Summer Coffee & Crafts

Summer Fun with Coffee & Crafts

West Bergholt Methodist Church are holding some more of their popular fun activity mornings for young families during the school holidays. The Coffee and Craft sessions will all take place on Monday mornings from 10.30 to 12.00 in the Methodist Church Hall, Chapel Lane, West Bergholt.

There will be a variety of craft activities and free coffee, tea, squash, biscuits and cakes will be available. There will be an entrance fee to cover the cost of craft materials of £2-50 per family (any number) but please note that, sorry, we are unable to accept unaccompanied children.

Each morning will follow a different theme, which will be reflected in the craft activities. The dates of the mornings are:-

Monday July 28^th 10.30 to 12.00 – Seaside Fun
Monday August 18^th 10.30 to 12.00 – Carnival Time
Monday September 1^st 10.30 to 12.00 – Animals

All are welcome.

July 16, 2014March 9, 2017

Get Sheducated

Is your garden and shed secure?

The garden and its perimeter

Your garden should be your first line of defence against burglars. If someone can get into your back garden easily without attracting attention, it gives him/her more time to steal from you.

Keep hedges and fences low at the front of the house so an intruder has nowhere to hide.
Gravel on paths and driveways will alert you to someone approaching.
Make sure your fences and gates are in good repair. Trellis fixed to the top of your garden fence and carefully-placed prickly plants will provide extra protection from intruders.
If there is a gate at the side of your house which leads to the back garden, it should be as close to the front of your house as possible.
Keep this gate securely locked. A simple bolt is not enough – use a good padlock.
Install security lighting. Low energy dusk to dawn lighting is environmentally friendly, cheap to run and better for home security than passive infra-red activated lighting.
Don’t make a burglar’s life easier by leaving tools around which can be used to force entry. Always lock them away securely after use and consider chaining them together with a padlock attached to a hasp and staple.
Likewise, don’t leave ladders lying around as these can be used by a burglar to reach other parts of your house. Ladders should be chained and padlocked to a strong post or wall.
Try to avoid leaving things like dustbins lying around they can also be used as a climbing aid.
Remote-movement detectors can protect costly garden furniture and valuable ornaments such as statues or stone planters. However, these are only suitable for heavy objects not affected by wind or casual vibration. Alternatively, you can anchor these items to the ground using ground anchors designed for this purpose – even valuable plants can be protected in this way.
Hanging baskets are also worth protecting. Bending the bracket and/or hook so the basket cannot be removed may be enough to deter thieves, although locking brackets are also available for this purpose.

Sheds, garages and outbuildings

Garden sheds are a popular target with burglars as valuable items are often stored in them. Power tools, lawnmowers, cycles, golf clubs, etc., are all attractive to
thieves and very expensive to replace.

Has your shed survived the winter without any damage? If not, don’t delay – fix it today!
Shed doors are notoriously easy to break into, so strengthen the door and frame if you can. Outside door hinges should be secured with coach bolts or
non-return screws. Use strong pad-bars and close shackle padlocks.
Up-and-over garage doors can be secured by putting padlocks through the inside runners or by fitting padlocks with a hasp and staple on either side of the
door. Five-lever mortise locks are the best thing to use on normal solid doors.
Are the windows secure? Does the glass need replacing? You could use perspex or polycarbonate sheet as a more secure alternative, as long as it is securely fixed. Use a window lock on any windows which can be opened, along with a strong grille or heavy wire mesh panel. Consider using net curtains so people can’t see inside.
Battery operated alarms may act as a deterrent. If you have a house alarm, you could have it upgraded to include your shed or garage. If the garage is an
integral part of your house, make sure the alarm conforms to BS 4737.

Your property

You also need to protect everything you keep in your shed and garage.

Does your insurance cover the shed and garage and all the equipment stored in them?
Is everything postcoded so you could identify it if it was stolen?
Items can be postcoded by a variety of methods (etching, branding, paint stencilling, etc.) Making them easy to identify will make it more difficult for a thief to dispose of them, so they are less likely to be stolen in the first place.
Keep a record of serial numbers.
Photograph valuable items and keep the photos somewhere safe.
Make everything secure inside the shed, so even if someone did break in they wouldn’t be able to walk away with all your valuable items.
Chain cycles, mowers, ladders and tools to a strong anchor point, such as metal rings fixed in concrete to the floor, and use a close shackle padlock.
Sheds are not really designed for safe storage, so it might be better to keep a strong lockable box or cage inside your shed. Better still, store valuable items in a more secure place.
Ask your neighbours to keep an eye on your shed as well as the house and do the same for them in return.
If your shed is screened from view, cut down some foliage so you’re not providing cover for a thief.
When you’ve made your garden, shed or outbuildings more secure, remember to lock things away every time. It only takes a minute to pick something up and walk off, so don’t be tempted to leave everything outside while you go inside for a cup of tea. And NEVER leave cycles unlocked.

