Stanley Court Surgery

10/10/2025

So this isn’t a whinging post but it just puts things in context.
We really need politicians and civil service to take this into account and fund it properly. There are less GPs to go round as numbers of GPs hasn’t increased with the population. Hospital care and treatments cost more. GPs dealing with more complexity due to patients being discharged to the community teams to ease bed pressures, when previously patients would have been inpatients having regular check’s and ward rounds.

Why does the NHS keep costing more?
1950 life expectancy was 69yrs it’s now 83yrs

14 more years of experience, living, grandchildren
14yrs of more costs £3600/person/year

5.6million people over 70yrs £20bn/pa

It costs to keep people alive with prevention, treatments, medicine

04/10/2025

😷😷Flu clinic today😷😷

We are gearing up for the clinic today, it will be a busy one!!
With the storms today please don’t come too early for your appointment as it will be chilly 🥶 if waiting outside.

01/10/2025

‼️IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT‼️

🩺To our patients at Stanley Court Surgery🩺

You may have seen recent news about national changes to how GP surgeries are expected to operate. 👩‍⚕️👩‍⚕️These changes will affect Stanley Court Surgery too — but perhaps not as dramatically as the headlines suggest!!!😱

We’ve already been encouraging patients to contact us through our website 👩‍💻🧑‍💻for non-urgent matters — whether you're booking a routine appointment📆, requesting a vaccination💉chasing up a sick note, or arranging your annual review🩸.
Using the website, or the NHS app, means you can avoid the phone queue, and it's available outside of our opening hours — early in the morning or later in the evening.

From October 1st, the government is asking all GP surgeries to respond to every patient request on the same day — even if all 6,000 of you happen to message us at 6:29pm, one minute before we close!
As you can imagine, we can’t realistically deal with that many messages in one go!! Our clinicians already stay beyond 7pm and come in before 8am, in addition to logging in to action bloods and prescriptions at the weekends for the week ahead. They are considered to be ‘part time’ in the government’s eyes despite doing more than 40 hours a week.

Unfortunately, while the expectations on GP practices are increasing, there hasn’t been a matching increase in funding or staffing. We simply need the government to fund more GPs

So here’s how you can help us help you:
For urgent issues, please continue to call us — especially if you or someone you care for doesn’t have internet access.

If you’re using the website, please give us as much info as you can, including which days and times you’re available. That really helps us offer appointments that suit you.

Calling earlier in the day gives us the best chance to plan your care before all the appointment slots are filled.

Please know — we’re doing everything we can to support you with the resources we have.

Thank you for your patience and continued support.

Stanley Court Surgery

18/09/2025

September is month. Gynae cancer refers to different cancers that affect the female reproductive system. These include: Womb, Ovarian, Cervical, Vaginal and Vulval.

Here are the symptoms of . It’s important to know that these symptoms can be caused by other conditions, but if you experience any, you should get them checked by a GP.

17/09/2025

Remembering a very special lady today! Happy heavenly birthday Lesley Price. She was a fixture here for as long as any of us can remember. Her plaque has arrived today and will be put up so we can all see it every day. Our thoughts and prayers are with her gorgeous family.

10/09/2025

💉 Flu Vaccinations at Your GP Practice 💉

👉 Please note: Flu appointments are now available for all over 65s and those under 65 with qualifying health conditions eg diabetes/asthma etc. please contact the surgery if you are unsure if you qualify.

The available dates are 4th, 16th, 23rd of October and 3rd November.
These can be booked on line or by calling the practice.

Thank you for supporting us and helping us keep our community safe this winter.

11/08/2025

🩺🩺🩺🩺Important message 🩺🩺🩺🩺

We are working with reduced doctors/clinical staff today due to staff sickness, annual leave and unavailability of locum cover. We are hoping to get extra cover during the rest of the week.

Our staff are having to prioritise appointments, to the most urgent on our instruction, so please be kind. It is not their fault.
Use our local pharmacy first service for minor conditions, ask our staff if you are not sure what the pharmacy can see you about.

