Urgent announcements will appear on the home page as well as here in the surgery news section. The most recent news and announcements will appear at the top of the page.
Important information for Billingshurst patients on HRT, Contraceptive pills or planning to conceive and taking weight loss injections
We’d like to share with your 2 important updates from the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health and the British Menopause Society which may affect some of our patients.
As we are not always notified if a patient accesses these medications privately or online we will be sending this information to all female patients to ensure all who may be affected are aware of these updates.
Please see our dedicated page for further information.
Scam Alert! GP Register Update
A scam email has been sent to people living in Sussex inviting them to update their details in order to remain registered with their GP practice.
Should anyone get this scam email, NOT to CLICK on the 'I don't want to change my GP' button - it directs people to install software and then provide their contact details.
This is now listed on the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) website as a scam.
Dr Edward Dewhirst
We are pleased to announce that Dr Edward Dewhirst has joined us from January 2025. He will be working all day on a Thursday and Friday and alternate Monday evenings/Tuesday mornings. Some patients will be transferred to him and if this is a case you will receive a text to let you know.
Medication collection alerts
A new system has been installed in dispensary which has led to a change in the way patients are alerted when their medication is ready for collection. Patients will no longer receive a text message to notify them and they will now receive an email alert.
If you do not have an email recorded you will no longer receive alerts. To update your email please us the change of contact details form.
Vapes containing synthetic cannabinoids (SCRA- Spice)
Vape pens containing a synthetic cannabinoid often known as Spice have led to people being taken to hospital in London recently.
- In one incident, five people became seriously ill after vaping from a “Vaporesso” branded pen containing blue liquid in a silver and black cartridge. In a separate incident, people became ill after using a vape labelled “Lemonade Vape Cookies” (which may have been sold as THC).
- Both vapes contained Spice, which can cause serious side effects like breathing problems, heart attacks and seizures. Other symptoms include feeling dizzy, vomiting, heart racing, sweating, anxiety and paranoid.
If you’re buying either illegal vapes or ones you think have Cannabis/ THC in them, follow our steps below to stay safe.
See poster for more information and for steps on how to stay safe (PDF)
Changes to Telephone System
Please note that to help with the large influx of calls first thing in the morning we have decided to focus only on calls regarding appointments between 8.00am and 9.00am. If you are calling about anything else, we would ask that you call back after 9.00am. From 9.00am we will deal with all calls, including appointments.
We hope that this will reduce call waiting times in the early morning.
Appointment Changes
We have been listening to feedback and the latest government guidance to decide how best to change the appointment system as we transition out of the pandemic to a new way of working.
Please visit our appointments page for full details on the changes.
Friends & Family Test
The Friends and Family Test is a feedback tool available to all patients who use our practice services, it is based on one primary question, that is, whether people would recommend our service and practice to their family and friends. Please tell us about your care today - all your comments are really important to us and will help to improve the service for you and others.
Please visit 'I Want Great Care' to leave your feedback on our service.