Natural protection

One of the best ways to keep thieves out of your back garden is to use nature’s own defence mechanisms. A barrier of prickly hedge may be all the protection you
need around your property. Here are some suggestions for plants to use. You can also ask for advice at your local garden centre.

BARBERRY (Berberis)
BLACKTHORN (Prunus Spinosa)
BUCKTHORN (Rhamnus)
FIRETHORN (Pyracantha)
GORSE (Ulex Europaeus)
HAWTHORN (Crataegus Monogyna)
HEDGING ROSE (Rosa Rugosa)
HOLLY (Ilex)
MAHONIA JAPONICA
ORNAMENTAL BRAMBLES (Rubus)
QUINCE (Chaenomeles)
ROSES – eg climbing and rambling roses, plus Rosa Pteracantha
SEA BUCKTHORN (Hippaphae Rhamnoides)

Neighbourhood Watch

And finally . . . are you a member of Neighbourhood Watch? If not, would you like to join a scheme, or perhaps even start one yourself?

For further information and advice please contact the crime reduction officer or problem solving officer at your local police station on 01268 532212.

July 14, 2014December 4, 2014

Exhibitions at St Mary’s Old Church

Bluebells Pre-School contributions to the Exhibition — Bluebells Pre-School contributions to the Art Exhibition

St Mary’s are hosting 2 exhibitions in the coming month, one of art by local artists and another staged by the local History Group.

Art Exhibition

Currently being exhibited, are some large paintings which were painted by village resident, John Newman. They were displayed in St. Mary’s Church in New Church Road during West Bergholt’s Open Gardens weekend. The paintings feature gardens that were mentioned in the Bible including the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. Appropriate verses from the Bible and information about these gardens are displayed alongside the paintings.

There is also some art work created by the children at Bluebells Pre-School. This exhibition will be displayed in the church for the next two weeks.

History Exhibition

The second exhibition is being staged by the West Bergholt History Group to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the start of WW1. This will be a small display from 2nd – 9th August.

July 8, 2014July 7, 2014

Antibiotics Crisis

Many may have heard about super-resistant bugs able to thrive despite antibiotics, the NE Essex CCG has issued advice that will help reduce the problem.

Antibiotics crisis – we can all do our bit locally

Patients and doctors together can help keep antibiotics effective. NHS NE Essex CCG is asking both doctors and patients to support each other locally to do our bit in the battle to keep antibiotics effective for us.

The prime minister said:

If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries will kill once again.

Dr Hasan Chowhan, clinical lead in this area for the CCG said:

We have known about the growth of resistance for some years, but it is getting rapidly worse. Research continues to look for more antibiotics to counteract bacteria that cause serious diseases in humans, but many bacteria are becoming more resistant to medicines currently available. What this means is that now around 5,000 people a year in Britain die because of antibiotic-resistant infection. If current trends continue, major life-saving surgery will become extremely risky, as post-operative infections may not be treatable. Even smaller, less serious operations of all types will become hazardous, as the risk of serious, even fatal illness from resulting infections will be too high. This is a major problem facing all of us and our families. The prime minister and the Chief Medical Officer are absolutely right to sound the alarm.

Dr Chowhan is calling on local doctors and patients to support each other:

We know that in too many cases locally, doctors prescribe antibiotics for patients when it is very unlikely they will do any good. Coughs, colds and various other usually minor illnesses caused by viruses cannot be cured or even helped by antibiotics. Indeed often antibiotics will cause other problems for the patient, such as very unpleasant digestive disorders, because the antibiotics kill the stomach and intestinal bacteria that manage our normal digestion.

Doctors can sometimes play it “safe” by prescribing just in case the patient might be aggrieved and complain if they didn’t. Sometimes the patient will insist on getting “some pills” or “some antibiotics” as they are sure that will hasten their recovery. Dr Chowhan and his colleagues in the NHS are appealing to patients to listen carefully to the doctor, and not to insist on antibiotics when it has been explained that these may not help, and may indeed produce harm. The CCG is working with local doctors to support them to understand where unnecessary prescribing is happening and to reduce it. We know from the recent “Big Care Debate” that local people in general strongly support any reduction of waste in the NHS.

