Birley Health Centre

10/09/2026

𝐃𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐏?

What matters most is not necessarily having an official named GP. What matters is continuity of care.

Seeing the same clinician repeatedly can be extremely valuable.

That clinician learns your story, what matters to you, and understands the context of your problems, and can often provide better care because they know you.

However if a patient has an urgent problem today and their preferred doctor isn't available, it is usually safer to be seen promptly by another suitable clinician than to wait several days.

Not having a fixed GP also gives you the freedom to find someone who is a good fir for you.

For the purpose of forms, you are welcome to use any GP's name you wish from our surgery.

What really matters is making sure you see the right person at the right time.

28/08/2026

📢 Flu & COVID Vaccinations at Birley Health Centre - Autumn 2026 Update

Hi everyone,
We wanted to give all Birley Health Centre patients an update regarding this year's flu and COVID vaccination programme.
Firstly, this season's eligibility for flu and COVID vaccinations includes:

👉 Flu Eligibility
Adults aged 65 years and over
Adults aged 18 to under 65 years in clinical risk groups
Residents of long-stay care homes
Carers (including those receiving Carer's Allowance)
Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
Frontline social care workers without an employer-led vaccination scheme
Rough sleepers and people using homeless hostels/night shelters


COVID-19 Booster Eligibility
Adults aged 75 years and over
Residents in care homes for older adults
Individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed

At Birley Health Centre, we genuinely enjoy providing both flu and COVID vaccination clinics for our community. We choose to offer these clinics because we want our patients to be able to receive their vaccinations locally rather than having to travel elsewhere, and our team truly enjoys supporting patients through the vaccination programme each year.

This year, however, we have encountered a logistical challenge which means our flu vaccination programme will be slightly delayed.

The Practice spends around £30,000 each year on flu vaccines, which is reimbursed by the NHS when the vaccines are administered. Across the UK, there are only two main suppliers of flu vaccines to GP practices. Unfortunately, one of these suppliers has withdrawn its vaccine and cancelled our order. Sadly, this is completely outside of our control.
We immediately approached the alternative supplier, who has confirmed they can provide us with the vaccines, although at a higher cost. The challenge is that they are currently unable to deliver stock until mid to late October.
Despite the additional cost and delay, we have made the decision to continue offering flu vaccinations to our patients. We have also asked NHS England whether they could support affected practices with obtaining stock sooner, but unfortunately they have advised that they are unable to assist the large number of practices impacted by this issue.

As soon as we receive confirmation of our delivery date, we will contact all eligible patients directly and invite them to book an appointment.

📱 Appointments will need to be pre booked this year Unfortunately, due to the delayed supply and the need to carefully manage stock, we will not be able to offer our usual walk-in clinics.
When invitations are sent, you'll be able to:
✅ Self book using the link provided in your invitation
✅ Contact the Practice by phone and speak to our reception team or Reception AI to arrange an appointment

We really do need your support. Once we have purchased the flu vaccines, we need to ensure they are used. If you usually have your flu jab with us, we would be incredibly grateful if you continued to support your local Practice by receiving it here this year.

If you book an appointment with us but later decide to have your vaccination elsewhere, please remember to cancel your appointment so that we can offer it to another patient.

❗ There's no need to contact the Practice regarding flu vaccinations at this stage.
We will be in touch with eligible patients as soon as appointments become available.

Thank you for your patience, understanding and continued support of your local GP Practice.

The Birley team

21/08/2026

🩺 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞: 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐏 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 - Live on Video next week
Ever wondered why how our appointment system works?
How test results work?

General practice has changed enormously over the last few years, but it's not always easy to understand why.
We’re hosting a free live video session where you can ask us anything about how your GP surgery works.

We can talk about:
• How appointments are prioritised
• Blood tests and who is responsible for them
• Repeat prescriptions and medication reviews
• Why we sometimes ask you to see a pharmacist, physiotherapist or minor injuries instead of a GP?
• Referrals to hospital
• How GPs and hospitals work together
• New ways of working and why we've introduced them

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭.

This isn't a consultation or a place to discuss personal medical problems. Please don't bring individual clinical questions, as they can't be answered safely or confidentially in a public meeting.

My aim is to explain how general practice works, answer your questions honestly, and hopefully make the NHS a little less confusing.

📅 Date: Tuesday 25th August
🕖 Time: 5.30-6,30pm
💻 Video link https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_M2ZkYjNlOWItZWQwMi00N2QwLWE2ODAtNDc5NWEyY2QxOGQ0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2237c354b2-85b0-47f5-b222-07b48d774ee3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227097c13c-6655-4bdb-be26-3ef540983c36%22%7d

Please feel free to like and share with friends, family and neighbours. The more people who understand how General Practice works, the better we can work together.

Dr Ben Allen (GP Partner) and Sam Fellowes (Practice manager)

20/08/2026

🩺 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞: 𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐏 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 - Live on Video next week
Ever wondered why how our appointment system works?
How test results work?

