Ivy Grove Surgery

20/08/2026

Dear Patients

Our latest newsletter has just been published at http://ivy.gs/news

Contents: Flu campaign 2026/27; Dr Greer's marathon update; Greener General Practice; Dr Neely's bike event; Removals from patient list; Letters for exams etc; Did you know about unfunded work? Part 4 - what would it take for GPs to do unfunded work?; Did you know about unfunded work? Part 5 - what would happen if GPs continued unfunded work?; Did you know about unfunded work? Part 6 - what happens when others ask GPs to do unfunded work?; Did you know about unfunded work? Part 7 - what can you do about unfunded work?; Did you know about patient safety? Part 2 - essential safe working; Did you know about patient safety? Part 3 - the fatal flaw of pushing access above all; Did you know about patient safety? Part 4 - more open doors; Did you know about patient safety? Part 5 - the impact of uncontrolled access; Did you know about patient safety? Part 6 - access vs. continuity; Did you know about online consult requests?; PCN page; Next year's centenary; Cancer screening

We tend to start the year with a wellbeing theme and a freshening up of current practice processes, so that we can all start the year raring to go. With that, we bring an update to Dr Greer's latest marathon quest.

12/08/2026

We have received a number of adverse comments regarding Ivy Grove Surgery in light of the internet outage at the end of last week and would therefore like to clarify matters.

Contrary to popular belief, GPs are in fact not responsible for the network connection to their buildings, nor the computer system, nor indeed the individual PCs themselves. If any problems arise in these areas, these are the responsibility of the IT service commissioned by the ICB (health board) to resolve - see attached email screenshots for your information.

The issue last week was an NHS-wide outage affecting many GP surgeries nationally and completely beyond our means and control to fix.

We know it has been immensely frustrating all round, but computers have become such an essential tool that they are required for almost every aspect of medical care these days. We hope you can appreciate the need to keep you informed and to take appropriate steps so that we can continue to practise safely.

Thank you all for your understanding.

07/08/2026

Wait... NOOOOO!!! Unfortunately the IT system has gone down again. Due to a major incident, the systems have failed
This means we are not clinically safe to operate. We have cancelled all appointments for today, any appointments booked into the hub tomorrow will be telephone appointments, not face to face. Please use alternative NHS services such as 111, or 999 for the present.

07/08/2026

Urgent update. We are pleased to say our system is now operational again. We would like to thank everyone for their understanding. Anyone who had their appointment cancelled will be contacted next week to have this rescheduled. It may take us a little time to work through the backlog created, so please bear with us.

07/08/2026

Urgent update. Unfortunately we are still experiencing IT system failure and are unable to operate safely. In an emergency call 999 alternatively contact NHS 111 for same day issues which can not wait.

06/08/2026

URGENT message
The internet has gone down in the surgery and surrounding areas so we are currently unable to access the computer system and medical records.

If you have an appointment this afternoon please DO NOT ATTEND surgery.

We will let you know when the internet is back up and running and will be in touch to rearrange appointments as soon as we are able

If you have a medical problem which requires immediate attention please contact 111.

Many thanks for your understanding

14/07/2026

Dear Patients

We are getting reports from some of you who have found out that you have been inadvertently removed from our patient list even though you did not move out of the practice area and/or did not request removal. This has been part of a national 'list cleansing' exercise by NHS England/Primary Care Support England (PCSE) that has adversely affected many GP surgeries all over the country.

This has affected seemingly random patients, even those who have only just seen us recently. In some cases, entire families have been removed!

We must point out that these patient removals have been made directly by NHS England and not by us, and are usually carried out if patients do not respond to a letter sent out to them by NHS England or PCSE, asking them to confirm their details.

Given patients have been removed from our patient list over the course of some months, and are no longer on our system, it is difficult to know the full extent of the problem, but no urgent action is required by the majority of our patients.

*** Please DO NOT contact us to check if you are still registered, as we will be inundated with calls! ***

If you use the NHS App, you will be able to check if you are still registered with us.

If you are still living within our practice area, and happen to get in touch with us and we discover that you have been removed from our patient list inadvertently, please let us know at the time of calling and we can re-register you.

Going forward, please be aware, if you do get a letter from NHS England or PCSE, or if you get a text, letter or call from us, asking you to confirm your details, please don't ignore them, please do respond, otherwise you might find you will be removed from our patient list without you even knowing it.

If you are then removed, you would then need to go through the inconvenience of re-registering in order to access GP services.

We encourage you to share this post with your family members or friends who are registered with us, so that all of you know to respond if/when the time comes.

Many thanks

Ivy Grove Surgery

24/06/2026

Did you know where health begins?

19/06/2026

Good morning, we are faced with the unprecedented situation of 3 of our doctors off sick today, and we have not been able to secure any locums at all.

To get the help you need:
http://ivy.gs/get-help

To self-refer to other professionals without seeing a GP first:
http://ivy.gs/self-refer

To get mental health support:
http://ivy.gs/mh including 24hr helpline: 0800 028 0077

To get official health advice:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/

To check your symptoms online:
https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/

To get help for urgent, but not life-threatening conditions, that need same day care:
http://ivy.gs/utc

Many thanks for bearing with us. Thank you

Welcome to Ivy Grove Surgery, always aiming to provide high quality and friendly family health care

18/06/2026

Did you know about fit notes? Common myths about fit notes (sick notes) - we hope you find this guide useful