Marus Bridge Practice

21/04/2026

Celebrating Our Pillar of the Practice: Happy Practice Manager Day, Sharon! 🌟

Today is Practice Manager Day, and we want to take a moment to shine a light on the heart of Marus Bridge Practice: our incredible Practice Manager, Sharon Chamley.

Sharon isn't just a manager; she is the longest-serving member of our team, celebrating almost 40 years of unwavering dedication to our staff and patients (joining us back in 1988!).

Sharon’s role is absolutely vital for the smooth running of our surgery. From navigating complex NHS administration to improving patient services and supporting our clinical team, Sharon does it all with professionalism and dedication.

20/04/2026

🩸 Blood Clinic Drop‑In – Thank You! 💙

Due to popular demand and feedback about difficulties accessing phlebotomy services, we arranged an extra blood clinic drop‑in today to support our patients and the wider community.

While GP practices aren’t commissioned to routinely provide phlebotomy services, we’re pleased to offer these clinics where we can to help patients access timely care and to support wider community services 🤝

What a response! 🙌 Over 300 patients 🥵 attended, with just over 50% of invited patients dropping in, far more than we usually see.

Thank you for your patience if you experienced a short wait, and a huge shout out to our incredible team who worked so hard all day 👏 We’re very proud of you!

Thank you to everyone who attended 💙

We even had a couple of patients from other Practices turn up (of course we couldn't turn them away 😊)

Here's Charlotte our Nurse doing the 1st of 3 runs to lab with the bloods (& Urines!)

20/04/2026

📅 DROP-IN CLINIC TODAY! 📅

No appointment? No problem! We are running a drop-in session today from 1PM to 6PM to help you stay on top of your health.

Come and see us if you are:

✅ Due for Blood Tests – If a clinician has requested bloods for you or you're due your routine bloods.

📍 Where: Marus Bridge Practice
⏰ When: Today, 1PM – 6PM

Just check in at reception when you arrive. Let’s get those health ticks sorted! ✅

19/04/2026

Do you suffer with back pain? 😩

Well, you’re not alone - and on Monday 27 April you're invited to a FREE back pain education session, delivered by our First Contact Practitioners. 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

🕚 Education session: 11:00am-12:00 noon (arrival from 10.30am)
📍 Edge Hall Road, Orrell

✅ Understand common causes of back pain
✅ Learn practical ways to manage your symptoms
✅ Ask questions and get expert, evidence based advice

But that’s not all…

From 10:30am–12:30pm, other services will be on hand to offer extra guidance and support, including:
💚 Be Well Wigan – physical activity and healthy living support
👷 Work Well – helping you get into work, return to work, or remain in work
🫶 Community Link Workers – supporting you with any social issues affecting your health
🩺 Nurse / GP Assistant – providing FREE NHS Health Checks

Book your spot for free using the link below
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-and-managing-your-back-pain-tickets-1986353774611

14/04/2026

📢 Help Us Shape the Future of Our Practice!

Hello everyone, I’m Dr Awolowo (AJ), a GP Partner here and the Patient Engagement Lead. I am reaching out today because we want to make our surgery the best it can possibly be for you and your families but we can’t do that without your voice.

We are looking for more patients to join our Patient Participation Group (PPG).

What is a PPG?
It is a small, friendly group of patients who work alongside us to provide a patient’s perspective on the services we provide. You don’t need any medical experience; you just need to be a patient here!

How can you help?
You don’t have to commit to long meetings if you don't have the time. You can help simply by:

Giving your opinion: Tell us what we’re doing well and where we can improve.

Providing advice: Help us sense-check new ideas or changes to the surgery before we roll them out.

General feedback: Share your experiences and those of your community to help us understand local needs.

Why join?
Have your say: Influence how your local healthcare is delivered.

Stay informed: Get a better understanding of how the NHS and your practice work.

Flexible involvement: We welcome both "in-person" members and "virtual" members who prefer to give feedback via email or surveys.

Whether you have a few minutes to answer a survey or an hour to join a chat, your feedback is invaluable to us. We want our group to represent everyone in our community:young people, parents, workers, and retirees alike.

Interested?
Take a look at the poster below or simply leave your name and email with our reception team and Lisa our Deputy Manager will get in touch with more information.

Thank you for listening

Dr Awolowo (AJ)
GP Partner & Patient Engagement Lead

14/04/2026

Just across the road from the practice 👇

💜 Locala sexual health have a new clinical van and will be coming to the Family Hub at Clifton Street next week!

🔵 It is a fully equipped and functioning clinic on wheels enabling us to bring the clinic out to the community.
🟣 On our new clinical van we can provide all sexual health needs including help and advice, contraception, c-cards and STI testing.
🔵 The service is there for all in the community and has accessibility adaptations if required.

📅 Tuesday 14th April
⏰ 9.00-12.00pm
📍 Family Hub at Clifton Street, Wigan, WN3 5HN
🟣 Drop-in

12/04/2026

Once you realise that given the safe space that we're in.

Question 3 is

“anything to get off you’re chest”

that tends to be the most important question of the night when we can talk about anything at all (within the rules).

There's no pressure to talk and no judgement when you do start talking.👌
Andys Man Club Stenhousemuir
📌 Stenhousemuir football club
Gladstone Rd
FK5 4QL
Andys Man Club Grangemouth
📌15th Scout group, Peddie Place Grangemouth
FK3 9JW
Andys Man Club Hallglen
📌 Ettrick Dockhart community hall Dockhart place,
FK1 2QR
Andys Man Club Bo’ness
Bridgeness Welfare Society and social club Harbour Rd, Bo'ness
EH51 9LF

12/04/2026

☕ 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆!

Join us at the Carers Centre for a relaxed morning to connect with others, share experiences, exchange tips, and chat with people who genuinely understand the realities of caring. It’s a friendly, supportive space where you’re never on your own.

Join us tomorrow:
📅 Monday 13th April
🕙 10am–12pm
📍 Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre, Hindley

We’d love to see you there — you’ll be very warmly welcomed.

11/04/2026

We hope you're enjoying the Bank Holidays and weekend 😊

It’s been a busy short week here at the practice! Following the 4 day Bank Holiday, our team has been working hard to ensure everyone gets the care they need.

We thought it would be useful to share some information and data on what we've done this week - See poster 👇

Our top priority is ensuring our patients are safe, and so we prioritise our workload based on clinical need. Our Duty Clinician personally triages every single medical request and query that comes through via Askmygp, added directly by patients/carers or our Patient Support Team adding on the patients behalf.
This ensures that those with the most urgent needs are seen or responded to as soon as possible.

We want to say a huge thank you to the majority of our patients who have been and are incredibly patient and grateful, your kind words keep us going! 💙

However, we have noticed an increase in frustration directed toward our Patient Support Team. We understand that waiting longer than you’d like is stressful, but please remember that our staff are doing their absolute best with the resources available.

Our Zero Tolerance Policy:
Our team deserves to work in a safe environment. Please help us to help you by remaining respectful when speaking with our staff.
Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding.

Post inspired by our peers and gp colleagues over at Dicconson Group Practice

05/04/2026

04/04/2026

NHS bowel cancer screening kits are offered to everyone aged between 50 and 74.

They can help find cancer early, before you even have any symptoms. And the earlier cancer is found, the easier it can be to treat.

When your kit arrives, put it by the loo. Don’t put it off.

Let someone else know they should send their kit back – especially as April is Bowel Cancer Awareness month.

More info: https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/bowel-cancer-screening/

02/04/2026