COVID 19 AND FLU AUTUMN 2024 

We will still be running all of our clinics from October. However, we do not know when we will be able to get stock of the Covid vaccines to administer but, we hope to be able to offer you this at your seasonal FLU appointment 

Patient Survey

Patient surveys will be undertaken during the year, on a quarterly basis. Data collected via the survey will be used to help demonstrate any improvements in patient experience of access, and to identify areas where improvements can be made.

Text messages will be issued by the GOV.UK Notify service and will include a link to a LetsTalkSNEE website. The survey will consist of just 7 very simple questions about your experience of contacting the practice and making an appointment. The survey is completely anonymous and will not ask for any personal information.

Our privacy materials have been updated with important information about sharing information during COVID-19, please click here to find out more

Changes to Organ Donation

What has changed?

Organ donation in England has moved to an 'opt out' system. You may also hear it referred to as 'Max and Keira's Law'.

This means that all adults in England will be considered to have agreed to be an organ donor when they die unless they have recorded a decision not to donate or are in one of the excluded groups.

Your family will still be approached and your faith, beliefs and culture will continue to be respected.

You still have a choice about whether or not you wish to become a donor. Get the facts about organ donation to help you decide. 

Why has the law changed?

The law has been changed to help save and improve more lives. Every day across the UK, someone dies waiting for a transplant.

What do I have to do?

People are being asked to:

1. Record your organ donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register: organdonation.nhs.uk
2. Tell your family and friends what you have decided

If you would like to speak to somebody about your choices please call 0300 303 2094. 

When did the law change?

The opt out system in England came into effect on 20 May 2020.

Who will the changes affect?

These changes will affect all adults in England unless they have recorded a decision not to donate or are in one of the following excluded groups:

• Those under the age of 18
• People who lack the mental capacity to understand the new arrangements and take the necessary action
• Visitors to England, and those not living here voluntarily
• People who have lived in England for less than 12 months before their death

Pharmacy2U

You may have received a leaflet in the post inviting you to get your repeat prescriptions from a company called Pharmacy2U.

Here are some important facts about Pharmacy2U which we feel you should know:

• Pharmacy2U has nothing to do with us.
• Pharmacy2U is a distance selling (internet only) pharmacy based on an industrial estate.
• As a patient, you cannot have any face-to-face contact with Pharmacy2U. Distance selling pharmacies like this are only allowed to deal with patients by post, telephone or internet, not in person.
• Prescriptions from Pharmacy2U are delivered by Royal Mail, unlike your medications handed to you in the dispensary by a member of our team, or personally delivered to you by our own driver.
 
We believe that an internet business like Pharmacy2U is no substitute for your local dispensary.
Please support us to continue caring for you and your family by ignoring any correspondence from Pharmacy2U and obtaining your prescriptions here at your local NHS dispensary - Thank You

Bereaved by Suicide Service

A free and confidential local service for those who have been bereaved by suicide www.victimsupport.org.uk/bereaved-by-suicide-services/

Phone:  01473 322683

Email:   SNEE.bereavedbysuicide@victimsupport.org.uk 

Young Persons Guide

Young Persons Guide

GP & Nurse Education Days

Please note both Mendlesham Health Centre and Bacton Surgery will be closed for clinics on the afternoons of:

• • Thursday 10th April 2025

   

  • Wednesday 14th May 2025

   

  • Thursday 12th June 2025

   

  • Wednesday 17th September 2025

   

  • Thursday 16th October 2025

   

  • Wednesday 12th November 2025

   

  • Thursday 12th February 2026

The telephones will be diverted to the out of hours service provider, who will be covering any clinical emergencies. Please dial 111 if you need medical assistance. If your problem is life threatening dial 999.

Friends of Mendlesham Health  Centre (incorporating Bacton Surgery)

The charity 'Friends of Mendlesham Health Centre' (incorporating Bacton Surgery) was established in 1990.

The 'Friends' are a group of trustees who are charged with managing and chanelling bequests and fund-raising proceeds to purchase items and enhance medical services at both Mendlesham and Bacton surgeries for the benefit of the patients.

The group meets 3 times a year to respond to requests from the Practice and organise fund-raising events. Periodically, informal educational workshops are arranged by the Friends for patients and those involved with their care.

Memorial donations made on behalf of loved ones are always greatly appreciated and provide a valuable source of finance to improve the welfare of all those that use the surgeries.

