Upcoming Works in the Practice

We are thrilled to announce that our practice is expanding to better serve your healthcare needs.

This expansion is driven by our commitment to providing exceptional care and ensuring that you have access to the best possible services.

Practice Extension

The extension to our practice is due to start on April 2nd, 2024. This expansion project is estimated to take approximately 10 weeks to complete. The aim of this extension is to provide our patients with even better care by adding four additional clinical rooms, allowing us to remove the temporary 2 clinical rooms in the portacabin. Additionally, we will be creating extra administrative space to bring our team together in one room. We're excited about the improvements this will bring and appreciate your patience during this period.

The plan is to take the wall down into the Health Education room (baby clinic), from Dr Naylor’s room we will make a new clinical room where our existing reception is, then another consulting room in our current admin room and 2 more clinical rooms in the health ed room. Giving us the other half, space for admin. The staff toilet is being moved to open the entrance to Forum into the waiting area. The new look waiting area will have a corridor to the right as it is now and to the left into the new rooms.

Telephones

In line with NHS England's contract, we have signed up for a new cloud-based telephone system to manage your calls more efficiently. However, due to the ongoing expansion works, the implementation of this new system has been postponed temporarily. Rest assured; we are committed to upgrading our communication systems to better serve you once the main building work is completed.

Patient Support

We recognise that the upcoming changes will impact our day-to-day operations, and we are grateful for your understanding and cooperation during this time. We are currently in the process of rearranging our administrative space and setting up a temporary admin hub to minimize disruptions. Please be aware that you may receive calls from blocked numbers as some of our team members will be working remotely.

Temporary Entrance

Starting from April 2nd, the works area will be cordoned off, affecting access to the main waiting area, our admin room, and the health education room. A temporary reception desk will be set up at the side entrance next to Dr Marshall’s room.

See the first picture of the front of the building, walk to the right from the car park, pass the Hope centre entrance and see the second picture into the entrance at the side of our building - We appreciate your cooperation as we navigate these temporary changes.

We kindly ask patients to only visit the surgery if you have an appointment and to come alone, if possible, as seating will be limited.

The image depicts the front of the building with a temporary entrance round the corner

The image depicts the temporary entrance at the side of the building

Utilising Online Services

The NHS App or Airmid App for patients who have smart technology, make sure you ask us if you need to reset or enrol for a password. Help us to help you by using the apps to:

• Order your medications, we normally have 2 lines, this will go to 1 line as we embark on the work.
• Consult with us via eConsult – especially if you are struggling to get through on the phone as will go from 10+ lines into the practice down to 6 telephone lines.

For patients who do not have the smart technology and are struggling to get through, especially on the prescription line, we will endeavour to deal with requests throughout the day. Please note we are normally quieter in the afternoons.

Managing Patients' Expectations

The demand for general practice services has increased significantly, and we are committed to managing patients' expectations effectively. Our triage system helps us prioritise appointments and ensures that you receive the care you need in a timely manner. Please understand that we do need to wait for hospital letters to process investigations or medication changes, but we will always prioritise urgent cases.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work towards improving our practice to better serve you. Follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram and X) for updates, and please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Published: Mar 22, 2024