Stewart Medical Centre

26/03/2026

18/03/2026

Following the recent Meningitis outbreak in Kent, we seeing an understandable increase in queries regarding vaccinations against Meningitis.

Many routine vaccinations protect against meningitis including MenB, DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB, PCV, MMRV and Men ACWY vaccines
More information about Meningitis vaccinations can be found here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/meningitis/vaccination/ and patients are encouraged to ensure they are up to date with vaccinations.

The Kent outbreak is linked to MenB meningococcal disease. The Men B vaccine is offered at 8 weeks, 12 weeks and 1 year of age. Babies can be offered missed vaccinations up to 2 years of age. Practices are not able offer Men B vaccination routinely or on request to those over 2 years of age.
These vaccines are available from some private providers, but we are aware there are shortages following an increase in demand this week.

The Men ACWY vaccine is given to children in school in School Year 9 (13 or 14 years of age). Those who missed immunisation can receive the vaccination up to 25 years of age from their GP Practice.
We have added some additional appointments for patients who have not yet received their Men ACWY vaccine who may now wish to have it.
If you fall into this category and would like to book an appointment, please contact our reception team.

Patients can call the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on 0344 225 3861, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, if they have no symptoms but are concerned, they have been in contact with a confirmed case or have a general enquiry.

Read about the different vaccines that can help prevent meningitis and when they're usually given.

11/03/2026

The Practice will be closed from 1pm today, Wednesday 11th March, for our monthly training session. Our Burlington Rd Building will close to patients from 12pm today, with Hartington Rd following at 1pm.

Please note that the Pharmacy at Burlington Road will remain open and operate as normal.

If you require medical assistance while the practice is closed, please call 111.

In addition to staff training this afternoon, we will also be hosting a trouble-shooting drop in for patients having difficulty with the NHS App. This will take place at Burlington Rd between 12:30 and 2:30pm.

We will be open as normal on Thursday 12th March from 8am to 6:30pm (and on to 8pm for those with evening appointments).

Our next training afternoon will be on Wednesday 15th April.

17/02/2026

A reminder that our Burlington Road site will be closed on Wednesday February 18th, with all staff working from our Hartington Road building on this day.

Our phone lines remain open as normal from 8am to 6.30pm with
all pre booked and on the day appointments being run from Hartington Road on Wednesday February 18th.

Burlington Road pharmacy remains open as usual.

11/02/2026

The Practice will be closed from 1pm today, Wednesday 11th February, for our monthly training session. Our Burlington Rd Building will close to patients from 12pm today, with Hartington Rd following at 1pm.

Please note that the Pharmacy at Burlington Road will remain open and operate as normal.

If you require medical assistance while the practice is closed, please call 111.

This month our Clinical team will attending joint training with other Practices from the area on Palliative Care while our admin team focus on CPR training with Helen from Orchard Training Services.

We will be open as normal on Thursday 12th February from 8am to 6:30pm (and on to 8pm for those with evening appointments).

Our next training afternoon will be on Wednesday 11th March.

05/02/2026

** Burlington Road site closures **

Please note that our mandatory monthly training session takes place on Wednesday February 11th. If you require medical assistance after we close at 1pm, please call 111.
For this months training, we are running CPR update courses for our admin team and we will be closing our Burlington Road site from 12pm for the first of these sessions to take place. Our Hartington Road site will remain open until 1pm.

The Burlington Road site will also be closed all day on Wednesday February 18th.
Our Hartington Road site will be open as normal from 8am to 6.30pm. All clinics will run from Hartington Road on this day, and our phone lines are open as normal.

28/01/2026

And another one…..👀
Following hot on the heels of Dr Burton's arrival, we have another new GP starting at the practice in February.

Dr Robert Dodds joins the team on February 24th. He will be working 3 days per week – Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and will give a further boost to our appointment availability.

Some patients may remember Dr Dodds who was on placement with us as part of his training some years ago. We're really pleased that he now joins the practice as a permanent member of the team.

Ahead of starting at the practice, Dr Dodds shared the following words:
"I'm really excited to be joining the fantastic team at SMC! I aim to provide friendly, holistic and patient-centred care, and work in partnership with patients to get the best possible outcomes. I'm looking forward to meeting you all very soon!"

Appointments with both Dr Burton (starting Feb 2nd) and Dr Dodds (starting Feb 24th) will be available very soon, following a short induction period.

22/01/2026

Our team at Stewart Medical Centre would like to express their heartfelt thanks to our patients, friends and colleagues for the many lovely cards and treats that we received over the Festive Period.

20/01/2026

✨ Welcome to Our New GP! ✨

We’re delighted to announce that Dr Anna Burton will be joining us at Stewart Medical Centre from February 2nd 2026

Dr Burton is a newly qualified GP and will be working three days a week – Monday, Thursday and Friday, helping us to increase appointment availability throughout the week.

We’re really looking forward to welcoming Dr Burton to our team. We’re confident she’ll be a fantastic addition to the practice, and we know our patients will quickly warm to her

Ahead of starting with us, Dr Burton has shared the following message:
'I am very excited about joining the team at SMC very soon. I’m passionate about providing patient centred care and believe in taking the time to listen and work together to find the best way forward. I’m an active person who values health and wellbeing, and I aim to bring a positive, approachable attitude into my consultations. I’m really looking forward to meeting you all and becoming a part of the community.'

07/01/2026

In anticipation of Storm Goretti hitting the High Peak on Thursday evening, we have taken the decision to close our Burlington Road site on Friday (January 9th)

Our Hartington Road reception will be open from 8am to 6.30pm as normal. Any patients with appointments on Friday will now be seen at Hartington Road (Those who's appointment location has changed have been contacted to advise of this already)

In the event that any appointments cannot go ahead as planned due to the weather on Friday, we will let patients know on the day.

Burlington Road pharmacy will remain open as normal.

06/01/2026

MMRV is now part of the NHS routine childhood vaccination programme, replacing the MMR vaccine.

It protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. Chickenpox is very common and can sometimes lead to serious complications, so vaccination helps reduce the risk of serious illness as children grow.

You don’t need to do anything — we will be in touch when your child is due their vaccination.
🔗 nhs.uk/mmrv
🔗https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/12/17/what-is-the-mmrv-vaccine-and-is-my-child-eligible/