The Market Cross Surgery

30/03/2026

Remember we are closed Good Friday & Easter Monday. Please collect your prescriptions before 18.30 on Thursday 2nd April .

Need medical help over the weekend
Use 111 online to get assessed and directed to the right place for you.

More info: http://nhs.uk/111

30/03/2026

March may be ending, but awareness doesn’t stop here 💛

As Endometriosis Awareness Month draws to a close, we reaffirm our commitment to improving recognition, diagnosis, and management of endometriosis across the UK.

Endometriosis affects approximately 1 in 10 women and those assigned female at birth of reproductive age. It is a chronic, oestrogen-dependent inflammatory condition in which endometrial-like tissue is found outside the uterus, commonly involving the ovaries, pelvic peritoneum, bowel, and bladder. Symptoms may include chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhoea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, dysuria, heavy menstrual bleeding, fatigue, and subfertility. For many, the impact on quality of life, mental health, education, and employment is significant.

If you have any symptoms, please submit an Anima to speak to a GP.

For further support: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/

30/03/2026

Today we recognise Doctors’ Day — a moment to acknowledge the skill, dedication, and compassion of doctors working across the UK.

We want to thank the hard working GPs at Market Cross for their continued compassion, integrity, and resilience they show to the patients at the Surgery and wider community.

If you would like to leave a positive comment about one of the doctors at the Surgery, please do so below. Your responses will get passed on and are very much appreciated.

29/03/2026

On Friday 10th April, we will have an advisor from Feel Good Suffolk in our waiting area to help support any patients who would like to discuss stopping smoking, weight management or increasing their physical activity.

Celia shall be on site between 08:30 – 10:30. Please feel free to pop in for a chat.

27/03/2026

REMINDER - Please be aware that from Monday 30th of March, Anima will be opening from 8am rather than 7am.

This decision has been made by considering feedback from our patients who completed the February Patient Survey as well as aligning the service with the opening hours set out in the 2026/27 GP contract.

25/03/2026

Brain Injury Awareness Month — a time to highlight the life-changing impact of brain injury and the importance of prevention, early intervention, and long-term support.

An acquired brain injury (ABI) refers to any damage to the brain occurring after birth. This can include traumatic causes such as road traffic collisions, falls, or assaults (often referred to as Traumatic brain injury), as well as non-traumatic causes including stroke, hypoxia, infection, or brain tumours.

The effects are often complex and may not be immediately visible. Individuals can experience cognitive impairment, memory difficulties, fatigue, personality change, communication challenges, sensory changes, and reduced executive functioning. The impact extends beyond the individual — affecting families, education, employment, and mental health.

In the UK, organisations such as Headway - the brain injury association and UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum advocate for improved rehabilitation services, community support, and greater public awareness.

This month, we encourage:
• Increased recognition of hidden disabilities
• Ongoing support for families and carers

Brain injury can happen in an instant — but recovery and adaptation are lifelong journeys. Let’s work towards a more informed, compassionate, and supportive society.

22/03/2026

Our final questions on our February patient survey were around the overall experience of the practice. We were very pleased to see that 890 patients rated us as either consistently excellent or overall great and 994 patients would be likely or very likely to recommend the Surgery. Please see the charts below.

We also asked, 'What could we improve on?'. This revealed four most common areas:
1. Access to appointments/ Anima – please see post 1 on 19th March for comments on this
2. Communication– we would like to advise our patients to download the NHS App if they have a smart device. On there you can see test results, referrals and request medication. This would be the quickest way for our patients to see any information relating to care and if they need a follow up. Alternatively, please try calling the Surgery in the afternoon when the phone lines are quieter.
3. Follow Ups – from the 1st of October 2025 we have offered routine appointments, if the clinician has advised a follow up after a test for example, please use Anima to request a follow up appointment with the clinician.
4. Facilities & Environment – following your feedback we will be looking into seating within the waiting rooms & providing hygiene resources in busy areas. The dispensary room has been extended and should be finished within the next couple of weeks. We are hoping with a better organised room, we can reduce time spent at the hatch preventing queues. Additionally points were raised about parking, we unfortunately do not own any of the land around the Surgery and therefore are unable to provide any parking at the Surgery.

Once again we would like to thank everyone who completed the survey for their views and opinions on the Surgery. If you have any further questions or opinions on these results please email marketcross@nhs.net FAO: Jasmine.

