to receive your COVID-19 Booster vaccination. The dedicated phone number at Severn Fields for any queries about booking and clinics is 01743 649800.

You will still be invited to have this at Severn Fields even if you have already had your Seasonal Influenza vaccination elsewhere.