eConsults will be available between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 every morning. This is to help patients reach the surgery when the phones are most busy.

Patients aged 70-79 are eligible for the shingles vaccine. 

When you're eligible, you can have the shingles vaccination at any time of year.

NHS services are currently extremely busy, as we continue to see a rise in demand across all health services.

There are also rising numbers of healthcare staff who are off work with COVID-19.

Together this means health services are working extremely hard to continue to provide the best possible care for those who need NHS help.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, the NHS is asking the public to help us help you if you need help and support.

Please

• Use the right services for your needs at the right time – pharmacies and NHS 111 are the best place to start, providing expert help and advice;
• You can contact NHS 111 24 hours a day by dialling 111 or going online to 111.nhs.uk 24 hours a day. They can advise, support and direct you to the most appropriate service;
• Please only go to A&E or Emergency Departments if it is a life-saving emergency;
• Be patient and kind to our staff - they are trying to keep people safe.

If you do need help there are alternatives to going to A&E. Crawley Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre is open 24 hours every day.

If you need mental health support over the Bank Holiday, the Sussex Mental Healthline offers crisis care for people in urgent need of help with their mental health. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 0800 0309 500.

See more about the services open this weekend, including the pharmacies open over the weekend: Know your services - Sussex Health & Care Partnership (sussexhealthandcare.uk)

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, a fantastic annual opportunity to raise awareness of the fourth most common cancer in the UK. Every 15 minutes someone is diagnosed with the disease, that’s nearly 43,000 people each year.

Bowel cancer is also the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, however it shouldn’t be because it’s treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage but this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives.

That’s why we’re supporting Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and Bowel Cancer UK, the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity, to raise awareness of the symptoms of bowel cancer:

· Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo

· A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit

· Unexplained weight loss

· Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason

· A pain or lump in your tummy

Most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer. Other health problems can cause similar symptoms. But if you have one or more of these, or if things just don’t feel right, see your GP.

For more information about bowel cancer and details of how to get involved in Bowel Cancer Awareness Month visit www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk 

Due to staff shortages, eConsult will be unavailable until Tuesday 19 April. Apologies for this inconvenience.

During our opening hours, you can call reception on 01403 330266..

Outside our opening hours you can call NHS 111.

For administrative support you can email parkadmin@nhs.net.

Thousands of people will be invited to book a Spring COVID booster this week as the NHS vaccination programme enters a new phase.

Eligible groups for Spring boosters include care home residents, people who are 75 and over and those who are immunosuppressed aged 12 and over.
 
In line with new advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme will contact people when it is their turn to be vaccinated.

Once invited by the NHS, people will be able to book their appointments through the National Booking System either online or by calling NHS 119.

To book your COVID-19 vaccination (including Spring Boosters), please call 119 or visit Book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

For full details on the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Sussex, please visit COVID-19 vaccinations - Sussex Health & Care Partnership (sussexhealthandcare.uk)

Notice of the

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

of the

Friends of Park Surgery

(Patients Participation Group)

to be held on

23^rd March 2022

at 5 pm by Zoom Meeting

All members are invited to attend

For further information and the Zoom link contact:

friends.ofparksurgery@nhs.net

To book your covid vaccine (including boosters) please call 119 or visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/

For details about walk-in clinics please visit https://abcltd.org.uk/covid-vaccination-programme/walk-in-clinics/

If you are eligible for the flu vaccine, you will have it with your covid vaccine unless you choose not to.

Our Primary Care Network (PCN) group have sent out a text message about ethnicity to patients who do not already have this on their record. To update your record please fill out the form via the link sent in the text message.