21/03/2026

Survey post 3 centres around the questions asked about our GPs and clinicians.

Continuity of Care was asked, with most able to or sometimes able to see preferred clinician with the feeling this being important or sometimes important with an ongoing issue.
We would like to advise patients that they can always request to see a certain GP/ clinician and we will include these in booking links when appropriate.
The surgery website www.marketcross-surgery.co.uk has a staff section, which includes the working days for each GP.

We received so many positive comments relating to care and help received from teams and named individuals, thank you for those who took time to mention our wonderful staff. We have passed these comments on internally.

We are very proud of the following results and will strive to ensure we deliver on all aspects of care for even better results next year.

21/03/2026

Today, on World Down Syndrome Day (21 March), we stand Together Against Loneliness 💙💛

Led globally by Down Syndrome International, World Down Syndrome Day is a powerful reminder that inclusion is not just about access — it’s about belonging.

People with Down syndrome can be at increased risk of social isolation and loneliness due to barriers in education, employment, community participation, and societal attitudes. Loneliness is not just an emotional experience — it impacts mental health, physical wellbeing, and overall quality of life.

Being “together against loneliness” means:
💛 Creating inclusive schools and workplaces
💛 Promoting meaningful employment opportunities
💛 Supporting families and carers
💛 Challenging stigma and outdated assumptions
💛 Ensuring accessible community spaces and social activities

In the UK, organisations such as Down's Syndrome Association continue to champion the rights, inclusion, and wellbeing of people with Down syndrome and their families.

Today, let’s commit to building communities where everyone feels valued, connected, and included — not just on 21 March, but every day.

20/03/2026

Following on from yesterdays post regarding our Survey results, thank you again to all those who participated. This post centres around the questions and feedback we received when asking how you found experiences you have had with the Surgery.

Reception
• 74.5% of patients found reception team always helpful with 22% voting as sometimes helpful
• 87% of patients found that patients are always treated with courtesy and respect
• 89% of patients would rate interactions with reception as always/ generally positive

Dispensary
Feedback surrounding our dispensary showed that a high majority of patients using the service find it easy to order medication, find the team helpful and respectful and have positive experience with the service.
There were also points raised around the phone line to the department, and we are happy to announce that we will be extending the phone line to be open from 9am-1pm Monday-Friday, starting in April.
We are also at the final stage of our dispensary extension, with new shelving being fitted at the end of next week. The aim is with a larger and more organised space; we will deliver a good timely service for our patients.

Practice Environment
We asked our patients to consider the whole building, this was voted as clean and well presented by 1,029 patients with 932 choosing the Surgery as easy to find and access.
The majority of patients who required reasonable adjustments did have these provided, but we will be taking further steps to provide reasonable adjustments to everyone who needs them. Such as noting translators, or diagnoses which require patients needing a downstairs room or a later appointment.

19/03/2026

19/03/2026

We would like to thank the 1,096 patients who took time to complete the Patient Survey we sent out last month. It was really beneficial for us to gather this information so we can review what works well and what might need improvement. We will be posting out the results in sections over the next couple of days.

Our first set of questions were centred around access & appointments, we received mixed responses on how easy you find contacting the surgery and the ease of Anima.

To answer some of the feedback received:
• As per the GP contract the practice has to provide an online consultation platform and therefore, we will be continuing to use Anima.
• Anima is not owned by the Surgery and therefore we are not able to change the questions it asks or how many, however we do submit development requests.
• From 1st April 2026, the Anima service will open online from 8am, rather than 7am as it is currently, to reflect the new GP contract.
• We would like to reconfirm that those who struggle to use the platform are able to call us from 8am to request an appointment, and we will complete the Anima on your behalf.
• Issues surrounding not being able to get an appointment:
o Anima currently has a limit on how many requests we receive daily in line with safe working capacity. In January & February we took 5,488 requests.
o When we were using telephone triage, this was capped to 65 call requests a day, which would've been 2,665 requests taken in January & February. We are therefore taking more requests than we were this time two years ago with the help of Anima and employment of a new full-time GP.
• From the 1st of October 2025 we have provided routine GP appointments, these appointments are available to be booked in advance but do still need to be requested through Anima so a clinician can safely identify that this is a routine request
• Being able to see the same doctor - please check on our website www.marketcross-surgery.co.uk under Surgery Staff for your preferred GPs working days. Urgent care on the day usually limits if you are able to see your preferred GP, but routine appointments will enable you to see your own GP.