As per the new requirements implemented by NHS England, from 1st October 2022 Primary Care Networks (PCN) are required to provide Enhanced Access appointments between the hours of 6.30pm to 8pm Mondays to Fridays and between 9am and 5pm on Saturdays.

Following the discovery of a type of vaccine-derived poliovirus in sewage in North and East London, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that a targeted inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) booster dose should be offered to all children between the ages of 1 and 9 in all London boroughs.

This will ensure that these patient groups have a higher level of protection than they would have already from their childhood immunisations. 

This initiative is to reduce the spread of polio and to prevent some of the serious complications that could arise from the infection.

Nationally the overall risk of polio and its complications is considered low because most people are protected from this by vaccination; however, booster doses are required to provide additional protection.

We are contacting parents of children who are overdue their immunisations, and children eligible for booster or catch-up doses. We would ask that you call the practice on 020 7263 9633 to make an appointment for vaccination if your child falls into these categories. We would encourage parents to take up this offer as soon as possible.

The programme will start with the areas affected, where the poliovirus has been detected and vaccination rates are low. This will be followed by rapid rollout across all boroughs.

Please see the links below for more information on Polio and updates from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation:

https.nhs.uk/conditions/polio/.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaccination-strategy-for-ongoing-polio-incident-jcvi-statement

Your next poo could save your life 

We are supporting a London-wide campaign to encourage more patients to do their free NHS bowel cancer screening home test, which checks if you could have bowel cancer.  

People who are the right age are sent a free NHS FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) kit every two years. You use it to collect a small sample of poo and post it back to an NHS lab.

The campaign by NHS London, “Your next poo could save your life”, urges more people to use their kit – a message we wholeheartedly endorse.

Screening can help prevent bowel cancer and find it at an early stage when it’s easier to treat. People who complete their screening are 25% less likely to die of bowel cancer. 

The kits are for people with no symptoms and most people get the all-clear.

If you are aged 56, 58 (on or after 16 May 2022) or 60 to 74 and we have your correct address, you will be sent a kit every 2 years. Please use it. By April 2025, bowel cancer screening kits will be for everyone aged 50 to 74 in England.

To find out more and hear from other Londoners about their experience of bowel cancer screening, visit www.healthylondon.org/bcs

If you have symptoms of bowel cancer which last for three weeks or more, please contact the practice and ask for an appointment.

Brookfield Park Surgery now has its own Facebook page.

Please join using the following link: https://www.facebook.com/BrookfieldParkSurgery/

The NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme is now underway in the UK.

All of our eligible patients will receive an invitation to be vaccinated.

Please do not call the Practice to make an appointment as we cannot make Covid vaccination bookings.

Further information about the vaccine and the priority patient groups is available through here.

Easy-Read Covid-19 Information Leaflet

How to access your COVID-19 vaccination status - Information Update from the UK Government