Ashburton Surgery

30/12/2025

🤧 Feeling under the weather this winter?

The UKHSA Winter Virus Surveillance Programme monitors the spread of winter respiratory viruses like flu, COVID-19 and RSV across the UK. People with recent respiratory symptoms can take part by using a free home test kit, helping improve public health planning and NHS winter preparedness.

🧪You can register to receive a FREE home testing kit if:
• You have respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath)
• Your symptoms started within the last 7 days

📦 Request your free test kit: 🔗 Visit https://takeatestuk.com/ with the 🔑 voucher code: L83010

📽️ How the self-swabbing works:
https://takeatestuk.com/phe-home/

📬 What happens next?
Your results will be sent directly to you, with a copy shared with your GP practice. You don’t need to see your GP to request a kit — but if you’re feeling unwell, please remember we’re here to help if you need us.

📄 More information about the study :
https://orchid.phc.ox.ac.uk/surveillance/information_for_patients

💙 Thank you for supporting important winter respiratory health research.

📢 Please share this post so others in our community can help to improve public health planning and NHS winter preparedness.

30/12/2025

Stage 1 of the Ashburton Surgery building project is now almost completed. The administration team will be moving into their new offices over the next few weeks. On the 5th January works will commence on stage 2 of the building project. This stage is the building of the first new consulting room and some minor reconfiguration of the patient waiting area. This is likely to cause some minor disruption and increased noise levels . Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience in advance.

22/12/2025

Although I am currently on the other side of the world , the team have being keeping me updated with the progress of the Ashburton Surgery building refurbishment project. I am very excited to see how far it will have progressed by my return in early January . As I promised a regular update I am sharing the most recent pictures the team have sent me . Please accept our apologies for any ongoing inconvenience and disruption these works are causing our patients and local residents. Wishing all our patients a very happy Christmas ❤️

Emma - Practice Manager

19/12/2025

As the year draws to a close, we would like to thank our patients and the wider community for your continued support, understanding and kindness throughout the year. It truly makes a difference to us and to the care we provide.

We are incredibly proud of our practice team. Our clinicians, nurses, reception and administrative staff work hard every day to support patients, often behind the scenes, and their dedication, professionalism and compassion are at the heart of everything we do. We are very grateful for their commitment to our community.

Christmas can be a time of joy, but it can also be difficult for some. We encourage everyone to look after themselves and one another, to check in on friends, neighbours and family members, and to seek support if they need it.

We will be closed on Thursday 25th December and Friday 26th December, reopening on Monday 29th December. We will also be closed on Thursday 1stJanuary, reopening on Friday 2nd January.
If you have a medical concern that cannot wait until we reopen, please call NHS111. This number is not for emergencies; if you have an emergency please call 999.

From all of us at Ashburton Surgery, we wish you a peaceful Christmas and a healthy New Year.

17/12/2025

🤧 Feeling under the weather this winter?

The UKHSA Winter Virus Surveillance Programme monitors the spread of winter respiratory viruses like flu, COVID-19 and RSV across the UK. People with recent respiratory symptoms can take part by using a free home test kit, helping improve public health planning and NHS winter preparedness.

🧪You can register to receive a FREE home testing kit if:
• You have respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath)
• Your symptoms started within the last 7 days

📦 Request your free test kit: 🔗 Visit https://takeatestuk.com/ with the 🔑 voucher code: L83010

📽️ How the self-swabbing works:
https://takeatestuk.com/phe-home/

📬 What happens next?
Your results will be sent directly to you, with a copy shared with your GP practice. You don’t need to see your GP to request a kit — but if you’re feeling unwell, please remember we’re here to help if you need us. This is a test for surveillance, not diagnostic purposes, and it can take a few weeks for the result to come back.

📄 More information about the study :
https://orchid.phc.ox.ac.uk/surveillance/information_for_patients

💙 Thank you for supporting important winter respiratory health research.

📢 Please share this post so others in our community can help to improve public health planning and NHS winter preparedness.

15/12/2025

Research opportunity for anyone born with a cleft lip or palate.
Study being carried out by University of Bristol. Contact the study team, details on the video. Thank you

11/12/2025

🌟 Help the UK Health Security Agency Track Winter Bugs From Home 🌟

Ever wondered how the UK keeps an eye on flu and COVID-19 in real time? FluSurvey is a simple online tool that allows people to voluntarily share how they’re feeling each week — whether they’re well or under the weather.

By taking part, you’d be helping UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) understand how respiratory illnesses are spreading in the community, including among people who don’t usually visit their GP when they’re sick. Your weekly update only takes a few minutes and helps build a clearer picture of what’s happening across the country.

🧡 Taking part is completely up to you — there’s no obligation, and you can stop at any time. Every single person who chooses to join helps make the data more accurate and useful.

👩‍💻 FluSurvey was first created during the 2009 swine flu pandemic and is now part of InfluenzaNet, a Europe-wide project monitoring flu-like illnesses through standardised community surveys.

If you’re interested in contributing — in your own time and on your own terms — you can learn more or sign up by clicking below

Thank you to everyone who chooses to get involved. Your contribution, big or small, truly makes a difference. 💙

Help us monitor the flu and other respiratory infections in the UK today.

09/12/2025

💙 Get the right care, faster 💙

Lots of people still head straight to A&E or call the GP for minor issues — but there are quicker options this winter:

✔️ Pharmacy First – help and treatment for common illnesses
✔️ NHS 111 – online or by phone for urgent advice
✔️ NHS App / GP online – request help without the 8am rush
✔️ Urgent Treatment Centres – for non-life-threatening injuries & illnesses

🛑 A&E and 999 are for life-threatening emergencies only

Choosing the right service means you’re seen faster — and helps keep A&E and GP phone lines free for those who need it most. 💙

Follow four people with four different health concerns as they get the NHS care they need – quickly and easily, without A&E. Get the right care, in the righ...

04/12/2025

Colleagues in Moretonhampstead have enlisted our support to save their local health and wellbeing centre (Moretonhampstead Hospital) from being sold. Whilst the space has not housed community beds for many years, it has been utilised for various community ventures, consistently remaining a central focal point for the community . Please sign the petition and support our colleagues in Moreton to do all they can to retain the building so it can be used to support local healthcare and community services. Please visit the save Moretonhampstead hospital website if you would like to sign their petition.

Our aims: • An immediate pause on any sale or disposal process by NHS Property Services. • An agreement in principle that, should disposal proceed, the site be transferred at a nominal cost of £1 to the people of Moretonhampstead, acknowledging its historic purpose, community value, and origina...

04/12/2025

This Christmas, give the gift that truly shows you care. ❤️
High blood pressure is a silent killer — but with a simple home BP monitor, we can help protect the people who matter most.

🎥 Watch Family Matters, created by the Torbay CVD Prevention Partnership, and choose a gift that could save a life:
👉 Blood Pressure