The times they are a changing.

It has been a busy month with holidays and sickness affecting the staffing levels at the surgery but hopefully not impacting on the service you have been receiving. After the disappointment of the surgery development scheme being blocked after a year of hard work (and expense) it is nice to have some good news to share.

Our patients said they would prefer some early appointment times during the week and the BSU approved our application to change our surgery times. From the beginning of August it has been possible to book an appointment on a Friday morning from 7.15am. So far we have been encouraged to see that all the slots have been filled and feedback from patients attending has been very positive.

Our other big change this month has been the start of the refurbishment of the waiting room. We have removed those dark, uncomfortable bench seats which have been a feature of the waiting room for about twenty years and replaced them with some comfortable, bright blue seats some of which have arms to assist those who have grown roots waiting for Dr Young (who is very aware she is almost always running late). There is still a lot of making good that needs to be done. The flooring needs to be patched and the walls papered and repainted. But we are encouraged by your positive comments and will continue to work at brightening the room up.

The flu season is approaching fast and we will once again be inviting those of you who are over 65 or have an illness which makes you vulnerable to 'flu to join us at West Wickham and Shirley Baptist Church for your vaccination, tea and biscuits and a chat with friends. Watch out for your invitations which this year are being sent out by the BSU on our behalf. Help us to achieve the best coverage by booking your appointment promptly.

Finally a  big thank you to all of you who have updated your contact details and given us permission to communicate directly with you. We hope that this will allow much more patient input into the surgery and help us to get things right for you.  We look forward to hearing more from you all.