Nick Herbert visits local health centre in Pulborough Arundel & South Downs
MP Nick Herbert paid a visit to the Primary Care Centre in Pulborough on Tuesday 7 April to meet with GPs, nurses and other health care professionals.
The staff discussed a range of issues with Mr Herbert, including the need for a greater emphasis on preventing illness, the rising demand for GP services, liaison between surgeries and their patients, procedures for booking appointments and the impact of increased bureaucracy.
During his visit, Mr Herbert was given a tour of Corden's Pharmacy with Superintendent Pharmacist Felicity Davies. He also dropped in to speak to staff of the Mary How Trust, a cancer prevention charity which is based at the Centre. Mr Herbert is a Patron of the Trust which celebrates its 21st anniversary this year.
The Primary Care Centre opened in August 2007, with consulting rooms, treatment rooms, minor surgery suite, reception and waiting room on the first floor. The Centre has nine doctors and serves more than 12,000 local residents.
After the visit, Practice Executive Manager Liz Coulthard commented: "The Primary Healthcare team at Pulborough Medical Group and Corden's Pharmacy were very pleased to meet Nick Herbert, our local MP, when he visited the Pulborough Primary Care Centre.
"Mr Herbert was able to hear how a steadily increasing range of hospital, mental health and community health services are being offered to our local population at the Centre. At the same time the doctors' surgery and the pharmacy are managing an ever-increasing patient demand for primary care services as they seek to help people stay healthy as well as deal with the consequences of disease and illness.
"Mr Herbert discussed with the GPs, practice nurse, pharmacist, practice executive manager and staff representatives, who attended the meeting, how the latest NHS developments in patient care were affecting the team and he was able to shed some light on some aspects of the Conservative Party's health policy. He was particularly interested in the reports of the Pulborough patient participation group and their very successful work in promoting well-being and health-related knowledge in the community. He also visited the busy pharmacy."
Nick Herbert commented: "Having attended the official opening of the new health centre over a year ago I was pleased to have an opportunity to return for an informal chat with the staff and GPs. I like to meet up with health professionals whenever I can to talk about current issues and concerns."
Mr Herbert added: "I was delighted to have a tour of the pharmacy and was amazed to discover that more than 21,000 items are prescribed to patients every month."
Ends
Notes for Editors
1. The Pulborough Medical Group is located at Pulborough Primary Care Centre, Spiro Close, Pulborough RH20 1FG.
2. For the website of the Pulborough Medical Group, visit http://www.pmgdoctors.co.uk/.
3. For the website of the Mary How Trust, visit http://www.maryhowtrust.org/.
4. In the photograph Nick Herbert is shown on a tour of the pharmacy with Superintendent Pharmacist Felicity Davies (left) and Dispensing Manager Sue Oliver.