Thanks for your understanding
Gp partners

29/07/2025

📢 Why the NHS Is Reducing the Use of Opioids and Gabapentinoids

If you’re living with long-term pain, you might be using medications like codeine, morphine, pain patches, gabapentin, or pregabalin. Although these were started in the past with the thought that they would help chronic pain, the NHS is now moving away from using them long-term — and here’s why:

🔹 They often don’t help long-term pain.
While useful for short-term or nerve pain, research shows these medicines rarely improve chronic pain over time.

🔹 They come with serious risks.
Long-term use can cause confusion, drowsiness, memory issues, falls, breathing problems — especially when used together. If you are a driver you will need to inform the DVLA as they can impair driving.

🔹 They can be addictive.
Some people develop a dependence, needing more to feel the same effect, which can lead to withdrawal symptoms when stopping.

So what’s changing?
The NHS is now:
✅ Reviewing these medicines more often
✅ Avoiding starting them for chronic pain
✅ Helping people reduce or stop them safely

This isn’t about taking away support — it’s about offering safer, more effective alternatives.

What else can help with pain?
💪 Physiotherapy & movement
🧠 Talking therapies for pain
🧘 Mindfulness & relaxation techniques
💊 Other, safer medications

You won’t be left to manage alone — you’ll be supported to find what works best for you.

Already taking these meds?
Please don’t stop suddenly. Instead:
📞 Talk to your GP or pharmacist
🤝 Make a safe plan if needed
❓ Ask about your options

You're not alone in this.
This change is about putting your safety and long-term wellbeing first. Help and support are still available — just in healthier, more sustainable ways. 💙

28/07/2025

1 year on from the tragedy where 3 innocent lives were lost in Southport. Please join us wherever you may be in a moment of remembrance. At 3pm on Tuesday 29th July, a three-minute silence will be held across the Liverpool City Region. We will be honouring their memory at the surgery so please respect staff as they remember these little girls.

28/07/2025

🚫💊 Important Prescription Update for 2025 💊🚫

You may notice changes to your prescriptions over the coming months and medications that we may have been able to prescribe in the past being removed.

As of 2025, GPs can no longer routinely prescribe over-the-counter (OTC) medications for common, self-limiting conditions like:
Headaches & mild pain
Hay fever & allergies
Indigestion
Constipation
Coughs, colds & sore throats

Talk to your pharmacist – they’re trained to help with minor ailments! 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

To help with this change, many medications have been taken off prescription only register and are now available to buy over the counter (or after consultation with a pharmacist). Exceptions to this rule are those with chronic conditions, complex migraine and those patients that are unable to self manage due to mental health or social vulnerability.

Why the change?
✅ To encourage self-care
✅ To reduce NHS costs
✅ To ensure resources are focused on more serious conditions

🛒 You can still buy these treatments at your local pharmacy or supermarket without a prescription.

14/07/2025

We are very proud to share our practice's National Patient Survey results. Our reception staff scored 100% for how helpful they are and we totally agree!!!! We couldn't manage without every single one of them. Thank you also to our patients that took the time to fill this in and let us know their opinion.

See how your GP practice is doing: explore the results of The GP Patient Survey, an independent patient experience survey run by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England.

14/07/2025

With rising cases of measles in the Northwest we are concerned about those children that are unvaccinated in our practice. Please check the red book for your child, or contact us if you think your child has not had the vaccine, or if you have received a message from us saying that they are not fully vaccinated.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/north-west/keeping-you-well/nhs-vaccination-information/measles-and-mmr-vaccines-2/ NHS England — North West » Measles and MMR vaccines

Cases of measles are rising in the North West. Measles is an infection that spreads very easily and can cause serious problems in some people. If you think you or your child may have measles please call your GP surgery. Please do not go to your GP, walk-in centre or any other healthcare setting with...