Due to circumstances beyond our control; patients may have experienced some issues at the practice this morning, this was due to a network outage which was resolved around 9.30am. Thank you for your patience and we apologise if any inconvenience was caused.

Waiting list information in the NHS App

From 30 January 2024, the NHS App will show patients in England an estimated waiting time for their hospital treatment at the NHS acute trust they’ve been referred to.

Digital prescriptions in the NHS App

From 30 January 2024, patients in England can use the NHS App to view all their prescription details, order repeat prescriptions and generate a barcode that can be shown to a pharmacy for collection without a paper prescription from their GP.

Due to increased waiting times for outpatient appointments, we have seen a rise in patient requests to “expedite” their appointments. Patients are often requested by the Hospital to obtain a letter from the GP so their appointment can be expedited.

If you are experiencing worsening of your symptoms, we advise you to complete an on-line consultation on our website home page or by clicking on this link: https://patchs.ai/practice/oaksplacesurgery.  Please provide a brief description of change in symptoms since your original referral was made.

Please note that waiting a longer time for an appointment does not deem your request urgent. According to figures from NHS England, a total of 5.8 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of September 2021, the highest since records began in August 2007. As a result, we are unable to write letters to expedite your appointment for this reason.

We would advise all our patients awaiting hospital appointments to be patient and wait to be contacted.

We are not notified of any waiting times for clinics nor provided with hospital hotline numbers.  If your appointment has been delayed, please contact the hospital appointment line for any updates.

You can check hospital waiting times using the link below:

My Planned Care NHS

We are extremely busy at the moment please consider all health options that are available in the community if you think you need to see a health professional: 

• Your local pharmacist can help with any advice and medicines for minor illnesses and injuries and most have a room where you can discuss issues with pharmacy staff without being overheard.  Pharmacists  are also trained to tell you when your symptoms mean you need to see someone at your GP Practice 

• Go online at www.111.nhs.uk  if you urgently need medical help or advice and it’s not a life threatening situation.  With NHS111 online you can:  

• find out how to get the right healthcare in their area, including whether you need to see a GP or seek urgent care 
• get advice on self-care 
• get a call back from a nurse, doctor or other trained health professional if you need it 

• Your local urgent treatment centres are open 365 days a year and can treat non-life-threatening illness and injury and has x-ray facilities.  The two nearest to Warrington are Widnes and Runcorn 

• Please keep A&E free for those who really need it and only attend A&E or call 999 for a life-threatening illness such as choking, chest pain, blood loss or open fractures.  If you attend A&E and your condition not deemed to be life threatening, you will be advised of other local services that are more suitable for you 

• Also remember self-care.  The majority of people feel comfortable managing everyday minor ailments like coughs and colds themselves, particularly when they feel confident in recognising the symptoms and have successfully used over-the-counter medicine before.  More information about how to treat many common conditions at home can be found on the national NHS website: www.nhs.uk/conditions 

The service, delivered by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, is the first of its kind nationally, offering a consistent health and care approach to all communities across Cheshire and Merseyside.

The Living Well bus promotes a broad range of physical health checks, COVID-19 vaccination boosters alongside referrals to improving access to psychological therapies.

All activity is recorded and shared with your GP, ensuring ongoing understanding and support for your health is in place.

Dates and locations of the Roving Bus Clinics can be found on the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust website here.

Upcoming Halton sites are below.

ICON is all about helping people who care for babies to cope with crying.
“Babies Cry, You Can Cope – never, ever shake or hurt a baby” is the message from ‘ICON’ – a national programme of interventions and awareness that aims to help parents and carers to cope with a crying baby.

ICON is an evidence based programme, consisting of a series of brief ‘touchpoint’ interventions that reinforce the simple message making
up the ICON acronym. The programme, which was founded by Dr Suzanne Smith PhD, was conceived following years of study and research into prevention of Abusive Head Trauma (AHT). Each ‘touch point’ is brief but reinforces the simple evidence based four point message which makes up the ICON acronym:

I – Infant crying is normal and it will stop.
C – Comfort methods can sometimes soothe the baby and the crying will stop.
O – It’s Ok to walk away if you have checked the baby is safe and the crying is getting to you.
N – Never, ever shake or hurt a baby.

ICON is well embedded with health services across Cheshire and is
going from strength to strength.

You can read more here (opens ICON Website)

From Monday 29^th November 2021, patients aged 16 and over attending adult phlebotomy clinics run by St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals Trusts at the HCRC in Widnes, will now need to book an appointment in advance.

Those in need of blood tests can book an appointment at their chosen phlebotomy clinic online at www.sthk.nhs.uk or via telephone on 0808 196 4500 between 12pm and 3pm, Monday to Friday.