When people take antibiotics that are not necessary, bacteria present can develop resistance. The more antibiotics that are taken by more people, the more resistance develops and can then spread to others, so that the patient concerned and perhaps other contacts develop resistant bacteria. The end result being that the next time they are treated, the antibiotics don’t work. Over-use in farm animals and lax regulation in some other parts of the world are also known contributors to the problem.

Dr Chowhan concluded:

This is one problem where each and every patient, as well as our doctors and nurses and pharmacists, can make a real contribution to the safety and effectiveness of our medicines now and for our families in the future. The government’s review is good news, but we don’t have to wait for that, we can do our bit now.

July 7, 2014July 21, 2014

June Crime Report

June Crime Incidents

June saw just one incident, with a theft from a vehicle, after an also quiet May.

Theft from a vehicle on the A12

At some time between 03:00 & 03:30 on 7th June, unidentified suspects ripped out the side curtain of a parked lorry and removed a number of lawnmowers whilst the driver was asleep. When confronted by the driver, both suspects made off in a white Transit van.

Information Releases

Three have come through this month, two with summer in mind, one on general crime prevention, one focussing on garden security, and another on personal safety.

A Bit of Summer Crime Prevention Advice

Hopefully the warm weather we have had already will not be the last and it will be a great summer. Please consider the points below so you don’t become a victim of crime.

If you have unoccupied rooms that are accessible to others from outside or off flat roofs make sure the windows are closed, if you need ventilation in these rooms at least lock the larger window and only have the small window open, even during the daytime. If you only have bigger windows consider a lockable window restrictor, or a small alarm sensor on the window to detect entry.

Leave a door or patio door open and in comes trouble, even during the day. If that door is accessible the sneak thief will pop in and anything lying around will be gone, you may have only popped down the end of the garden or having a quick shower upstairs, it only takes a second.

Before you turn in for the night do the “rounds” and check all is secure, some may think it is a bit over the top but you will feel more confident and less likely to become a victim.

Check the simple things:-

Parked cars – are the windows shut and doors locked (don’t assume that by pressing the button on the remote it is locked, try the handle too)? A lot of thefts are from insecure cars and vans.
Side gate shut and locked, sheds and garages secure?
Don’t leave unattended pedal cycles insecure and out the front.
Doors closed and locked? Don’t forget on that UPVC multi-locking door you may have lifted the handle but until you turn the key on the inside you have not locked all the locks in place.
Don’t forget to check that patio door, someone may have closed it but did they lock it?
Windows – lift the blinds or open the curtains and check they are closed, the sun may have been on the TV and it was hot, so they were drawn with the window open. Remember the advice above re open windows. Make sure in case of fire that keys to windows and doors are readily accessible to occupants but not in view of possible burglars.
If you have an intruder alarm activate the zone for the unoccupied area.
Car keys – don’t take them to bed with you, where possible leave them in noisy drawer/location.
If you do hear a suspicious noise in the house that you are not happy with dial 999, if you have an intruder remember your life is more important than your property, but do get a good description and if possible car index number.
Social Media – When using “Facebook” or other be wary of announcing to the world that you are away and your house is empty. Make sure your profile does not contain private information that would identify you or your address to a stranger.

Last bit of advice – Going on holiday? Stop the milk and newspaper deliveries and look after each other, get a neighbour or friend to keep an eye on your property, ensure neighbours have contact numbers for a key holder and where possible let them park their car on your drive. Basically if you create the illusion that your house is occupied it is less likely to be broken into.

Stephen Armson-Smith

Garden Security – Hints & Tips

With the weather steadily improving and with the nights getting longer, it is even more important that your garden is secure from would-be criminals. Making your garden more secure could prevent an intruder from getting into your home, garage or shed.

