If you are a carer and would like some support, our Crane Valley Primary Care Network colleagues are hosting an Afternoon Tea to help you find out how your local Social Prescribing and Health & Wellbeing Team can help you and the people you care for.  Join us at Verwood Memorial Hall on Monday 22nd August 2.30 - 4.30 pm for a chance to share friendly chat, support and advice.

Open to all carers and their loved ones.

So that we know to expect you, please call or text Rachel on 07462 521760 or email cranevalleysocialprescribers@dorsetgp.nhs.uk

The Cranborne Practice is committed to meeting the communication needs of our 11,800  patients as much as we are able.  Therefore, please please following this link for further information on the Winter 2022 Vaccination Programme>>

In our Early Summer edition, we cover the important changes to our Appointments system to improve patient access to GP appointments, our latest staff news and much more.  Please let us know what you think of our patient communications on our Give Us Your Feedback page here:>>

From Monday, the 6th of June, a new gateway will change how you book GP appointments.

The changes are intended to improve the accessibility of GP services, reduce waiting times and support our patient needs, creating opportunities to access a GP on the day of need. 

From this date, GP appointment bookings will only be able to be made by telephone or online using a Systmonline account or through the NHS app or Airmid App. In person bookings may also be made at our Lake Road Surgery branch.

For more information on what is changing and why, please visit our Patient Services and Information page here:>>

Please note that there is no change to other appointment booking types.  Appointment arrangements to see a Nurse, Health Care Assistant or for vaccinations remain unchanged.

We're pleased to advise that our patient car park at the Lake Road Surgery has now been extended to include the far end of the area (previously staff only parking).

The Practice has seen a considerable increase in requests for GP appointments recently. Please be assured we are doing our best to meet this surge in demand. However, we know that some patients may be frustrated by holding in a phone queue to have their call answered or waiting for a callback.  Please read more about how we have put in place a variety of options designed to give our patients more choice and flexibility in how and when they contact and interact with us:>>

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised a further vaccine booster shot  should be offered to those most vulnerable to COVID-19 as a precautionary measure. People aged 75 years and older, residents in care homes for older people, and those with weakened immune systems will be offered a spring booster of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

You should be offered an appointment around 6 months (and not before 3 months) since your last dose of vaccine.

Please don't phone the surgery to ask when you will be called to attend.  Be assured that you will be contacted by the NHS when it is your turn.

Follow this link to download and view a guide on the Spring booster for those in the 75 and over group:>>

Its #SocialPrescribingDay2022, a time to recognise the valuable work done by everyone who enables Social Prescribing to make a difference in people's lives. Find out more about Social Prescribing and other resources to self manage your health and wellbeing on our Self Help & Wellbeing page:>>

For patients who use social media, please note we have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts (@CranborneGP).  We often post breaking news on Facebook earlier than it is posted on this website, so please follow us so these posts appear in your news feed.  

As well as the ways in which you can get in touch with us published on our Contact Us page, you can also send us a message from our Facebook page.

Since last year, the Practice has been offering a choice of telephone or in person appointments at either the Cranborne or Lake Road Surgeries. Telephone appointments offered through Systmonline Patient Access are via telephone. However we want to remind patients it is possible to book an in person appointment quickly and easily online using the GP Appointment Request form available on our website by following this link:>>

Nurse/Healthcare Assistant appointments can also be booked this way using the Nurse/HCA Appointment Request form here:>>

Patients can also choose a preferred appointment day and time and they will be offered the first available appointment that meets their needs.

From 17^th January, the NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Programme is expanding once again to offer eligible young people aged 16 and 17 the chance to receive booster COVID-10 vaccination.  We can administer these at the Crane Valley PCN Vaccination site. 

Please note that in line with JCVI guidance, the NHS cannot vaccinate 16 and 17-year-olds within 12 weeks (84 days) of a positive COVID-19 test.  Those aged 16 and 17 and considered at high risk from COVID-19 must wait four weeks (28 days) from the date of a positive COVID-19 test before getting any dose of the vaccine.  However be assured we will be ready for you when your waiting period is over. 

For information on COVID vaccines and how to book an appointment, visit our COVID Vaccines information page:>>

Much as we support a healthy game of golf, may we point out that the new local COVID vaccination centre is run by the Crane Valley Primary Care Network and not associated with the Crane Valley Golf Club!  The Vaccination Centre is located at 131 Newtown Road, Verwood  BH31 6EH.

In response to national COVID vaccination programme guidance as we receive it, GP surgeries within the Crane Valley network continue to develop clinic arrangements due to start this weekend.  We hope to have more information on what to expect when attending the Crane Valley COVID Vaccination Centre as soon as we can.  In the meantime, keep an eye on this website or Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for the latest news.

