HIB Booster
All children aged over 6 months and under 4 years during the period 1/4/03 to 14/ii/03 are now due a one-off HIB booster injection. 
Please book an appointment to bring your child in to the surgery.
We know that all these children will have already had the HIB course but due to slight rise in the incident of HIB disease the Department of Health is confident the extra dose will increase the level of HIB antibodies and provide extra protection for your children. (Sister Barbara Ward)

Some advice about visiting the surgery

Do try to think of the surgery administration staff as your friends - in spite of what some may think, they try very hard to minimise worries and to offer help where they can.
Are our expectations too high? Is it reasonable to expect to get through on the telephone first time and to be able to make an appointment with our choice of doctor, exactly when it suits us? In an ideal world, or perhaps if you were paying for private treatment, the answer to these questions might be 'YES' but try to remember that you are sharing these services with more than 10,000 other patients, many of whom are trying to access the same service at the same time.

You know that if you are unwell and need to see a doctor, you will be seen the same day - a pretty good service you must agree.

The reception staff are doing their best to keep everyone happy, after all it is in their interests to keep patients content so as to maintain a calmer, friendlier atmosphere within the waiting room area. You, the patient, need to show more understanding of the problems when trying to make an appointment, you may be pleasantly surprised when it all works out better than anticipated.
Always allow sufficient time to park and obey the parking rules. Don't park in the hatched AMBULANCE area or the dropping off area when the rest of the car park is full. When your appointment is over please don't leave you car in the car park while you nip up to the shops, others may be waiting for a space and its not fair to abuse this valuable facility.
Spare a thought for the receptionist, she is the buffer between patients and the medical staff, having to try to please everyone at the same time. You may be feeling unwell or anxious but she is coping with a stream of patients in a similar condition to yourself. It is not her fault the doctors are having to spend a few extra moments with previous patients and is now running late.
If you have several things about which to ask the doctor, write yourself a list so that you don't forget anything.
The smooth running of the surgery is as much to do with the patients as it with the administration and medical staff. 

Message in a Bottle
The Lions Club of Christchurch has launched its 'Message in aBottle' scheme this year. It will be of particular interest to those who live alone and could be a life saver.
This free scheme works like this: A plastic bottle available from the Practice, containing the patients relevant details and prescription information, is placed in the door of their fridge. A sticker is placed on the inside of the main door to the property and another on the fridge.
The emergency services know what to look out for and in an emergency will have this valuable information to help them.

Up To Date Information

Nurse Kani Trehorn, who has the difficult task of updating one section of patient records makes the following request:
Will all patients let me have details of their next of kin so that the computer database can be updated.
The importance of this information to the Practice is plain to see, so you are urged to comply with this request as soon as possible.