Noticeboard

Dispensing Turnaround Times

Please be aware that due to increased workload, patient safety and increasing stock shortages we have increased our dispensing turnaround from 48 hours to 72 hours. We now require at least 72 working hours to fulfil repeat prescriptions, not including weekends or Bank Holidays. More details can be found on the Prescriptions page.

Tuesday 12th March 2024  - Surgery Shutdown

The surgery (along with other surgeries across West Essex and Hertfordshire) will be closed for essential staff and clinical training between 1.30 to 5.30 pm on Tuesday 12th March 2024. If you need medical advice or assistance while the surgery is closed, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 (free call from any landline or mobile). If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, please phone 999. 

Thursday 15th February 2024  - Surgery Shutdown

The surgery (along with other surgeries across West Essex and Hertfordshire) will be closed for essential staff and clinical training between 1.30 to 5.30 pm on Thursday 15th February 2024. If you need medical advice or assistance while the surgery is closed, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 (free call from any landline or mobile). If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, please phone 999. 

Wednesday 17th January 2024  - Surgery Shutdown

The surgery (along with other surgeries across West Essex and Hertfordshire) will be closed for essential staff and clinical training between 1.30 to 5.30 pm on Wednesday 17th January. If you need medical advice or assistance while the surgery is closed, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 (free call from any landline or mobile). If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, please phone 999. 

Thaxted Surgery is closed on 23 & 24 December and on Christmas and Boxing Day. We reopen as usual at 8am on  27/28 and 29 December. We will be closed New Years Day and open again at 8am on the 2nd January 2024.

Please see a link below to local pharmacy opening times over the Christmas period.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/east-of-england/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2023/12/Hertfordshire-West-Essex-1.pdf 

Increase in Prescription Charges

Please be aware that prescription charges (set by the Government) increase from £9.35 per item to £9.65 from April 1. 

If you have more than three prescriptions items in three months (or 11 in 12 months), you could save money with a pre-payment certificate issued by the NHS Business Services Authority. You will have to to show the certificate when collecting your medication. See here for further details.

New pre-payment certificate for HRT

The Department of Health and Social Care are introducing the HRT PPC to reduce the cost of HRT prescriptions. This service will be available from 1 April 2023 and you can find out more information and buy one by following the link below.

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/nhs-hormone-replacement-therapy-prescription-prepayment-certificate-hrt-ppc

Wednesday 8th February - Surgery Shutdown

Thaxted Surgery will be closed for essential clinical and staff training on Wednesday, February 8th 2023 from 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm. If you need medical advice or assistance while the surgery is closed, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 (free call from any landline or mobile). If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, please phone 999.

Wednesday 11th January - Surgery Shutdown

Thaxted Surgery will be closed for essential clinical and staff training on Wednesday, January 11th 2023 from 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm. If you need medical advice or assistance while the surgery is closed, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 (free call from any landline or mobile). If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, please phone 999.

Christmas and New Year 2022/23 Closures

Thaxted Surgery will be closed Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th December and Monday 2nd January. If you need medical advice or assistance while the surgery is closed, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 (free call from any landline or mobile). If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, please phone 999. 

Pharmacy opening times over the Christmas period

https://www.england.nhs.uk/east-of-england/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/11/West-Essex.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/east-of-england/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/11/Mid-Essex.pdf

Wednesday 9th November - Surgery Shutdown

Thaxted Surgery will be closed for essential clinical and staff training on Wednesday, November 9 2022 from 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm. If you need medical advice or assistance while the surgery is closed, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 (free call from any landline or mobile). If you have a life-threatening medical emergency, please phone 999.

Bank Holiday 19th September

Please note that Monday 19 September 2022 has been declared a bank holiday – the day of the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Surgery will be CLOSED on this day. If you are in need of medical help on the 19th please call 111 or in the event of an emergency dial 999.

We will be contacting patients who have pre-booked appointments for that day to make alternative arrangements.

Flu and COVID vaccinations

We will be restarting vaccination clinics at Lord Butler from Saturday 1st October. These clinics will be for both flu and COVID vaccinations. You will receive text messages over the next few weeks inviting you to book online. The clinics will run all day every Saturday until mid November and possibly beyond.

