Lowther Medical Centre

24/10/2025

📌 A Reminder About Our Community Guidelines 🌟

Thank you to everyone who’s part of our practice Facebook community. To maintain a positive and respectful space for all, please remember our key guidelines:

✅ Respect and Courtesy
We expect all members to engage kindly and respectfully. Personal attacks or disrespectful language will not be tolerated.

🙅‍♂️ Privacy Matters
Please avoid sharing personal medical details here. For individual medical concerns, contact the practice directly.

🚫 No Medical Advice or Urgent Requests
This page is for information and updates only. For appointments, prescriptions, or urgent medical matters, please use the appropriate practice channels or call NHS 111.

By sticking to these guidelines, we ensure the page remains a helpful and supportive resource for everyone.

Thank you for your ongoing cooperation and for being a valued part of our community.

23/10/2025

Excellent news that this screening is coming for our patients next. If you or someone you know qualifies please look out for the telephone call and attend your appointments. If you are eligible you will be contacted by the screening team.

Let’s detect early so we can treat early. Please share this information with anyone you know that is eligible.

💙💙💙

The Lung Cancer Screening Team is moving on to Lowther Medical in Whitehaven.

They are offering free lung health checks to people aged between 55 to 74 years who have ever smoked.

After an initial chat, you may be offered a low-dose CT scan of your lungs. This scan is quick, painless, and will help detect any early signs of lung cancer.

If you're eligible, you will be contacted directly, there's no need to get in touch with us.

Please take up the offer if you’re invited. Early detection can save lives. 💙

For more info visit: ncic.nhs.uk/services/Lung-Cancer-Screening-Team

23/10/2025

Your pharmacist can provide treatment or some prescription medicine, if needed, for seven common conditions - without you seeing a GP.

Think pharmacy first and get seen by your local community pharmacy team.

21/10/2025

Good afternoon,

Our phone systems are still having issues. Some calls are getting through, some aren't. We apologise for this inconvenience. We are working with our telephone system provider, who are actively trying to resolve the issue.

Please visit our website and use our online consultation form to contact the surgery for medical assistance until our phone systems are back up and running.

Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

18/10/2025

The Lung Cancer Screening Team is moving on to Lowther Medical in Whitehaven.

They are offering free lung health checks to people aged between 55 to 74 years who have ever smoked.

After an initial chat, you may be offered a low-dose CT scan of your lungs. This scan is quick, painless, and will help detect any early signs of lung cancer.

If you're eligible, you will be contacted directly, there's no need to get in touch with us.

Please take up the offer if you’re invited. Early detection can save lives. 💙

For more info visit: ncic.nhs.uk/services/Lung-Cancer-Screening-Team

17/10/2025

17/10/2025

It really saddens us to have to write posts like this, as we know it’s probably not our lovely followers who are responsible — but we do need to raise awareness.

In recent weeks, some GP practices have reported incidents where members of staff — particularly reception teams — have experienced abuse and threatening behaviour from patients.

This behaviour is unacceptable, and practices will respond accordingly to protect their teams. In serious cases, practices have the right to remove patients from their list if they are violent or abusive.

We understand that everyone can feel anger or frustration at times — healthcare can be stressful for both patients and staff — but even though we’ve used AI imagery to illustrate these scenes, we’re talking about real people. As our colleagues in the Hospital Trust remind us: we are all human.

Healthcare staff should also treat patients fairly, kindly, and respectfully. If you have concerns about your care, formal complaints channels exist to raise them safely and effectively — abusive behaviour is never the right route. To learn more about patient and staff rights, you can read more in the NHS Constitution: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england/the-nhs-constitution-for-england

This message doesn’t just apply to GP practices — it includes all wider healthcare teams: dentists, opticians, pharmacists, hospital staff, community services, and everyone working hard to support patients across our area.

Maybe technology has changed our patience, concentration, and expectations — but not everything can be instant. Healthcare teams are working hard to provide the best care possible.

In a world where so many things seem to be increasing in cost, remember that kindness is still free to share. 💚💙

14/10/2025

Life moves pretty fast! 🏡📱with new routines, it’s easy for things to get missed.

Make sure your GP and healthcare services have your current contact details. This helps letters, messages, and appointment information get to the right place so you stay informed about your care.

If you use the NHS App, you can update things like email and phone numbers in the details section, but always worth a check to ensure this has updated at your practice/service.

Keeping your info up to date helps these services provide the best possible patient care. 💚💙

08/10/2025

Our hepatology team are in Whitehaven today with a special mobile unit to find those unaware they have liver damage.

The team are also being interviewed on BBC Radio Cumbria at 7.22am today so listen out for them ahead of the event from 10am to 4pm in the Sports Centre car park, Castle Meadows, Whitehaven.

People can go along to the British Liver Trust unit to find out what preventative measures they can take to keep their liver healthy and be offered a free liver scan and blood test for viral hepatitis.

The team will be there to discuss how to keep your liver healthy and will be on hand to provide advice on diet, exercise and healthy living.

07/10/2025

** SICK NOTES ** 💙💚
DID YOU KNOW when you're absent from work... You DO NOT require a sick note (now called a fit note) for periods of 7 days or less.

> A fit note for periods of OVER 7 days is free of charge

> A fit note issued for periods of absence UNDER 7 days should NOT be requested via your GP

> If your employer asks for evidence for the first 7 days of sickness, a healthcare professional may charge a fee for this IF they offer this service. Your employer should pay the fee if one is applied.

> You do not need to see a healthcare professional again to go back to work.

> Your employer may ask for confirmation that you’re fit for work, but healthcare professionals DO NOT have to provide this as part of their standard service.

Depending on your job, you may need to meet other requirements before you can return to work after being ill.

For example, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) rules will apply if you drive a large vehicle like a lorry or bus. More information can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/driving-medical-conditions

For further information about fit notes (sick notes) please click the link below:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps/getting-a-fit-note/