Missed Appointments

Published: 02 May 2018

If you are unable to attend your GP appointment, please call the surgery with as much notice as possible so your appointment can be offered to someone else. This will help us reduce our waiting times for appointments. In March, there were 51 missed GP appointments in Willingham and 20 missed appointments in our Longstanton Branch Surgery. The resulting cost of this is approximately £1775 being wasted (an average GP appointment costs £25).

Don’t let hay fever spoil your summer
Did you know you don’t need to see your GP for hay fever treatment? Hay fever and seasonal allergy treatments such as tablets, eye drops and nasal sprays are all easily available at low cost from your local pharmacy – no prescription from your GP required! Antihistamines are usually the best treatment for hay fever and these can easily be bought from local pharmacies or supermarkets. Buying a packet of 30 tablets can cost as little as £2, but if a patient goes to their GP to get a prescription then it costs the NHS considerably more.

By going to the pharmacy you’ll be saving yourself time and money, freeing up GP appointments for people with more urgent needs as well as doing your bit to help the NHS save money on unnecessary prescription costs.

Top tips to help ease hay fever symptoms

• Keep house and car windows closed, especially when the pollen count is high (early morning between 7am to 9am and evenings between 5pm and 7pm)
• Avoid large grassy areas, woodland, cutting the grass and car fumes
• Wear wrap-around sunglasses
• Use petroleum jelly inside your nose to block inhalation of pollen
• Don’t dry washing outside to avoid pollen sticking to your clothes
• When you get in from outside wash your hands, face, hair, rinse your eyes and change your clothes.
• Stock up for summer!

The warmer weather often means that we spend more time getting out and about. That’s why it is even more important to make sure you stock up on some summer self-care essentials in case you need them.

Key first aid essentials include

• Painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
• Antihistamines for allergies/hay fever
• Antiseptic cream for bites and stings
• Sunscreen at least factor 15
• Plasters and bandages Diarrhoea/constipation relief medication
• Travel sickness medication

Carers Support Meetings
Our next meetings are at Willingham Surgery on Weds 6th June, Weds 4th July at 2pm. If you are a carer, please pop along and get some support from other people in the local community. Refreshments provided, no need to pre-book and completely FREE! Please contact Sue Lawson at the surgery for more information.

Cambridgeshire Hearing Clinics 2018
The next Hearing Aid Clinics at Willingham Surgery are on Weds 20th June, Weds 18th July and Weds 15th August. No appointment necessary, just pop along for your free NHS hearing aid batteries and for help and advice regarding hearing loss.

A&E is not an alternative to a GP appointment. If we are closed, please call 111, which will direct you to the best local service.