Scroll down the page to read about the latest happenings at TRS. Any feedback about our new web site is most welcome - please contact Val Harvey, Practice Manager with your comments.
March 2013
Easter - Easter is fast approaching. Please remember to order enough medication to last over the bank holiday period. We will be closed from 8.00 p.m. on Thursday 28th March and reopen at 8.00 a.m. on Tuesday 2nd April.
Staff Changes - We're very sad to say that Martyn Harrod (Reception and Administrator) and Tracey Proctor (Health Care Assistant) will both be leaving us in March. Martyn is moving to London and a new job in "The City" and Tracey will be going to NNUH.
Nursing Suite - Work began on Monday 4th March and is due to last all month. We apologise for any inconvenience to patients whilst the refurbishment is going on but feel sure that the huge improvement will be worth the wait.
Training Session Closure - We closed for our regular bi-monthly training morning on 6th March. Topics covered included Equality & Diversity training, Infection Control, Palliative Care, Musculoskeletal Overview, CQC Room Standards and a Scanning Masterclass. As you can see, we pack plenty into a morning!
February 2013
Nursing Suite Improvements - We hope to begin our nursing suite building improvements this month. This will involve installation of new sinks and cabinetry, new flooring and total redecoration.
January 2013
Care Quality Commission Registration - 17th January we received notification from the CQC that our application for registration has been successful.
Severe Weather - We are trying our best to maintain a full service throughout the very bad weather. Well done to our team as most have made tremendous efforts to get here from far and wide so that service disruption to our patients has been minimal. A huge thank you to our caretaker, Nigel, who has been here very early in the morning to clear the snow and and salt the paths and generally make sure that the surgery is ready for action at 8.00 a.m. A special thank you to Dr. Klaus who very kindly stayed late on Tuesday to cover Dr. Penart's late surgery as he was stuck at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital. Dr. Klaus wasn't able to get home to Norwich so kindly volunteered to sleep on a mattress at the surgery ..... above and beyond!
Information Governance - As a result of a session at our Team Training (see below), all our administrative staff have successfully passed the online NHS Information Governance mandatory module. Well done everyone!
Team Training - We are closed for our bi-monthly team training on Wednesday 9th January, 2013. The surgery will be open from 2.00 p.m. until 8.00 p.m. on that day. The training morning is used to discuss patients who are receiving palliative care (not only with our team but with the communicty nurses, social workers, community matron and Macmillan Nurses, as well as undertaking other training sessions on information governance, dealing with significant events, clinical system training and infection control protocols.
Nurse Appointments - We regret any inconvenience to patients who wish to have a nurse appointment this month. Unfortunately there is a shortage of slots as a member of the team is off sick.
Surgery Rear Car Park - Hurrah! The car park has now been resurfaced and lined again and hopefully should cause no further problems.
Christmas Card Collection - 
Our receptionist, Kimberley Brown, kindly organised a collection for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. Staff wrote their greetings on a single sheet and donated to this good cause instead of sending individual Christmas cards to each other. £40.20p was raised.
December 2012
Dial 111 - There is a new number to dial for out of hours care when it is less urgent than a 999 situation. 111 is free to call from landlines and mobile telephones.
NHS 111 is a new service that's being introduced to make it easier for you to access local NHS healthcare services. You can call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency. NHS 111 is a fast and easy way to get the right help, whatever the time. This is a national system set up via the DoH. For further details click here which will take you to the NHS Choices web site.
Christmas Dinner - The practice team are going out for their Christmas Dinner on Saturday 8th December. It's been another very hectic year so we're looking forward to our celebration. Ho! Ho! Ho! This year we went to Tall Orders Cafe in the market place.
Christmas Opening Hours - Details of our Christmas and New Year Opening times are on the Home Page and the Theatre Royal Pharmacy times can be found in the Prescriptions section (see left side of page).
Light Dragoons Parade - 5th December - Breckland Council are closing the Cherry Tree car park from 6 p.m. on 4th December to noon on 5th December. We have sent text reminders to those patients who have given us their mobile telephone numbers.
November 2012
New Member of Staff - We're pleased to welcome Kim Overson to the practice team. Kim will be working part time and covering several different roles - administrator for the medical student teaching, medical secretarial support and assisting with scanning data into patient clinical records.
Temporary Car Park Surface - We now have the first layer of tarmac on the rear car park and are waiting for the contractors to complete the top coat. Apologies for the inconvenience and please be aware that there is a small ramp where the new surface joins the existing. Apologies again for any inconvenience.