Suggestions regarding services and equipment that may improve patient care are warmly welcomed for consideration. Please contact us with your ideas:

Philip Tucker (Joint Secretary)

p.tucker543@btinternet.com

When the surgery is closed please call 111

Homes Suffolk Funding

Support is available for Suffolk residents who are struggling to keep warm or are worried about the cost of heating their home. The funding is designed to support those most in need of additional help through the winter months. Anyone who has a vulnerable relative or neighbour is urged to help them find out more about what support and assistance might be available to them. To find out more or book a survey call 08456 037 686 (Local rate, lines open Monday-Friday 9 - 5pm) or email your name, address and phone number to seal@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk and someone will call you back. Survey appointments are available evenings and weekends, as well as during the day.

Help us to reduce medicine waste...

Unused prescription medicines cost the NHS across the UK over £300 million every year.

• Please let your GP or Pharmacist know if you’ve stopped taking any of your medicines
• Check what medicines you still have at home before re-ordering
• Discuss your medication with your GP or Pharmacist on a regular basis
• Think carefully before ticking all the boxes on your repeat prescription forms and only tick those you really need
• If you don’t need the medicine please don’t order it! If you need the medicine in the future you can still request it.
• If you need to go into hospital, please remember to take all your medicines with you in a clearly marked bag.
• Please also remember that your medicines are prescribed only for you; it’s not safe to share them with anyone else

Welcome

Welcome to our website which we hope will provide you with information on the services available at our Mendlesham and Bacton surgeries.  Use the tabs above and at the bottom of the page to find out the information you need such as, when we are open, how to reach medical services when we are closed, the area we cover and learn more about the team at the Practice.

DISPENSARY

Please note that as of 1st May 2024 prescription charges are going up to £9.90

RSV

The surgery are now offering RSV vaccine appointments to protect you against RSV virus, pneumonia and bronchiolitis. RSV is a common virus that can make babies and older adults seriously ill. It's recommended during pregnancy and for adults aged 75 to 79. Eligible patients have been sent invitations. 

It is no longer mandatory to wear a face covering- However if you have a chest or breathing problem, we request that you do continue to wear a mask to protect our more vulnerable staff and patients.

APPOINTMENT BOOKING UPDATE

We now feel able to update the clinicians’ appointments and online availability to offer patients more choice when booking appointments. 

Telephone Appointments

Telephone appointments will remain available for patients who require advice from a clinician and do not need or wish to come into the surgery.  

Face-to-Face Appointments

Patients can book a face-to-face appointment (without the requirement for triage first) but these appointments are limited.

Both telephone and face-to-face appointments can be booked in the following ways:

• Calling the surgery and speaking with one of our care navigators (receptionists)
• Using the NHS App or Patient Access online services
• Coming in and speaking to one of our care navigators (receptionists) at the surgery

Urgent on the day Appointments

Patients who require to be seen on the day will need to call at 8am where there are limited face-to-face appointments available.

 Our doctors have asked our care navigators (receptionists) to ask a number of questions when you contact the surgery to book an appointment to ensure you are offered the most appropriate appointment.

Econsult 

Select the get started button or follow the link to submit an econsult to us: Consult Online from Home - Mendlesham Medical Group (webgp.com)

Noticed an unusual change to your body?  Don't sit it out, get it checked out:

Normal For You Be Clear on Cancer 

DISPENSARY TELEPHONE LINES ONLY

We would like to inform you of a temporary change to our Dispensary service.

Due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to take the decision to suspend the Dispensary telephone line and ask for your patience and understanding at this difficult time.

The Reception will not be able to help with any queries relating to the Dispensary. We will resume a normal service as soon as possible but currently need to use the resources we have to dispense medications.

We understand the some patients will have urgent queries so please can you contact us on the following emails for urgent questions only.

Sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding

For Mendlesham - mmg.mendleshamdisp@nhs.net For Bacton - mmg.bactondisp@nhs.net 

Ear View  - wax removal specialist - Available privately at Mendlesham

This PRIVATE service is now available at Mendlesham Surgery through Ear View.  For further information and to book an appointment follow this link or call Jason on 07925 651116.

Usual (named) GP

All regular patients at Mendlesham Medical Group are allocated a 'Usual GP' on registration.  You may notice a recent change to your 'Usual GP' and this has occurred during some necessary 'housekeeping' to our clinical system.  Please be reassured that you can continue to consult the clinician of your choice.  

If you have a preference as to which GP you would prefer, the practice will make reasonable efforts to accommodate this request.  However, this may not always be possible and we may have to assign a different GP.

