Ferry Road Health Centre

01/09/2025

FLU VACCINATIONS. If you are over 65 or in a clinically 'at risk' group you can now make your appointment for our October flu clinics. If we have your mobile number you should have received a text message, with a link, to enable you to book directly into the clinics here. If you haven't received this, please just call the surgery and we will be happy to book the appointment for you. Not sure whether you are eligible? Give us a call and we will check.

26/08/2025

Starting a new school?
Your child will be learning and playing with more children when they start their new school and could be at risk of catching preventable diseases if they haven't had all their childhood jabs. If you are not sure if your child has had all their routine vaccinations, check their personal health record (Red Book) or give us a call. To
get the best protection for your child, they need to have had two doses of the MMR vaccine.

20/08/2025

HPV Catch Up Campaign

Not sure if you received the HPV vaccine through the School Immunisation Campaign? Students – usually in Year 8 – are invited to have the HPV vaccine to protect against HPV infections that can lead to various cancers in both sexes. Call the surgery and we will check you records and book you in if you have missed this vaccination or have now decided you would like to be protected. See the link below for more information.

Find out about the HPV vaccine, including who it's for, how to get it and possible side effects.

19/08/2025

PenCycle – Recycling initiative for prefilled Novo Nordisk Pens

Do you use pre-filled Novo Nordisk Pens? If you do, you can now return your used pens for recycling. Pick up a PenCycle return box from the Dispensary at the surgery. All boxes have a FreePost Royal Mail barcode to return them free of charge. Returning your pre-filled Novo Nordisk pens only takes a few minutes but will have an impact that last years. Give the empty pens new purpose. For more information speak to our Dispensary Team.

30/05/2025

NATIONAL PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP AWARENESS WEEK
31 May – 6 June

Focusing on the importance of patient engagement, communication and involvement in healthcare decision making.

What do PPGs do?

• Providing constructive feedback and support to help the practice improve its services
• Offering insights into how services are experienced by patients, helping practices become more responsive and patient centred
• Promoting health education and encourage patients to take more responsibility for their own health
• Helping to gather feedback through surveys and discussions to understand patient needs and satisfaction
• Holding events or campaigns on topics like Mental Health awareness, Healthy Living, Basic Life Support Training, Diabetes, Dementia awareness and Digital upskilling (NHS App)
• Contributing to planning and implementing changes in the practice, such as new appointment systems or digital services
• Helping to ensure clear communication between the practice and patients, including newsletters, websites, and noticeboards
• Raising funds for practice equipment or patient amenities
• Working with the wider community, PPGs within your Primary Care Network and PPG networks

Please come and join us - if you would like to join our Group please let the surgery know.

14/04/2025

SCAM ALERT.

We have been made aware that an e-mail has been sent out to people living in Sussex inviting them to update their details in order to remain registered with their GP practice.

This e-mail then directs users to install software to complete this action. This software is not legitimate.

There is no programme of work being undertaken locally, or nationally, to ask you to confirm your registration details using additional software. Practices may from time to time ask you to confirm your contact details, and it is important that you keep these up to date. If practices wanted to check this with you, you would be contacted directly (not generically) and via multiple routes, such as letter, phone call and e-mail combined.

Often, scam e-mails can be identified by checking the following things:

The sender’s e-mail address – does it match an e-mail address that you know to be legitimate? Scammers might use very small differences in spelling or word order to try to catch you out. The image below reports to be from NHS UK Team. However, there is no such thing as NHS UK.
Subject line – scammers will use something vague like “Important message” or “Your account has been suspended”
Content – does the e-mail include your name, are there spelling/ grammatical errors that seem unusual, does it include the correct logos? Scammers may ask you for personal information, they may also use time pressure to try to get you to make a decision quickly e.g., ‘update your details or lose your GP registration’. Does the personal information asked for match the issue given? This asks for you to download software to provide an e-signature but doesn’t ask you to confirm any contact details.
Links, attachments, downloads – be cautious of e-mails asking you to click through to something else or to download anything. Verify the e-mail by contacting the sender using a known contact route, whether telephone or e-mail. Don’t use information provided in the suspicious e-mail, go to your GP practice’s website for correct information or use contact details that you already have saved.
You can get support to improve your IT skills and learn more about staying safe online by booking in for a free session at your local library’s IT For You service