Hints and tips for securing your garden

Installing strong fences or gates will act as a deterrent, preventing intruders getting into your garden.
Ideally any gates, fencing, walls and hedges at the front of your house should not be more than 1.2m (4ft) so the front of your property can be seen by passers-by.
A standard 1.8m (6ft) wall or fence at the back of your house is sufficient. Increase the height to 2m (6ft 6in) if there is public access on the other side – any higher than this will need planning permission.
Trellis fixed to the top of a fence is not only decorative but can provide extra protection as it is difficult to climb over, breaking easily and noisily.
If there is an access point to your garden at the side of your house a strong lockable gate will act as a deterrent.
Garden gates should be at least the same height and strength as your fencing with hinges securely attached to the gateposts.
Fit good quality locks to gates that cannot be reached from over the fence.
Remember to always lock your gates.
Planting prickly plants or a hedge, such as firethorn, climbing rose or hawthorn, around the perimeter of your garden can be a powerful deterrent. For more information about plants which can help protect your property go to (link to page on our internet site).
Gravel on paths and driveways can act as an alert to someone coming towards your property.
Install dusk to dawn security lighting. The low energy lamp stays on in the dark and switches off when it starts to get light.
Secure garden furniture and wheelie bins so they cannot be used to climb on and gain access to upstairs windows.
Do not leave ladders lying around – they could be used by thieves to climb into an upstairs window. Keep them locked in a garage/shed.
Do not leave tools, gardening equipment or debris lying around in the garden as they could be used to smash windows.
Keep your garden neat and tidy so it looks cared for.
While working in your garden, make sure doors and windows are locked to stop unwanted visitors.
Do not use barbed wire, razor wire or broken glass on walls or fences to protect your property – you could be held legally responsible for any injuries caused.

Article courtesy of Northumbria Police

Personal Safety

Essex is a safe county and the chances of you, a friend or a member of your family becoming a victim of violent crime are low.

However there are a number of steps you can take to keep yourself safe. Planning your journeys, staying alert and avoiding poorly lit alleyways and car parks are just a few.

Suzy Lamplugh Trust is a charity devoted to providing practical support and personal safety guidance. Visit the trust’s website for detailed advice and take a look at our tips below.

Plan ahead

Before you go out, think about how you are going to get home. Avoid travelling alone and set aside some money in advance. Can you travel home with a friend? What time does the last bus or train leave?
Think about what you need to take with you. If you must take valuables with you try not to keep them all in one place. Instead place valuables such as wallets in an inside pocket.
We all have the right to wear what we want but it’s worth remembering that you can help to reduce the risks by wearing clothes you can move in easily. Carry a personal safety alarm.

Stay alert

Be extra careful when using cashpoints. Make sure nobody is hovering nearby and don’t count your money in the street.
Keep your mind on your surroundings – if you’re chatting on your mobile phone or listening to your iPod you won’t hear trouble approaching.
Trust your instincts if you think you are being followed. As confidently as you can, cross the road, turning to see who is behind you and head for a busy area where you can tell people what’s happening. If necessary, call the police.

Walking alone

Avoid danger spots like quiet or badly lit alleyways, subways or isolated car parks.
Try to use well lit, busy streets and use the route you know best.
Whenever possible, walk facing oncoming traffic to avoid kerb crawlers.
If you are at all worried, try and stay near a group of people.
Avoid passing stationary cars with their engines running and people sitting in them.
Beware of someone who warns you of the danger of walking alone and then offers to accompany you. This is a ploy some attackers have been known to use.
Never accept a lift from a stranger or someone you don’t know very well even if you are wet, tired or running late.

July 6, 2014July 6, 2014

New baby?

The NE Essex CCG, which is responsible for planning and buying local healthcare services for the Colchester and Tendring areas of Essex, is always keen to obtain feedback from users of NHS Healthcare services in their area. They are now asking recent parents in North East Essex to help with a local survey about maternity services. They have issued the following:

If you or your partner has given birth recently – how was your experience of pregnancy and birthing services?

North East Essex MSLC (Maternity Services Liaison Committee) wants to hear from recent parents about their experience of having a baby in Colchester, Clacton or Harwich hospitals or at home. Please help us by responding to the online survey at:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q7YGHG3

… or go to the news section of the CCG website at www.neessexccg.nhs.uk

This news release is issued on behalf of the MSLC, which is made up of local parents and health professionals and advises the local NHS about the care they provide to women, their partners and their babies during pregnancy, birth and in the weeks after the baby’s arrival. Their role is to help the NHS listen to and take account of the views and experiences of people who use their maternity services. The MSLC is hoping for a significant number of responses by the end of July.