Please choose the right healthcare service in Dorset. Get the right treatment, in the right place, at the right time.

If you’re unwell and are unsure about where to go, visit  NHS 111 online or call 111.

At this very busy time, your 111 call may take a little longer to answer than usual but staff will get to you as quickly as possible. Please be patient and choose the right care.

For ongoing or non-urgent concerns please contact us or your local pharmacist for advice.

Only call 999 in a medical emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

Thank you for your support.

We have made me aware that fraudsters sending emails purporting to be from the NHS, are taking advantage of people’s excitement for their holidays by inviting them to apply for a COVID-19 travel certificate.

The scammers have sent emails with links that ask recipients to accept or decline the invitation within a short timeframe.  These emails are fake, and the links within them lead to genuine-looking websites that steal your personal and financial information.

We’re aware of the planned move to lifting the remaining COVID restrictions in England from the 19th of July.  However, we will continue to ask that face-coverings are worn and social distancing rules followed.

Guidance from NHS England is that these measures should remain in place across healthcare settings so that the most vulnerable people can continue to attend healthcare appointments safely when required.

We are acting very cautiously with NO CHANGE to social distancing, face coverings and PPE for healthcare staff, and we are asking our visitors to do the same.  Please remember:

• Do not attend the surgery unless you have been offered an appointment.
• If you are asked to attend, please wear a mask, use the hand sanitiser provided and practice social distancing when required.
• Most importantly, do NOT come to the surgery if you have symptoms of coronavirus or are self-isolating.

In the interests of patient and staff safety, GP consultations will continue to be provided by triage and telephone appointments in the first instance, with face-to-face appointments offered where there is a clinical reason.

Following patient feedback, we have updated our new website to make it easier for patients to access eConsult to request a review for a long term health conditions such as Asthma, Blood or Diabetes.

Reviews are a way of letting us know how you're managing with your long term condition, your contraception, or your medication.

We offer the ability to request a Review using eConsult  for the following:

• Asthma review
• Blood Pressure review
• COPD review
• Contraceptive Pill review
• Depression or anxiety review
• Diabetes review
• HRT review
• Medication review
• Thyroid review

Only complete a review if you've been asked to do so by us.

The practice is required by the Government under the terms of the latest GP contract to allocate all patients a named accountable GP. Individual patients will be informed of their named accountable GP at the first appropriate interaction with the practice. For convenience, if you have a medical card your Accountable GP will be the named doctor you are registered with.

Patients registering over the last 2-3 years will not have received a medical card as these are no longer routinely sent when registering with a new GP. However, the practice does keep a record of your registered (accountable) GP. If you wish to be told the name of your Accountable GP, please ask the receptionists when you are next in the surgery.

Please note: there is no need to telephone the practice for this information. Where a patient expresses a preference as to which GP they have been assigned, the practice will make reasonable efforts to accommodate this request. Having a named GP does not prevent you from seeing any other doctor in the practice. Your named GP will not be available at all times and if your needs are urgent, you may need to discuss them with an alternative doctor.

The Dorset Care Record is a new, confidential computer record that will, over time, include a range of health and social care shared information to help improve the care you receive.  The DCR is a safe way to keep all of your health information in one place. This means that it is easier and quicker for GP's, Nurses, and Social Workers to give you the right care.

If you have not already been given a booklet, then please ask Reception for a copy. Further information is also available by following this link:>>Welcome to the Dorset Care Record. 

The vaccination jabs that children receive in their early years – between birth and when they first go to school – are very important in helping them build protection against infections such as meningitis, diphtheria, polio, measles, and mumps. 

These diseases are in circulation and an infection can cause serious complications, particularly for a child.  But it is not only the child who is protected, vaccination programmes protect the whole population by making it harder for a disease to spread to others. 

It is particularly important that children are fully up-to-date with all their jabs before they start school for the first time, which is when they come into contact with more potential sources of infection.

The vast majority of parents do ensure their child has been fully protected, but there are many children who are missing doses and are therefore at risk.

 More information is available on the NHS Choices website, and if in any doubt that your child is missing important vaccinations you should speak to one of our Receptionists to check your child’s immunisations are up-to-date.

The Cranborne Practice no longer prescribes Over the Counter medicines for a range of minor health conditions, as the NHS currently spends £136 million on prescriptions for medicines such as Paracetamol that can be bought over the counter at Pharmacies and Supermarkets. 

By reducing the amount the NHS spends on OTC medicines, the NHS can give priority to treatments for people with more serious conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, and mental health problems.

Please click here for more information and a list of minor health conditions you can buy over the counter medicines for.