The Croft Practice at Eastergate Medical Centre

18/12/2025

This week, some NHS services will be affected because of resident doctor strike action.

Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise.

17/12/2025

Lots of joy and laughter for the little children today in our childhood immunisation clinic! We have such a fabulous team 💙🎄Ho Ho Ho!

16/12/2025

16/12/2025

💙 Help us reduce missed appointments

If you can’t attend your appointment, please remember to cancel with at least 24 hours’ notice.
This allows us to offer the slot to another patient who may be waiting for care.

You can cancel easily by:
✔ Completing a new AccuRx triage form
✔ Replying to your text messages
✔ Using the NHS App
✔ Calling the surgery

📊 143 appointments have already been missed this month.
Every cancelled appointment makes a real difference.

Thank you for helping us care for our community 💙

15/12/2025

We’re recruiting: Paramedic Practitioner (Prescriber) 🌟

The Croft Practice is looking for an experienced Paramedic Practitioner to join our supportive and forward-thinking primary care team.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work autonomously within a strong multidisciplinary team, providing high-quality care to our patients through:
✔️ Minor illness assessment and treatment
✔️ Clinics, home visits and triage
✔️ Prescribing (for qualified non-medical prescribers or those working towards it)
✔️ Close collaboration with GPs, nursing and admin teams

🕒 Full-time | Permanent
📍 Based at The Croft Practice

We’re proud of our inclusive culture, strong clinical support and commitment to staff development. If you’re passionate about patient-centred care and want to work in a practice that genuinely values its people, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 For more information or to apply,

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13/12/2025

🎄 Don’t let a toothache ruin your Christmas! 🦷✨
If you need urgent dental care but don’t have a regular dentist — or your usual dentist has no appointments — the Sussex Dental Helpline can help you find an NHS dentist with availability.

📞 0300 123 1663 (8am–4pm, Monday to Friday)
📧 kcht.dentalhelpdesk@nhs.net

They’ll support you in getting the care you need over the festive season. 💙

11/12/2025

📣 Practice Update: New Influenza Strain (“Super Flu”)

We’re aware of recent news reports about a new influenza strain being referred to as a “super flu.”
While headlines can sound worrying, we want to reassure our patients that there is currently no cause for panic, and we continue to follow NHS and UKHSA guidance closely.

Here’s what you need to know 👇

💡 What we know so far
• A new flu strain is circulating, similar to what we see each winter.
• NHS and UK Health Security Agency teams are monitoring it closely.
• Most people will experience typical flu symptoms.

🛡️ How to protect yourself
• Get your flu vaccine if you are eligible — it remains the best defence.
• Wash your hands regularly and avoid close contact when unwell.
• Stay home if you have a high temperature or feel too unwell to carry out normal activities.
• Keep hydrated, rest, and take over-the-counter medications if needed.

🔍 When to contact the GP

Get medical advice if:
• Your symptoms worsen after 7 days
• You are pregnant
• You are over 65
• You have a long-term health condition
• Your child is under 2 and has flu-like symptoms
• You feel very unwell and are unsure what to do

🏥 We’re here to help

If you’re concerned about symptoms or need advice, please contact us via our usual channels.
You can also use NHS 111 for help 24/7.

Let’s stay informed, not alarmed, and look after each other this winter.

10/12/2025

📞 Meet Emma – Our New AI Phone Assistant!

Helping you get the right care, first time.

When you call the surgery you’ll be greeted by Emma, our new Quantum Loop AI assistant.
Emma helps us manage calls more efficiently and makes sure your request reaches the right team quickly.

⸻

🌟 What Emma Will Do
• Ask simple questions about the reason for your call
• Complete an AccuRx triage form on your behalf
• Send your request straight to the GP team to review, exactly as per our current triage process
• Prioritise urgent issues safely
• Reduce waiting times by sorting calls efficiently
• Send helpful text links or forms when appropriate

⸻

🛑 What Emma Won’t Do
• She does NOT diagnose
• She does NOT replace human staff
• She does NOT decide who is seen – clinicians still make all clinical decisions

⸻

👩‍⚕️ Why We’re Introducing Emma
• To reduce phone queues
• To improve patient access
• To free staff to handle more complex issues
• To ensure every request goes to the right person first time

⸻

☎️ What This Means for You
• Your call experience will be smoother and faster
• You’ll reach the correct service without being passed around
• Your medical request will be triaged by a GP, the same as today
• You can still speak to our team—Emma just helps guide the process

09/12/2025

Total Triage – November Snapshot

Thank you to all our patients for using our online Total Triage system.

Here’s how you’ve been accessing care:

3,386 requests submitted in total
113 requests per day on average
247 requests per 1,000 patients

(National average: 116 | Regional average: 139)

This means our practice is receiving more than double the national average number of requests — showing just how well our patients are engaging with online access and helping us direct you to the right care, first time.

🙏 Thank you for continuing to use online requests.
It helps us manage demand safely, efficiently and ensures everyone gets the help they need as quickly as possible.

If you need medical help, admin support, sick notes or prescriptions, you can continue to submit a request through Accurx Total Triage on our website.

08/12/2025

05/12/2025

⚠️ The number of flu patients in hospital has hit a record high in England for this time of year

If you are eligible for the Flu, Covid-19 or RSV vaccination, please book yours to help keep yourself and others well and out of hospital

https://orlo.uk/qMS8q