GP & NURSE EDUCATION DAYS

Ipswich & East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group organise monthly 'virtual' training events for practices across Suffolk.  We will be closed for clinics from 1.00 pm on the following days so our doctors and nurses can attend these events:

2025/26 DATES:  

• • Thursday 10th April 2025

   

  • Wednesday 14th May 2025

   

  • Thursday 12th June 2025

   

  • Wednesday 17th September 2025

   

  • Thursday 16th October 2025

   

  • Wednesday 12th November 2025

   

  • Thursday 12th February 2026

The telephones will be diverted to the Out of Hours provider, who will be covering any clinical emergencies.

Please dial 111 if you need medical assistance.  If your problem is life threatening dial 999. 

The Dispensary at Mendlesham will continue to be open from 3.00 pm for medication collection.

Extended Hours

The GP Extended Hours service is designed to provide patients with appointments outside core general practice hours for routine care and is available:

Wednesdays 7.00-8.00 am and Thursday 7.30-8.00 am and 6.30-7.00 pm offering a selection of blood test, GP and Nurse Practitioner appointments

To book an appointment please call reception.

GP Online Services

You can register to book your appointments, request medication and access your medical records online. For more information see our Online Services page.

Mobile Phone Contact Details

Please ensure that the mobile phone number you have supplied us with is up-to-date and and that you have consented to receive text messages. 

Collecting Prescriptions/Medication

Please note if you need someone else to collect medication on your behalf, you will need to sign and return the below form before your medication can be collected by the third party. 

Prescription collection - GDPR regulation form

AccuRx - Asthma Questionnaires

In addition to our text appointment reminder service, we have started using AccuRx which is a piece of software we will use to enhance our communications with you whilst we reduce the footfall in to the practice.  This is used via the practice’s clinical system to your mobile phone using a text message conversation or video consultation. This enables you to converse with a member of the clinical team and for clinical information be saved to your medical record. 

We are currently using the AccuRx text messaging facility to send Asthma Questionnaires to patients in their birth month.

Medical Students

Over the year we will be hosting medical students at Mendlesham. They will often sit in with the GPs and sometimes will see patients themselves, under close supervision of one of the Doctors and with the consent of the patient.   We would like to thank you all for making the students feel so welcome during their time here.

Healthwatch Suffolk

You are able to leave feedback by using the link below:

https://www.healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/services/mendlesham-medical-group-stowmarket-1

Friends of Mendlesham Health Centre - Join In

We are extremely lucky to have a very active Friends group who do a lot of fundraising for the practice. Their support has enabled us to purchase diagnostic equipment for use in the surgery.  For further information about the 'Friends' please see "News" tab at the top of this page.

When We Are Closed

The NHS 111 service is available for patients to call when the surgery is closed.  Trained clinicians are on hand to answer health related queries, provide general advice or arrange for a doctor or nurse to discuss your more specific need.  NHS 111 is for when your need is less urgent that 999.

CQC Inspection

The practice was routinely inspected in May 2021 and the inspection report can be accessed via the link below.

Named Accountable GP

All patients at the practice have a named accountable GP on their clinical record.  Your named GP has overall responsibility for your care but you may see any GP of your choosing at the surgery. If you wish to find out who your named GP is, please ask at reception.

Friends and Family Test

The Friends and Family Test is an opportunity for our patients to provide feedback on the services we provide, to complete the online questionnaire please look on the "Have your say" tab at the top of this page.

GP Patient Survey

For the full survey results please visit the GP Patient Survey website GP Patient Survey Results 2017 GP Patient Survey Website

My Care Record

Please see 'My Care Record' in Further Information section at bottom of page.

Opening Times

Mendlesham Health Centre

Manor Farm Surgery, Bacton

Training:

Mendlesham Health Centre and Bacton Surgery will be closed for clinics on the afternoons of:

• Thursday, 12th February 2025
• • Thursday 10th April 2025

   

  • Wednesday 14th May 2025

   

  • Thursday 12th June 2025

   

  • Wednesday 17th September 2025

   

  • Thursday 16th October 2025

   

  • Wednesday 12th November 2025

   

  • Thursday 12th February 2026

The telephones will be diverted to the out of hours service provider, who will be covering any clinical emergencies.  Please dial 111 if you need medical assistance.  If your problem is life threatening dial 999.

The reception and dispensaries will continue to be open for queries and medication collections.