General practice has changed enormously over the last few years, but it's not always easy to understand why.
We’re hosting a free live video session where you can ask us anything about how your GP surgery works.

We can talk about:
• How appointments are prioritised
• Blood tests and who is responsible for them
• Repeat prescriptions and medication reviews
• Why we sometimes ask you to see a pharmacist, physiotherapist or minor injuries instead of a GP?
• Referrals to hospital
• How GPs and hospitals work together
• New ways of working and why we've introduced them

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭.

This isn't a consultation or a place to discuss personal medical problems. Please don't bring individual clinical questions, as they can't be answered safely or confidentially in a public meeting.

My aim is to explain how general practice works, answer your questions honestly, and hopefully make the NHS a little less confusing.

📅 Date: Tuesday 25th August
🕖 Time: 5.30-6,30pm
💻 Video link https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_M2ZkYjNlOWItZWQwMi00N2QwLWE2ODAtNDc5NWEyY2QxOGQ0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2237c354b2-85b0-47f5-b222-07b48d774ee3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227097c13c-6655-4bdb-be26-3ef540983c36%22%7d

Please feel free to like and share with friends, family and neighbours. The more people who understand how General Practice works, the better we can work together.

Dr Ben Allen (GP Partner) and Sam Fellowes (Practice manager)

17/08/2026

💙 A Quiet Place to Wait 💙

We know that coming to the surgery can feel overwhelming for some people. A busy waiting room, noise, or being around lots of other people can sometimes make appointments more stressful than they need to be.

If you would prefer to wait somewhere quieter, we have some orange chairs in our nurses' corridor that are away from the main waiting area.

Simply let our reception team know when you arrive, and they will be happy to show you where they are and let your clinician know where you're waiting.

You don't need to explain why. If a quieter space would help you feel more comfortable, just ask.

We're always looking for small ways to make visiting the surgery a little easier for everyone. 💙

If you have any questions about visiting the practice, please feel free to ask in the comments below. 👇

14/08/2026

𝐀 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲…
Acute doesn’t mean severe. It means sudden and short lived.

Chronic doesn’t mean severe either. It means long term.

So something can be acute and severe, acute and mild, chronic and severe or chronic and mild.

𝐖𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞. It’s worth knowing the difference, because when doctors use them, they may not mean what you think they mean.

Dr Ben Allen, GP Partner.

12/08/2026

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.
Whether it's your first visit, you're worried about bad news, you're not sure what to expect, or medical appointments simply make you nervous, you're not alone.

Please remember it's OK to tell us if you're feeling anxious. You don't need to hide it, "just get on with it", or apologise for being nervous.

Some things that people find helpful include:

📝 Bringing a written list of things they want to discuss
📱 Keeping notes on their phone, or reading from notes during the appointment
✅ Rehearsing what they want to say beforehand
👥 Bringing a friend or family member for support
⏰ Taking a moment before answering questions if they need time to think
❓ Asking the clinician to repeat, explain, or clarify something if medical terms are confusing
✍️ Asking for important information to be written down
📞 Getting in touch afterwards if they realise they've forgotten to mention something

There is no right or wrong way to attend an appointment. There is also no such thing as a silly question when it comes to your health.

Everyone is different, and what helps one person may not help another. If there's something that would make your appointment easier or more comfortable, please let us know. We're here to help.

If you have questions about visiting the surgery, feel free to ask in the comments below. If you're wondering about it, chances are someone else is too. 💙

Dr Ben Allen, GP Partner

10/08/2026

💐 Join us as we say farewell to Dr Boyle 💐

Please join us for a drop-in farewell get-together to wish Dr Boyle all the very best for the future.

📅 Tuesday 11th August 2026
🕑 2–4pm
📍 Birley Health Centre

Pop in anytime between 2–4pm to say goodbye, share some memories and wish Dr Boyle well. 💙

We’d love to see you there! ❤️

05/08/2026

Please help yourself to some apples from our tree, these will be on Laura's Bench outside surgery 🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏

30/07/2026

🚨 We're Hiring – Part-Time Administrator 🚨

We have an exciting opportunity to join our friendly team at our GP surgery as a Part-Time Administrator.

🕒 Hours:

- 20 hours per week
- 30-minute unpaid lunch break
- Fixed days and hours, worked over 3 days

This is a varied role where you'll learn different administrative duties across the team, providing support wherever it's needed. As the role develops, you'll take on additional responsibilities, making this a great opportunity for someone who enjoys learning and working as part of a supportive team.

We're looking for someone who:
✔️ Has excellent communication and organisational skills
✔️ Is reliable, adaptable, and able to work well in a busy environment
✔️ Is willing to learn new tasks and support different areas of the admin team
✔️ Can offer flexibility to help cover annual leave and sickness, sometimes at short notice

If you're friendly, motivated, and enjoy helping people, we'd love to hear from you!

If your interested in this role please use the link below and apply via the NHS jobs website.

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