PLT half day surgery closures 2023

The surgery will close at 12 o’clock on the following days:

Thursday 9th February 2023

Tuesday 14th March 2023

Thursday 18th May 2023

Tuesday 13th June 2023

Thursday 13th July 2023

Tuesday 22ng August 2023

Thursday 14th September 2023

Tuesday 10th October 2023

Thursday 16th November 2023

Firearms Licensing

Thorndike Medical Centre is a NHS service, our core contract is for the access and management of those who believe they are ill.

With effect from the 1st August 2020 we will no longer be issuing Firearms Licences as they are not part of the NHS service.

There are various alternatives that are available, one of these is BASC (basc.org.uk) which offers assistance in this area.

Publication of GP Net Earnings

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice. However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice and should not be used to for any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparisons with other practices.

The average pay for GPs working at Thorndike Surgery in the last financial year was £69,736 before tax and national insurance. This is for 8 part time GPs and 2 locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Women’s Contraception

During the Covid19 crisis the surgery will only be doing contraception procedures under the current faculty guidelines

Contraceptive Injection

If you are on Depo-Provera please arrange a telephone consultation at the surgery

New IUC/SDI

No new IUC/Implants will be fitted during COVID crisis. Please continue with their current method or bridge with POP (Progestogen only pill)

Exchange of IUC/SDI

The FSRH have advised that there is a very small risk of pregnancy so replacement is being deferred for the next 3-6 months of COVID19 crisis to the following intervals:

Nexplanon – 4 years

Mirena and Levosert – 6 years

Banded Cu-IUD – 12 years

5-year Cu-IUD – Use condoms or bridging with POP (Progestogen only pill) should be recommended until replacement

Please prescribe up to 12 months of Cerelle if it is essential to avoid pregnance

A reminder

ANY copper IUD inserted on or after the patients 40th birthday can be left until it is no longer needed. If the MIRENA is inserted on or after the patients 45th birthday it can be left for a minimum of 7 years or until age 55

Inaccurate information circulating regarding special ‘rescue packs’ for patients with pre-existing respiratory conditions

We have been made aware of some inaccurate information circulation regarding special ‘rescue packs’ for patients with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Please do not contact your GP practice for a rescue pack. You should continue to manage your condition in the usual way and if you feel you have COVID-19, go to https://111nhs.uk/covid-19 before doing anything else.

Corona Virus COVID-19

Dear Patient

COVID-19 is now spreading across the UK and we are taking necessary action to protect our patients, staff and community .

Please submit an online triage using the eConsult system, the link can be found on the homepage under both the ‘book an appointment’ and ‘consult with your doctor online’ tabs.

All submissions will be reviewed within 48 hours and if after assessment a clinician feels you need a face to face appointment you will be invited in for a review.

Nursing appointments will also be screened prior to allowing access and management of long term conditions will be dealt with remotely where possible. Prescription requests can be sent via the NHS app, your online provider or via email to mccg.thorndike.prescriptions@nhs.net All prescriptions will be sent electronically to your nominated pharmacy – if you have not yet nominated a pharmacy please do so.

Any medical certificates or letters can be sent to you via a secure text pathway or via email.

If you are concerned you have coronavirus symptoms please use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service.

Digital First Practice Statement

Thorndike Surgery is a Digital First practice. Our patients are able to interact digitally to:

– Register with the surgery
– Book appointments
– Complete online consultations with a range of clinicians
– Review chronic conditions such as asthma and high blood pressure
– Obtain test results
– Request repeat medications
– Check their medical records
– Change details such as address and telephone numbers


We have worked hard to deliver a digitally enabled service in line with NHS England aspirations and we have now permanently adopted this model of patient care for the future. We will continue to deliver digital first primary care, total triage and remote working wherever possible, whilst providing access to face to face and telephone appointments where clinically indicated. It is important to note we are a digital first and not a digital only practice.

Our patients have access to the practice via: eConsult, email, telephone, post and in person.

We are excited to be able to offer our patients this upgraded service, which should help to address some of the longstanding areas of dissatisfaction that have been regular features of patient feedback – for example, it is no longer necessary to wait in a phone queue to speak to the surgery as patients can quickly and easily make contact online. In many cases patients can have a consultation at home, which avoids queuing at the surgery and helps to improve parking availability too.

As with any change in the system, we understand there may be some anxieties as patients learn about the new processes – we are happy to receive any feedback or suggestions for improvement and will be able to consider these in regular review meetings.

We hope patients will appreciate the increased range of communication options and our efforts to ensure that we maximise the care capacity available across our patient population.

Digitally enhanced care – providing clinical excellence to our community