Following the recent publication of GP appointment data across the country at GP practice level, we want to share this message with our patients.

All of the team at Park Practice in Eastbourne are working incredibly hard to provide our patients with the care, treatment and support you need. 

In line with all health services, we have seen a significant increase in need since the pandemic. We are now offering more appointments each month than we were two years ago, and we are always looking at new ways to work differently to improve how we offer our services.

Our priority is to provide the best possible care to our patients in a variety of ways that suit our patients’ needs and preferences and this includes being able to offer patients the option to pre-book routine appointments for approximately 6-8 weeks in advance.

It is important to know that there are issues with the data that has been shared and not all GP practices report in the same way, which means that you cannot make meaningful comparisons between practices. The data only shows one part of the work that our team manages on a daily basis, including making referrals, managing diagnostic results, supervision, training and teaching, referrals and prescription activity. 

Most importantly, the data doesn’t show the quality of care provided and we are proud as a team to support our patients every day and provide the help and care you need.

If you need an urgent appointment, please contact the practice in the usual way on 01323 502200. Patients can pre-book appointments for non-urgent issues by calling the practice, booking some appointments online, or using the online consultation option via our website.

You can read a statement from the NHS in Sussex about the data release and also further detail about what improvements are being made for primary care in Sussex: NHS Sussex News - Sussex Health and Care (ics.nhs.uk)

Throughout the pandemic we have strived to make the surgery as safe as possible for all our patients and staff. We will continue to do so going forward.

From the 27th January 2022 nothing will change at the surgery - patients will need to still wear a mask, socially distance and use hand sanitiser in the surgery and staff will continue to wear PPE. We do understand that it can be frustrating but we know that when people come to us they are sick and vulnerable (and some cannot receive the Covid vaccinations due to medical reasons) so we feel it would be wrong to not take these small precautions that can protect people.

Thank you for you patience and understanding.

Across Sussex the NHS and its partners are working extremely hard to roll out the COVID-19 booster vaccination programme to our communities.

All adults are eligible from Monday 13 December, and you will be able to book via the National Booking System from Wednesday 15 December.

You can book your booster for 3 months from the date of second vaccine, and you can access the National Booking System to book the appointment from 2 months.

We are working at pace to increase the availability of appointments so that there are plenty of options for people on the National Booking System. Some local vaccination services will also contact patients directly.

New appointments are being added every day across our vaccination services. We have been offering more than 80,000 appointments a week and in the last two weeks we have increased the number of available appointments by more than 10,000 a week. Further availability will come online from Wednesday 15 December.

We will be working with all of our sites to take further steps to increase what they can offer again, including opening later and on more days.

All of these appointments will be added to the National Booking System and so we encourage everyone who is aged 18 and over, is yet to have their booster and who is approaching 3 months from your second vaccine to use the National Booking System to arrange your appointment when you are able to do so.

In terms of any planned appointments with Park Practice, there are no changes at the current time and everyone should attend your planned appointments as normal. If we need to make any changes, we will contact you directly.

See more about the vaccination programme in Sussex, including the vaccination services: COVID-19 vaccinations - Sussex Health & Care Partnership (sussexhealthandcare.uk)

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