August Bank Holiday
We will be closed on August Bank Holiday, Monday 30th August, opening as usual on Tuesday 31st August. In case of emergency, please telephone the surgery and you will be redirected to the Out of Hours Service, or you can telephone them direct on 0300 1 30 30 30.
Kay Knight awarded 'Best Smoking Cessation Facilitator'
Many congratulations to Kay who has just received the above award, which covers all of South Staffordshire. Kay took on this role about 18 months ago, and has gone from strength to strength, and her efforts are now being recognised. She has received the award for the success rate she is able to achieve in actually stopping patients smoking, so if you want some help, you know who to go to - just ask at reception.
Once again, well done Kay!
Doctor Changes
In August we will say goodbye to Dr Rao, who is moving on to another surgery. Dr Rao has become a well liked and valued member of the team, and will be much missed - we all wish him every success in his career. In his place Dr Sheraz Hassan will be joining us for the next 12 months, and I know you will all make him feel welcome.
Spring Bank Holidays
The surgery will be closed on Monday May 3rd and Monday May 31st for the Bank Holidays. In case of emergency, please telephone the surgery and you will be redirected to the Out of Hours Service, or you can telephone them direct on 0300 1 30 30 30.
Patient Forum
The patient forum is trying to recruit some new members. During the week of 26th April, some members will be in the surgery in the mornings to explain what's required, and hopefully drum up support. If you are interested, feel free to ask at reception for the Practice Manager, who will put you in touch with the forum.
Easter Opening Times
The surgery will be closed on Good Friday 2nd April, and Easter Monday 5th April. We will reopen as usual on Tuesday 6th April. In case of emergency, please telephone the surgery, and you will be redirected to the Out of Hours Service, or alternatively you can call them direct on 0300 1 30 30 30.
February 2010
Dr Vinod Rao will be re-joining us for 6 months from February until the beginning of August. Many of you may remember Dr Rao who was with us in 2008, and I know you will make him feel welcome. He replaces Dr Venkat, who has finished his 6 months stint with us. Many thanks to Dr Venkat for all his work here, and we wish him every success in the future.
Christmas Opening Times
The surgery will be open as folows:
24th December - usual morning surgeries, emergencies only in the afternoon.
25th December - Closed
28th December - Closed
29th December - usual morning and afternoon surgeries.
30th December - usual morning surgeries - emergencies only in the afternoon.
31st December - usual morning surgeries - emergencies only in the afternoon.
1st January 2010 - Closed
Usual opening times again from 4th January 2010.
At all times the surgery is closed you can access the Out of Hours Service at Badger by either telephoning the surgery or ringing direct on 0300 1 30 30 30
December 2009
With effect from January 8th 2010 there will be a private Hearing Clinic using the surgery. Arnold Hearing, who have branches throughout England, will be here every Friday. They offer a large range of non-NHS hearing products, and give a comprehensive free hearing test before making any recommendations. If you want to book an appointment with them, their number is 08000 282 683.
December 2009
We are looking for new volunteers to join the Patient Forum - this is a small group who give the patient's view on how the surgery, and local medical care is working. They meet 3/4 times a year, usually over a lunchtime, and the meetings last about an hour. If you'd like to become involved, please let Tim Hinchley, the Practice Manager at Peel Croft, know, and he can pass your name forward.
August 2009
Dr Venkat Palaniappan has recently joined us for the next six months. I know you will all join me in making Dr Venkat feel welcome here at Peel Croft, and many of you will shortly get to see him in surgery.
August 2009
Patient Survey Results
In March this year a number of you received a request to complete a survey for the Department of Health on this surgery. Over 150 of you completed the survey and the results have recently been released.
There were 42 questions in the survey, so it was very extensive, and it is therefore too lengthy to advise you of all the results. The survey was conducted by all surgeries in the country, so we are able to benchmark ourselves against everyone else. I am delighted to advise you that we scored better than the average for both South Staffordshire and nationally in each of the 42 areas, often considerably higher. If you want further information this is available from www.gp-patient.co.uk/results , or ask Tim Hinchley.
June 2009
For the week commencing 8th June only, we will be varying our surgery times slightly. We will have a surgery on the afternoon of Wednesday 10th, in place of Friday 12th. On Friday 12th, we will have morning surgeries, and emergency cover only in the afternoon, provided by Dr Butchart at King Street Surgery. If posible, we would therefore ask you to avoid appointments on the Friday. This is to allow us all to travel to Ireland for the weekend for a final goodbye trip with Dr Farrar.
May 2009
Just a reminder that there are Bank Holidays on Monday 4th May and Monday 25th May, when the surgery will be closed. If you need medical care on those days, please telephone the surgery, and you will be transferred to the Out of Hours Service, or telephone them direct on 0300 1 30 30 30.
April 2009
Dr Prasad Thakur has joined us for the next four months, in place of Dr Dane Rayment. B est wishes and many thanks to Dr Rayment for his time here, and I know you will all wish to join me in making Dr Thakur feel welcome.
