Tell us what you think...

Thank you to all patients who completed our patient survey recently. We are now analysing the results, which will be published in February 2012.

New doctors... we have been joined by two local doctors: Dr Simon Lowe full time and Dr Martyn Walling two days a week.

Telephone booking... following feedback from patients, we've made the automated telephone system easier to use.

Wasted appointments... in January 188 people did not keep their appointment without letting us know. That equals 35 hours of time. If you no longer need your appointment, please let us know so that we can offer it to someone else. Overall in 2011, 493 hours were lost in wasted appointments, the equivalent of 13 weeks' work for one person.

Self check-in... in January 63% of patients used the self checking-in monitor. Thank you! This enables our receptionists to spend more time on complex issues and answering the telephone. If you're not sure how to use the self check-in monitor, please ask one of the receptionists who will be pleased to help.  The monitor will now display a message saying how many patients are still to be seen before you.

New out of hours number... if you need urgent medical care or advice when we're closed, dial 111.

Marie Curie Cancer Care is a UK charity dedicated to the care of people with terminal cancer and other illnesses. Over the financial year 2010/11, we reached a total of 31,799 patients

Youthhealthtalk enables young people, their family and friends, and professionals such as doctors and teachers to understand young people's experiences of health, illness and life in general. The website feature real-life accounts of issues such as effect on work and education, social life and relationships, consulting health professionals and treatment.

One in three of us will get cancer and it’s the toughest thing most of us will ever face. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, or a loved one has, you’ll want a team of people in your corner supporting you every step of the way. Macmillan provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care.

The government loses the first of a series of votes in the House of Lords on its controversial plans to overhaul the NHS in England.

Three US citizens who lost their sight in childhood have reported a dramatic improvement in vision after having gene therapy in both eyes.

Pseudomonas is detected in water outlets in the neonatal units at three more hospitals in Northern Ireland.

A severely disabled man with "locked-in syndrome" has urged a judge not to decide to halt his High Court action to let a doctor end his life.

The UK's largest care provider, Four Seasons, is in talks to find money to refinance its debts, but it denies union claims it is in financial difficulty.

Scientists in the US have successfully made human brain cells in the lab that are an exact replica of genetically caused Parkinson's disease.

A Stockport couple whose depressed daughter hanged herself after being allowed home from hospital win a six-year court battle.

Older people needing social care are being let down and "passed like parcels" between fragmented services, a group of MPs says.

Almost 1,000 private patients with PIP breast implants have contacted the NHS, according to MPs.

Andrew Lansley has David Cameron's "full support", despite a Downing Street source reportedly saying the health secretary "should be taken out and shot".

Scientists from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) are a step closer to ensuring the stability of a component of a vaccine that may one day be used to protect against Meningitis B. The research is published today (Tuesday) in Vaccine.

There is a 100% probability of severe cold weather/icy conditions between 1000 on Wednesday and 1100 on Saturday in parts of England. This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is aware of nine cases of Legionnaires’ disease in English holiday makers associated with the Diamante Beach Hotel in Calpe, Costa Blanca since January 2012, in addition to four Spanish cases so far reported. Subsequently two of the English patients are reported to have died from their illness.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is investigating an outbreak of a strain of Salmonella Newport infection among 30 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since the beginning of December 2011. Cases of illness caused by the same strain have been confirmed in Scotland, Ireland and Germany.

A new study to further extend the evidence base as to whether emissions from modern well run Municipal Waste Incinerators affect human health has been approved by the Health Protection Agency.

Hundreds of homes across West Oxfordshire have been found to have high levels of radioactive gas radon. Last summer, the Health Protection Agency invited about 9,000 householders across West Oxfordshire to apply for a free test for radon, a naturally occurring gas present in all homes.

Hundreds of householders across Orkney are being advised to act to protect their health, after HPA tests detected high levels of radioactive gas radon.

Thousands of households in a part of Cornwall with historic radon problems are being offered a free test for levels of the radioactive gas radon.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) together with the group A streptococcal (GAS) Working Group* has today launched new guidelines for the investigation, control and prevention of GAS infection in acute healthcare settings, including maternity units, in the UK.

Cases of whooping cough (pertussis) reported to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in England and Wales have more than doubled from 421 cases in 2010 to 1040 in 2011. Increases in levels of whooping cough are seen every three to four years and figures in 2011 are in line with cases reported in the last peak year of 2008.