July 1, 2014

Outstanding Bluebells Pre-School

That was the conclusion of Ofsted recently when they made their first inspection visit of the ‘Early Years’ provider. Ofsted awarded the highest accolade of “outstanding” quoting “the quality of teaching is exemplary”, “the practitioners use their expertise to provide children with an educational programme that is extremely challenging, exciting and worthy of disseminating to others”. One excerpt from the report tells a story all of itself:

Practitioners are exceptionally skilful at following children’s interests and use well-considered questions to extend children’s thinking. For example, children see a spider crawling across the pre-school floor. They draw a practitioner’s attention to the spider, who quickly and efficiently uses this spontaneous incident as a learning aide. She confidently finds a small pot to contain the spider and asks a child if they would like to find a magnifying glass to explore the spider in more detail. The child quickly returns with a magnifying glass. The practitioner enables the now, larger group of children who have come to see what is happening to view the spider in more detail. This creates a lively discussion about how many legs the spider has, what colour it is and where children think it might live. The discussion concludes with children telling the practitioner that they think the spider should be taken outside and placed on a tree so that it won’t be trodden on. The practitioner helps children take it outside and settles it into its new environment. Children excitedly rush back into the room to find the plastic spider living in one of the story/rhyme sacks. They each take it in turns to look at the plastic one and break out into songs about spiders. Throughout this activity, the practitioner’s input superbly guides children’s thoughts and challenges their thinking, while allowing them ample time to consider their own knowledge.

Well done to Jackie Leach & all her team. Details of Bluebells, and other Education Providers supporting West Bergholt, are available on this website.

Click this link to download the full Ofsted report which is in PDF format.

July 1, 2014June 30, 2014

Best place to have a stroke

NE Essex CCG issue news of speedier hearing aid service The local NHS CCG has issued the following news update reporting on the success rate of Colchester General Hospital, which has one of the largest stroke units in the East of England, with stroke patients, admitting over 70% of patients within 4 hours compared to the national average of below 60%:

Local stroke patients get best care in country, latest figures show

The quality of stroke care coordinated locally by Colchester Hospital is again in the top two hospital trusts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). This makes us the best over the last six months, nowhere else having been in the top two consistently.

The RCP clinical audit of stroke patients who were admitted to hospital in the three months from October last year shows Colchester was the second best-performing out of the 175 hospital trusts that admit stroke patients directly for acute stroke care. Dr Shane Gordon, Clinical Chief Officer at NHS NE Essex CCG said:

This result is a credit to several organisations, including voluntary organisations who work together to provide not only emergency and acute care at the hospital, but also vital recovery care in the community when patients are safe to leave the hospital. Specially-trained nurses from ACE, the NHS community organisation, help patients to recover as much function as they can in the days, weeks and months after a stroke.

The figures show that whereas on average nationally 58% of people who have had a stroke were admitted to a stroke unit within four hours, in NE Essex it is over 70%. Perhaps most remarkable is that locally over three-quarters of people are helped by the dedicated Early Discharge Team to get quick, dedicated support to go home or to rehabilitation out of the acute hospital, whereas nationally on average just one quarter of patients are helped in this way.

Dr Gordon added:

These figures are the results of a shared determination to get higher standards of care for our patients resulting in less death, disability and better quality of life. But we are very far from having a perfect service, there is much more we can do together to give stroke patients here even better treatment and recovery. Rapid and thorough treatment and recovery for patients can make all the difference to otherwise more serious outcomes for patients and families.

Recently published by the RCP, the audit was welcomed by Dr Ramachandran Sivakumar, consultant stroke physician at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust and its clinical lead for stroke.

He said the aim of the comparative information is to improve the quality of stroke care by auditing stroke services against evidence-based standards.

Dr Sivakumar said:

Stroke care is very much teamwork and our success is down to a multidisciplinary approach that involves therapy staff, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and dietitians, besides doctors and nurses.

While these figures show we are performing extremely strongly, we are certain we can do even better and that is what we are focusing on.

Moira Keating, nurse consultant for stroke services, said:

In my opinion, the entire Colchester stroke team takes ownership of each and every patient and pulls out all the stops to ensure that patients receive the best possible care and achieve their goals.

June 30, 2014April 6, 2022

Open Gardens a success

Nicola and Richard Bowdidge — Nicola & Richard Bowdidge

Open Gardens 2014

Sunday 22nd June was a glorious day. The sun shone and over 400 people turned out to visit 13 open gardens and the allotments in West Bergholt. Apart from the beautiful gardens, some small, some large, there were donkeys to feed, a vintage Jaguar to admire and a 1960’s jukebox to listen to. The church halls laid on refreshments, as did Garlands Farm. Plants and other produce were on sale at the allotments and some gardens.