March 2009
Easter Closing times are as follows:
Closed April 10th - Good Friday and April 13th - Easter Monday
Normal surgeries at all other times.
Don't forget Dr Farrar's leaving event on Wednesday 1st April from 2pm onwards.
January 2009
Many of you have been asking about Dr Farrar's retirement. His last surgery will be on 5th March, although he doesn't formally leave until the end of March. We know that many of you have known Dr Farrar for years, and will want to see him personally before he goes. He has therefore arranged to come in on Wednesday 1st April from 2pm until 6pm, and has extended a welcome to any of you who wish to call in on that afternoon to say goodbye. It will be an informal affair, so please drop in at any time - I am sure there will be the opportunity for a farewell drink!
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December 2008
Congratulations to Mrs Jean MacVicar who has won this years Christmas Hamper raffle, and to Mr J Smith who won the second prize. Thanks to everyone who took part, and we will be arranging to pruchase some more childrens toys in the New Year with the proceeds.
December 2008
Christmas Closing times are as follows:
Closed Thursday 25th December, Friday 26th December and Thursday 1st January.
On Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, we will have normal surgeries in the morning, and offer an emergency service only in the afternoon - please telephone the surgery in case of need. Please pick up any repeat prescriptions before 1pm on tnose days.
For emergencies at any time over the holiday period, please telephone the surgery, and you will be forwarded to the appropriate help.
November 2008
The Patient Group are once again running a Christmas Raffle, for a Christmas Hamper. Tickets will be priced at £1, and will shortly be available from the surgery. The proceeds will be used towards buying a new play desk for the kiddies corner. The raffle will be drawn on 22nd December.
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October 2008
We have now upgraded our web site, and hope you all like the new format. The old site has served us well, but was beginning to become a little outdated, and did not work with some newer web browsers. Please let us know how you get on with the new site - the most obvious difference is with prescriptions, where you will now have to register the first time you use it. This provides us with better security, and will also allow you to 'store' your repeats online.
August 2008
You can now book in for your flu jab at reception - clinics will run from 30 September for 2 weeks, and then again for a further week from 27th October. You are entitled to a jab if you are over 65, or suffer from Heart Disease, Diabetes, Chronic Kidney Disease or COPD, or are a carer. As usual, we will also be offering tea and biscuits as a reward!
August 2008
We have received the results of our internal patient survey, and are once again delighted with the results. This survey allows us to benchmark ourselves against over 3000 other surgeries across the country, and this year our results put us well inside the top 25% of surgeries, and probably within the top 10%. We scored well above the average for each of the 27 different questions, although there was a slight dip from last year. We shall be reviewing the results in more depth, and involving the patient group to obtain their thoughts on the results. Many thanks to all who participated in the survey.
July 2008
GP Access Survey results have resently been announced, and we are delighted with the results. These show that access to this surgery is amongst the best in the country, with 98.5% of patients able to get an appointment quickly, 100% able to talk to us on the telephone and 97.9% able to book appointment in advance. We scored higher than local and national averages in every category. These results are difficult to live up to, but our aim is to continue to give all our patients the highest possible levels of service.
Jun 2008
We are pleased to announce that with effect from 17th July, we will be offering evening appointments from 6.30pm to 7.30pm every second Thursday. Please ask at reception for the dates and times of these appointments. We are trialing this sevice for 3 months to determine the demand, so please let us have your feedback.
Apr 2008
With effect from today, Peel Croft Surgery has become a partership between Drs Cecil Farrar, Catherine Faarup and Dev Pai. The new doctor rotas will come into effect from next Monday 7 April, when Dr Farrar will only work for 3 sessions, Dr Faarup for 8 sessions and Dr Pai for 5 sessions. We have tried to forsee any difficulties, but please bear with us initally to ensure that we have got the appointment levels right - we will actually be offering slightly more appointments than at present.
Mar 2008
We are delighted to welcome Jeanette Hurst to the surgery. Jeanette is our new receptionist, who will be working Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, but will also cover for other staff during holidays. At the same time, Kay, who is well known to you all, is training to become a Health Care Assistant, and will help Nurse Sue wherever possible. Kay will have a dual role, as she will also do some reception duties.
Jan 2008
With effect from 1st April 2008 there will be changes to this surgery. Dr Farrar will be reducing his surgeries to 3 per week, but at the same time we will be welcoming back Dr Pai, who will initially be available for 5 surgeries a week. Dr Faarup will continue to do 8 surgeries a week. The practice will then become a partnership between Drs Farrar, Faarup and Pai. We do not envisage that there will be any impact on patients, and we will continue to endeavour to offer the highest quality of care to you all. However, Dr Farrar will obviously only have limited availability, so it will be a good opportunity for those of you who usually see Dr Farrar, to get to know the other doctors.
Jan 2008
Congratulations to Mrs Latchford who won the raffle!!