WILLINGHAM & LONGSTANTON SURGERIES
Willingham 01954 260230 Longstanton 01954 207600 Dispensary 01954 207602
Website: www.willinghammedicalpractice.nhs.net
Community (District) Nurses: 0330 726 0077 Health Visitors: 0300 029 5050
a&e is not an alternative to a gp appointment
when the surgery is closed please call 111 for medical assistance, or 999 for a life threatening emergency
for urgent mental health support, please call 111 and select option 2
WINTER FUEL ALLOWANCE 2025 UPDATE
| Following a review by central government for 2025, most pensioners in England and Wales will receive the Winter Fuel Payment. The payment will be reinstated for all pensioners with a taxable income below £35,000 per year. If your income is above that threshold, you will still receive the payment and it will be recovered through the tax system. If you’re eligible, you’ll get a letter in October or November and most eligible people will be paid automatically in November or December. If you haven’t received a payment before, and believe you are eligible, you can contact the Winter Fuel Payment by telephone, post or online to make a claim. be aware of potential scams related to winter fuel payment claims | |
| For further information please visit https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment or telephone 0800 731 0160 | |
Cancelling Appointments
We understand that sometimes plans change and you may find you are unable to attend the surgery for a pre-booked appointment. We respectfully ask that you contact the surgery by telephone to let us know if you can no longer make it. You will not have to hold for any period of time, just press option 3 which will allow you to leave a message. Please do not cancel appointments last minute via email as, when we are very busy, we are unable to monitor the email inbox.
Blood Tests
If you have a pre-arranged blood test booked in the surgery, it is important to ensure you are well hydrated when you attend for your appointment. This also includes when attending for a fasting blood test – although you must not eat, please ensure that you drink plenty of water. This will help to make your test less uncomfortable.
Referrals
If during your consultation the GP or nurse has arranged a referral to the hospital or a community service, and you have not heard anything after two weeks from either the surgery confirming your referral has been sent or from the hospital/service, please make contact with our secretaries to chase.
Hospital Medication
We would like to remind our patients that the best place to collect any medication prescribed by clinical staff whilst visiting the hospital is from the pharmacy located in the hospital itself. We understand that queues and waiting times are often long and frustrating but by not waiting to collect will only cause further delays. To clarify, the dispensary are unable to dispense any hospital requested medication without a clinic letter and these letters are often not received in the surgery for a few days after a clinic appointment/hospital attendance. In addition, the dispensary does not stock hospital medication so it has to be ordered in, which can sometimes take days, again causing further delays. So, please collect your medication from the hospital pharmacy to ensure that there is no interruption to your care.
Vaccinations
| The Pneumococcal Vaccine is available year round for everyone who is aged 65 years and over. |
| The RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) Vaccine is available year round for everyone who is aged between 75 and 79 years of age and for all pregnant women who are over 28 weeks. |
| The Shingles Vaccine is available year round for everyone who is aged between 70 and 79 years of age and have never received a shingles vaccine, for individuals who reach the age of 65 or 70 years of age during the period 01/09/23 and 31/08/2028 (these individuals should be vaccinated on or after (but not before) their 65th or 70th birthday), individuals who are aged 50 years and above and meet the definition of severe immunosuppression and for those who are aged between 18 and 49 years and receiving a stem cell transplant. Please note, when booking your second (booster) shingles vaccination, that this cannot be administered any sooner (even by one day) than six calendar months after the first vaccination was given. |
Patient Participation Group (PPG) Meetings
The PPG brings together patients, GPs and staff from a GP practice. They meet to discuss issues relating to their surgery and the services provided to patients. This allows GPs and staff to work with patients to plan services which best meet the needs of the people who use those services. All of our patients are welcome.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 12th November, 7pm-9pm at the Willingham Medical Practice.
Carers Meetings
If you are a carer for someone and need advice and financial or emotional support, please come along to our carers support meeting on Wednesday 5th November, at the Wilford Furlong Centre in Willingham, where we will be holding a drop in session between 2pm and 4pm. Please come along and get some support from other people in the local community. Refreshments are provided, there’s no need to pre-book and it’s completely FREE! Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month and for more information please contact susan.lawson7@nhs.net
Willingham Medical Practice – November 2025