More advice on scams and fraud can be found on the Age UK website

You can report scam e-mails via Action Fraud

02/04/2025

MENOPAUSE MATTERS
Wednesday 23 April 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
The Hastings Centre, The Ridge, Hastings, TN34 2SA.
If you want to know more about the perimenopause and the menopause book your free place at the Menopause Matters event.
Guest speakers, Menopause treatment options and Q&A's.
For general enquiries contact healthcoaches.hslpcn@nhs.net
or book via Eventbrite. Booking is essential.

The Eventbrite booking link is:

An information evening with presentations from local health teams and a chance to connect with other women going through the same experience

01/04/2025

Bowel Cancer Awareness Month - April 2025
The earlier bowel cancer is spotted, the more treatable it's likely to be.
If you have any symptoms, or are worried, it is important to ask your GP for an at-home test as soon as you can.

26/03/2025

Covid Spring Vaccination Campaign

As we move into spring, protection from any earlier COVID-19 vaccination you may have had will be starting to wane.

COVID-19 can still be very dangerous and even life threatening, particularly for older people and those with a weakened immune system.

Thankfully, for those who are more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19, the NHS offers a free vaccine in the spring to top up your protection. The current cohort for this campaign is people aged 75 years and over, those in care homes, and those aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system

Eligible patient will be able to book an appointment between April and June, with those at highest risk being called in first. The National Booking line is now active, or you can call 119 to book.

Book, change or cancel a COVID-19 vaccination appointment online.

21/02/2025

PHARMACY SURVEY
East Sussex County Council would like to hear how you access and use pharmacy services in East Sussex. Your feedback will help them to understand if there are gaps in pharmacy services around the county. The survey will take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. The survey is open 20th March.
Visit http://eastsussex.gov.uk/pharmacy or for a paper copy call 07701 395075

27/01/2025

SMALL MOMENTS, BIG CHANGES - WEDNESDAY 29TH JANUARY 10 - 2 DROP IN.

Improving your health doesn’t have to be overwhelming – it starts with small moments. Whether it’s swapping a sugary snack for fruit or taking a short walk during your lunch break, these tiny habits add up over time.

Our FREE healthy lifestyle services are here to help you create these ‘moments of health’ in your daily life.

Come along to the surgery between 10 and 2 on Wednesday 29th January are meet Lorraine Turvey from One You East Sussex for an informal chat and help and advice.

If you can’t come along on the day you can contact One You :

By phone 01323 404600
Email hello@oneyoueastsussex.org.uk
Website www.oneyoueastsussex.org.uk

03/12/2024

SCAM ALERT
We have been alerted to a scam operating in Sussex where people are receiving calls from scammers pretending to be doctors. The callers are attempting to sell medical devices or smart watches to patients.
Please be aware that we will never cold call you to ask for your bank details over the phone.
We will never try to sell you equipment.
If you’re ever unsure about a call from our surgery, you could offer to call the surgery back using the number you have for us and regularly use.
A scammer will not want you to do this, a colleague from our practice will be happy for you to call us to check.
Scammers may try to make it appear as though you've hung up in order to stay on the line, or keep the line open after you've hung up. To be sure the line has been closed, consider calling the surgery from a different phone, wait 10-15 minutes or restarting your phone before calling.
Reporting a scam
If you suspect a scam or fraud is taking place, please report it to: Reporting fraud and cyber crime | Action Fraud or 0300 123 20 40
Preventing fraud
You can find out more information about preventing fraud on the Action Fraud website: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/individual-protection
Further support is also available on the Age UK website – How to spot scams

Although fraud and cyber crime comes in many forms, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself from the crime.