Fantastic Fundraising

The event, organised by the West Bergholt Gardening Association, raised over £3,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. In addition Tom Bowdidge’s family raised over £400 for the Tom Bowdidge Foundation at his grandparents open garden. To find out more about these charities visit www.teenagecancertrust.org or www.facebook.com/thetombowdidgefoundation.

Far flung visitors

The event drew visitors from other villages and even from far flung places such as Ipswich (a charabanc full from their allotment society!) and Leigh-on-Sea. The organisers would like to thank everyone who took part including the visitors. They welcome comments, both positive and negative, please send to [email protected].

The Association are looking to make this an Annual Event . Watch this space!!!

Gardeners Association Meeting

The club’s next meeting will be on the 15th September when DEBORAH HART will give a talk on Hanging Baskets and Winter Containers. 7.00 for 7.30pm. Why not come along to the Orpen Hall, all are welcome. There is a small charge of £3 including refreshments , also gardeners raffle.

June 30, 2014

Blood test service working well

NE Essex CCG issue news of speedier hearing aid service The local NHS CCG has issued the following news update following changes to their phlebotomy service intended to increase capacity from 2,900 to 4,600 tests per week:

New blood tests (phlebotomy) service working well, according to patients

Comments made by patients, on feedback forms and informally to staff show universal approval of the new expanded and more convenient service in NE Essex. The new service is provided by GP Primary Choice, a new organisation set up jointly by all the GP practices in our area. Around 11,500 blood tests have been carried out in May, but in a month with the full service now operating in all areas we expect that around 17,000 tests will be carried out.

Comments on feedback forms include:

With three children would have found it difficult to go to a local hospital, as we live in a village.

One woman from Tiptree wrote:

Brilliant service, if I had to go to Colchester I would need to arrange child care and pay for car parking etc. Excellent service.

A woman from Colchester wrote:

Very positive change. Surgery is closer to home and offer an all-round excellent service.

Of feedback survey responses received so far, asked to rate their experience, 244 people said excellent; 53 good; 6 adequate, and no-one said poor or very poor. *

Patients needing a blood test advised by their GP can have their blood taken at their own GP surgery, or by arrangement at any other GP surgery throughout the area. Surgeries normally do blood test five days a week, Mondays to Fridays (please check with staff for times) but of the 40 local GP practices, 1 offers tests 4 days a week and 2 practices offer tests on 3 days per week.

Dr Andrew Lennard-Jones, the Medical Director of GP Primary Choice said:

We have only been running these new services for a few weeks, but already patients are telling us this is much better. Blood tests, taken promptly, are a key tool for diagnosing and treating peoples’ health conditions, and when you consider that there are around 240,000 tests carried out each year in just Colchester and Tendring, then these tests have a major effect on health in the area. We will keep learning from how these services are used, and what patients tell us, so that we can use that experience in designing other health service improvements in future.

Tests are now more conveniently available for GP-referred patients on the Clacton Hospital site in the Reckitts Lodge building, where blood tests are available from Monday to Friday between 8am and 2pm. This service is provided mainly for patients of East Lynne surgery, though patients from other surgeries can make an appointment or just walk in if that is more convenient. The maximum wait that patients are seeing there is about ten minutes, less for booked appointments. This compares favourably with the queueing that used to sometimes take much longer at the hospital before tests were available at all GP surgeries.

For patients at St. James surgery, there is a service provided at Old Road Surgery in Clacton, where again appointments can be made, or patients can walk in. There is a free car park there, and as everywhere this service is available for patients from any other surgery. (Old Road Surgery’s own staff do the tests for their patients).

For patients who might need to have a test early in the morning, perhaps because of work commitments, they can book an appointment or walk in at the Mayflower Centre at Harwich (Fryatt) Hospital from 7:00am on Wednesdays and 7:45am 4 days a week, or in Colchester attend the Walk-in Centre in Turner Road from 7am, 5 days a week. Walk in clinics are also being offered at the following GP Practices: Ambrose Avenue 9:30 till 1pm, Tollgate 9:30 till 1pm, Tiptree 8:00 till 10am and Winstree (formerly Stanway) 8:00 till 12pm.

Dr Hasan Chowhan, clinical lead for the CCG, said:

I am delighted that patients are so pleased, particularly with the convenience of the expanded service. I am greatly encouraged at this key example of GPs and all staff at Practices working together to make improvements for patients. It won’t be as easy as that in all our local health services, but it is a powerful example of what can be done together.