Library House Surgery

29/01/2026

We are currently experiencing a national long-term supply shortage of Co-codamol, which is affecting GP practices across England. This situation is outside the control of the surgery.

To ensure patient safety and responsible prescribing, we regularly review repeat medications. Where Co-codamol has not been requested for three months or more, it has been removed from repeat prescription lists in line with prescribing guidance.

We understand this may be frustrating. Please be assured:

This is not a decision made by the surgery alone
The shortage is national, and stock availability is unpredictable
Re-adding the medication does not guarantee supply

If you are using Co-codamol on a “when required” (PRN) basis and feel you still need pain relief, please email the surgery so we can discuss suitable alternatives where appropriate.

We kindly ask patients to be respectful to our staff, who are working under significant pressure and are following national guidance.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

21/01/2026

Urgent On-the-Day Appointments
If you need an urgent appointment, we offer on-the-day appointments each weekday, provided by our highly skilled Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs). These appointments are available for booking online at 7.00am each day via the NHS App.

For those who may not be able to use technology, we reserve a limited number of appointments for booking by phone when we open at 8.00am. These can be booked by calling our main reception.

What Our ANPs Can Do
Our ANPs are experienced healthcare professionals who can:
• Take a detailed history of your symptoms.
• Perform examinations.
• Prescribe medication, if necessary.
• Order tests or refer you to other services, if needed.
If the ANP feels a second opinion or further support is required, they can easily consult with an on-call doctor.

16/01/2026

Urgent On-the-Day Appointments
If you need an urgent appointment, we offer on-the-day appointments each weekday, provided by our highly skilled Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs). These appointments are available for booking online at 7.00am each day via the NHS App.

For those who may not be able to use technology, we reserve a limited number of appointments for booking by phone when we open at 8.00am. These can be booked by calling our main reception.

What Our ANPs Can Do
Our ANPs are experienced healthcare professionals who can:
• Take a detailed history of your symptoms.
• Perform examinations.
• Prescribe medication, if necessary.
• Order tests or refer you to other services, if needed.

If the ANP feels a second opinion or further support is required, they can easily consult with an on-call doctor.

13/01/2026

Have Your Say – Join Our Patient Participation Group (PPG)
We’re looking for new members to join our Patient Participation Group (PPG) here at Library House Surgery.

The PPG gives patients the opportunity to:
• Share feedback, comments, and suggestions
• Help shape how the surgery is run
• Work with the practice team to improve patient experience and services

We meet bi-monthly, with meetings lasting around 1–2 hours, held at the surgery. There’s no medical knowledge required, just an interest in helping us make the practice the best it can be for our patients.

If you’re a patient at the surgery and would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Your voice can help make a real difference.

👉 Interested? Please contact reception or ask a member of staff for more details on how to join.

02/01/2026

☎️ A little New Year gremlin paid us a visit this morning! Our phone system was hit by a very belated Y2K moment and decided not to open automatically at 8am.

We’ve manually opened the lines and reset everything, and all has been working as normal since 8:10am.

Apologies to anyone who tried to ring us during that time, it seems our phone system, like many of us, wasn’t quite sure what day of the week it was after the holidays! 😊

22/12/2025

We would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas from all the Team at Library House Surgery.

22/12/2025

The phone lines have now been repaired, thank you for your patience and understanding.

12/12/2025

Friday 12th December 2025. Our IT systems have gone down overnight, this situation has impacted all GP surgeries in Lancashire and South Cumbria. Our IT suppliers are looking in to it urgently.

We are still attempting to see patients if safe to do so, this will very much depend on your own circumstances. If you have a pre-booked appointment please attend the surgery as normal.

The outage is impacting telephone lines too.

We will update you ASAP.

01/12/2025

Prescription Requests Before Christmas

To help local pharmacies process medication in time for the Christmas period, we kindly ask patients to submit any routine prescription requests by Friday 12 December 2025.

Our GP surgery will remain open as normal throughout Christmas, closing only on the official bank holidays. This request is not due to surgery closures, but to ensure that pharmacies have sufficient time to dispense your regular medication before their reduced holiday hours.

If your prescription is due around this time or you know you will need your medication before Christmas, please submit your request as early as possible.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us support safe and timely access to medication over the festive period.

20/11/2025

🟣 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness 🟣

We’re sharing an important message on our waiting room TVs this month to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer, because early recognition really matters.

Why this is so serious:
Pancreatic cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of all common cancers. Sadly, less than 7% of people live for 5 years or more after diagnosis. It’s also very aggressive. A lot of people are diagnosed late, and many don’t survive long after diagnosis.

Warning signs to watch for:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Pain in the abdomen or back
• New-onset diabetes or changes in blood sugar
• Jaundice (yellowing of skin or eyes)
• Persistent tiredness or changes in digestion

Why we’re supporting this campaign:
We believe in the power of early detection, spotting symptoms early gives us the best chance to act. By raising awareness, we hope more people will come forward with even vague or worrying signs.

If you notice anything unusual or concerning, please come and talk to us. Your health matters and we’re here to help.

18/11/2025

📢 Service Update – Internet Outage Impact

Due to a major global internet issue affecting Cloudflare, some of our surgery’s support systems are currently disrupted.

👉 Appointments are still going ahead as normal.
👉 Clinicians can access medical records, so clinical care is not affected.

However, the outage is impacting:

Our telephone system
Text message/SMS services
Some other administrative and auxiliary systems

In an increasingly connected world, events like this show how global tech issues can have local effects, including on healthcare services.

We’re monitoring the situation and will update you as soon as everything is back to normal. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

18/11/2025

⚠️ Flu Alert for Our Patients

The NHS is warning that this year’s flu season has kicked off much earlier than usual, with case rates already three times higher than this point last year. Health leaders say the coming months could put serious pressure on GP practices and hospitals.

If you're eligible for a free flu jab and haven't yet received it, please contact us today. Getting vaccinated now helps protect you, your loved ones, and our community through what could be a challenging winter.

🔗 Read more:

Vulnerable urged to come forward for flu jab quickly as virus has come early this year.