Please support your local surgery and come along to Lord Butler for your vaccinations. If you have any queries please contact us via email/at reception or via the link below under "Contacting the surgery for routine issues.

Hearing Help returns to the surgery

Starting Wednesday 14th September Hearing Help will be running monthly clinics here in the surgery. Clinic times are 1330 - 1530. They will have a technical wizard to look at hearing aids  and a receptionist to help patients. All appointments must be pre-booked directly with Hearing Help NOT via the surgery.

You can book via telephone on  01245 496 347 or via

their website https://hearinghelpessex.org.uk/

Provisional Clinic dates are as follows:

12 October/ 9th November/14th December/11th January 2023/8th February 2023

Pharmacy Opening Information over August Bank Holiday

https://www.england.nhs.uk/east-of-england/nhs-england-and-nhs-improvement-east-of-englands-work/pharmacy-information/

We are currently running on skeleton staff in dispensary and reception due to illness. Things make take a little longer than usual to be actioned/answered - please bear with us during this time. Many thanks.

Advance Notice - closure of B184 Walden Road

Please note that there will be a full road closure on the B184 at Armitage Bridge, just outside of Thaxted from 8 August. Please remember to allow enough/extra time to get to your appointments.

Online Booking

We are delighted to say that online booking is allowed again. We have reinstated it across both pre bookable and urgent on the day appointments. Access is available for urgent on the day appointments from 6am. Please note that all online appointments are automatically a face to face appointment. If you want a telephone appointment please state this very clearly in the booking reason and include phone number in the details.

Mother and Baby Group

First Tuesday in every month at Crocus Medical Practice, Community Hospital Site, Radwinter Road, Saffron Walden CB11 3HY 1230-1400.

COVID Recovery Group

This is an informal group for patients recovering from COVID. It is run by Kim Clark, our PCN Social Prescriber and offers tea, coffee and a chat. The group meets every other Thursday and the next date is 21 October. They meet at Cornell Court, Smallbridge road, Saffron Walden CB11 3NS.

Contacting the surgery for routine issues
If you need help with non-urgent clinical issues, medication requests or an admin request you can now contact us online at https://florey.accurx.com/p/F81131.

Concerned about your information being shared?  What you need to know.

Patient data from GP medical records kept by GP practices in England is used respectfully, securely and safely every day to improve health, care and services through planning and research, helping to find better treatments and improve patient care.  Data collected by the NHS is only used for health and care purposes. It is never shared with marketing or insurance companies.

The NHS is planning to introduce an improved way for GP practices to share information about patients- called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection.  News of these plans has caused some concern to some of our patients, who have decided that they don’t want their data to be involved.

We have now been informed that no data will be shared in this new way until 1 September this year.  This delay is to enable the national organisation NHS digital to clearly explain their plans to the public and health professionals, as well as to thoroughly investigate any concerns that have been raised.

If you have already been in touch with the practice to ask to be ‘opted out’ of your identifiable information being shared outside of our practice for any purpose, your request will be honoured.  This will not affect your own care. However, nobody’s data will be shared in this new way before 1 September.  If you would like to find out more about why the NHS collects and uses data, please go to this website.

Please see the link below for information regarding the COVID vaccination and blood clots. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting

Repeat Medication - please don't telephone the surgery to order repeat medication. The Prescriptions tab at the top of the website has the details of how to order your repeat medication.

Where to get Help and Support.

The Council for Voluntary Services (CVSU) and UDC has set up a dedicated service to identify those in need and to co-ordinate the volunteer help to support them.  If you need help or wish to offer your services, please contact CVSU:

communityresponse@uttlesford.gov.uk or tel: 03333 408 2118 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday)

These fact sheets have been written to explain the role of UK health services, the National Health Service (NHS), to newly-arrived individuals seeking asylum. They cover issues such as the role of GPs, their function as gatekeepers to the health services, how to register and how to access emergency services.

Special care has been taken to ensure that information is given in clear language, and the content and style has been tested with user groups. Open the leaflets in one of the following languages

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