St Mary's Surgery

04/02/2026

World Cancer Day 4th February 2026 to raise awareness,
promote prevention, and encourage early detection of cancer.

At least every 75 seconds, someone’s life changes with a cancer diagnosis in the UK. That is almost 1,200 people across the UK on average are diagnosed with cancer. To put in perspective, by the time you have read this blog at least two people will have been diagnosed with cancer.

NHS cancer screening programmes can help to diagnose cancer or risk of cancer earlier and improve the likelihood of successful treatment. If you are eligible, please make every effort to have your screening test. Screening tests can detect a problem early.
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/spot-cancer-early/screening

04/02/2026

Every month valuable appointments are being wasted. Appointments which could help another patient see a GP or Nurse earlier.

Please if you are unable to attend your appointment, CANCEL.
There are several convenient ways to cancel your appointment, phoning the surgery on 01264 361424, cancelling online via the NHS App, or by replying CANCEL to your reminder SMS.

03/02/2026

February is Heart Month UK.

Every 3 minutes, someone in the UK dies from cardiovascular disease.

Calculate your heart age - https://www.nhs.uk/health-assessment-tools/calculate-your-heart-age

Whether it's losing a loved one to cardiac arrest or coping with the devastating impact of heart failure, far too many of us have felt the pain that cardiovascular diseases cause. More Information - https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/support-our-campaigns/heart-month

28/01/2026

More Information about the NHS App messaging service.

 The NHS App messaging service allows patients to receive messages from their health and care providers in the NHS App, such as messages from their GP surgery, hospital appointments and screening or vaccination invitations.

 If a message is not successfully delivered or read by the patient, your messaging provider will automatically send a ‘fallback’ message via another channel, such as SMS. The time frame before a fallback message is usually within a few hours.

 Where urgent care or communication is required, patients should be contacted via telephone.

28/01/2026

Kick That Habit!
Local Wellbeing day taking place on 31st January from 11am - 3pm at Knights Enham Junior School, King Arthurs Way.
On the day there will be:
- Free food
- Free NHS Health Checks
- Life Bus activities for teenagers
- CAB and housing support
- MIND wellbeing support
- Weight management support
- Yoga for wellbeing
The event will offer support for those looking to quit smoking or va**ng, alongside advice on weight management, finances and housing. Free NHS health checks can be booked on the day by scanning the QR code or calling the number on the poster below.

27/01/2026

Children under 6 on 1st January 2026 will now be offered the MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox) vaccine as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme.
https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/mmrv-vaccine/

20/01/2026

Cervical Screening Invitations Are Going Digital!

To make it easier and quicker for you to get invited for your cervical screening, NHS invitations will soon arrive through the NHS app and text messages.

Download the NHS app and turn on notifications to get your invites straight to your phone https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/setting-up/

If you do not check the app or can not receive texts, don’t worry, you’ll still get a paper letter as a backup.

14/01/2026

Save money with a Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC)

A PPC covers all your NHS prescriptions, including NHS dental prescriptions, no matter how many items you need.

If you know you'll have to pay for a lot of NHS prescriptions, it may be cheaper to buy a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC).

For more information, lease see the link below:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/prescriptions/save-money-with-a-prescription-prepayment-certificate-ppc/

13/01/2026

MMRV replaces the existing MMR vaccine and adds protection against chickenpox, alongside measles, mumps and rubella.

Children under 6 are now routinely offered the MMRV vaccine as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme.

For more information when your child will receive the new MMRV vaccine https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/mmrv-vaccine/

06/01/2026

02/01/2026

Whether it's to give your fitness goals a boost, put a few pounds back in the bank account.

Dry January is an annual health campaign that encourages people to abstain from alcohol for the entire month of January. It’s a voluntary challenge that has gained popularity worldwide as individuals commit to starting the new year with a fresh, alcohol-free perspective.

Dry January is not only about giving your liver a break but also about promoting overall well-being, mental clarity, and healthier lifestyle choices.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/help-and-support/managing-your-drinking/dry-january/about-dry-january/the-dry-january-story