Withnell Health Centre

07/09/2026

We will be at the next Chorley Family Hub One Stop Shop on Tuesday 8th September. Come along for advice and support

04/09/2026

Please come to us to receive your vaccine. 🙂

FLU CLINIC
Our annual FLU clinic will be on
SATURDAY 3rd October

If you’re our patient and are eligible for a flu vaccine, then we have ordered your vaccine already. You will be sent a text or letter if you’re eligible.

🔵If you cannot attend the flu clinic don’t worry!! We will book you a quick appointment with one of our wonderful nurses.

28/08/2026

Please see below information.
We will be closed on
Bank holiday Monday 31st August.

20/08/2026

Medication Update for Dry Eyes 👁️

If you have severe dry eyes and are under the eye clinic, or have an auto-immune condition, we can still prescribe eye drops for you.

If you have mild to moderate dry eyes we will have to ask you to buy your eye drops over the counter, like the majority of patients are doing.

Below are a list of reasons why you may be experiencing dry eyes.

- you're over the age of 50
- you wear contact lenses
- you look at computer screens for a long time without a break
- you spend time in air conditioned or heated environments
- it's windy, dry or dusty
- you smoke (or spend time in smoky environments) or drink alcohol

For more information on treating dry eyes, please speak to your local opticians.

18/08/2026

👁️ Many people get dry eyes. It's not usually serious and there are things you can do to help.

You may have dry eyes if your eyes are:

- itchy
- sore
- gritty
- red
- blurry
- sensitive to light
- more watery than normal

You can get dry eyes if you do not make enough tears or your tears dry up quickly.

You may be more likely to get dry eyes if:

- you're over the age of 50
- you wear contact lenses
- you look at computer screens for a long time without a break
- you spend time in air conditioned or heated environments
- it's windy, dry or dusty
- you smoke (or spend time in smoky environments) or drink alcohol
- you take certain medicines (for example, some antidepressants or blood pressure medicines)
- you have a condition, such as blepharitis, Sjögren's syndrome or lupus

How to treat dry eyes yourself:

✅Do clean your eyelids every day

✅take breaks to rest your eyes when watching TV or using a computer screen

✅make sure your computer screen is just below eye level

✅use a humidifier to stop the air getting dry

✅if you wear contact lenses, take them out and wear glasses to rest your eyes

Don’t

❌do not smoke or drink too much alcohol

❌do not spend too long in smoky, dry or dusty places

❌do not spend too long in air conditioned or heated rooms

❌do not stop taking a prescribed medicine without getting medical advice first – even if you think it's causing your symptoms

A pharmacist may be able to help you to treat it yourself – such as cleaning and protecting your eyes.
They can also advise on treatments that you can buy to help – such as eyedrops, gels, ointments or allergy medicines.

See an optician if:

- you still have dry eyes after trying home treatments for a few weeks

- there's any change in the shape of your eyelids

- They can check what the cause might be and recommend treatment for it.

If an optician cannot find a cause, they may refer you to an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) for tests.

Find your nearest opticians by visiting

Find NHS sight tests near you on the NHS website

17/08/2026

Our PPG volunteers will be at the health centre tomorrow ( Tuesday 18th August ) from 10am to help with any mobility equipment you may need!

We are currently not accepting any new donations of walking frames, commodes or toilet raisers as we have lots in stock.

We have lots of mobility equipment available including walkers, frames, toilet raisers, chair raisers, commodes, tables, steps and shower seats.

For any queries or particular requests, please pop down and speak to our volunteers.

Thank you

12/08/2026

Learn how to protect your eyes whilst watching the partial solar eclipse!

We probably shouldn’t have to say this, but don’t look directly at the sun. Looking directly at the sun without the right protection can cause permanent damage to your eyesight – so you need to take care. Remember, your normal sunglasses may look great, but they won't cut it.

Follow the link to learn more about how to watch the eclipse safely!

➡️ https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/07/23/how-to-watch-the-solar-eclipse-safely-this-summer/

07/08/2026

‼️Please note that the national IT outage that was affecting practices across Lancashire yesterday, is still ongoing. We still have no computer systems working within the building so please avoid calling today to book appointments, order prescriptions etc.

The clinicians have laptops which are working from home so any urgent appointments or prescription requests can still be carried out remotely over the phone. All calls from yesterday will be done today.

If you need an urgent appointment, please call reception as normal to book an appointment. If your issue is routine, we will not be able to offer you an appointment today, please call us on Monday for an appointment. If you have a scheduled appointment for today already, please attend as normal unless you are otherwise contacted but bear with us as our clinical systems are down.

Thank you for patience and understanding, we will keep you updated❗️

06/08/2026

‼️unfortunately our clinical systems are currently unavailable due to a national IT outage which is affecting multiple practices across Lancashire‼️

As we are unable to access our EMIS system, we cannot view medical records, book appointments, or check existing appointments at this time.

If you already have an appointment booked for today, please attend the surgery as planned. If you are calling to routinely book or enquire about an appointment, we kindly ask for your patience while the issue is being resolved and please contact us tomorrow.

Please note that any scheduled telephone appointments today may be later than usual, or will be rescheduled for tomorrow.

IT are working hard to restore the service as quickly as possible but we are currently unsure how long this might take.

If you require urgent assistance please ring 111 or attend the urgent care centre.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience. 🙏