2nd Flu Saturday - Over 620 patients attended the second Saturday Flu Clinic. We were also pleased to be able to collect details from many who came to both the Saturday sessions of their mobile telephone numbers and email addresses as well as interest from over 50 patients who wanted to know more about our Patient Welfare Group.
October 2012
Poppy Appeal - A big thank you to staff and patients who contributed to the Royal British Legion Poppy collection in reception. £15.67p was raised.
Flu Clinic- We held our first 2012 Flu Clinic on 20th October and over 700 patients were vaccinated in 4 hours - we averaged 1 per minute!
July 2012
Rear Car Park - Apologies - We're sorry for any inconvenience to patients who use our rear car park to gain access. Due to a significant problem with the surface of the 'new' car park, the main contractors are having to dig up areas to investigate. Patients may have noticed the growing number of dips and gullies in the new surface and we believe this is due to a problem of the soakaway.
New Signage - The new surgery and pharmacy signage is now in place. Thanks to CIM Signs of Norwich for their work.
Sick Leave - We apologise to patients for any inconvenience whilst Dr. Kathryn Green was off on sick leave for three weeks this month. We're glad to say that Dr. Green is now back at work.
Welcome - We're pleased to welcome Emily Dye on a temporary contract over the next few weeks. Emily will be assisting with administrative work, scanning etc. Some patients may remember her as she worked with us a while back before she began her university course.
June 2012
Clinical Commissioning Group - Our practice (part of the Mid Norfolk locality) is now part of the larger South Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group. Representing our area, Dr. Antonio Penart has been elected to the Board of the South Norfolk CCG.
May 2012
Staff Leaver - We're sorry to have said goodbye to Louise Spall, one of our medical secretaries. Louise left on 14th May and, having moved to Norwich, will be working in the same role at one of the Norwich GP practices.
April 2012
Prescription Charges - Prescription charges increase to £7.65p per item as from 1st April 2012.
March 2012
Staff Promotions - We are pleased to announce that Trudy Dye has been appointed as Assistant Practice Manager. Trudy will take over from Barbara D'Arts who is retiring at the end of May. Many patients will already know Trudy as our Reception Lead.
Taking over Trudy's postion as Reception Team Leader is another experienced member of our front of house team, Stephanie Mills. We wish both of them every success in their new roles.
Counselling - We're very glad to be able to confirm that the psycho-therapeutic counselling service offered by Paul Thomas has been recommissioned for a further twelve months. Paul sees our patients at the surgery on a Monday afternoon, as well as seeing NHS patients at North Elmham, Mattishall, Orchard Surgery and Toftwood Surgery and holds private clinics around the county and in London.
NHS Mid Norfolk - It looks as if our clinical commissioning group (CCG) will be required to merge with one of the larger groups in Norfolk as from April. At the moment it seems that this may be with either Southern Norfolk CCG or West Norfolk CCG. We will let patients know as soon as we are given a definite decision.
February 2012
Patient Welfare Group - On Tuesday meeting of the new Group took place on 1st February. Dr. Penart and Mrs. Harvey were pleased to welcome along six patients who had kindly volunteered to join. The next meeting is on 28th February when we hope that even more members will be able to attend. Congratulations to Mr. Ted Shelton who was elected as Chairman and Mr. David Gilbert who is Vice-Chairman.
Welcome Mandy Moll - We're pleased to announce that Mrs. Mandy Moll has joined the practice as a part-time Healthcare Assistant. Mandy will work alongside Tracey carrying out our blood tests and other HCA duties.
January 2012
Dr. Tim Rice - On Tuesday 3rd January we were very pleased to welcome Dr. Tim Rice on his first day with us as a full time partner. Already and experienced GP, Tim has joined us from a practice in Salford so that he and his wife and two children can live closer to their family.
Flu Vaccinations - It's still not too late to get your Flu Vaccination done! Please telephone for an appointment as soon as you can.
Training Day Closure (Surgery only) - We will be closed on Thursday 26th January 2012 between 8.30 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. for mandatory training. On that day the practice will be open between 2.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m.
Please note that Theatre Pharmacy will remain open all day from 7.00 a.m. until 11.00 p.m. - their trading hours are unaffected by our closure.
December 2011
Christmas - A huge thank you to all those patients who kindly sent us Christmas cards and gifts. All of the many tins of biscuits, boxes of chocolates and bottles of wine etc. are shared out so that every member of the team gets something. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Congratulations! - Many congratulations to our receptionist, Claire and her husband Peter on the safe arrival of baby Harriet on 22nd December. Claire will be on maternity leave for some months to come and tells us that she's very much enjoying being a mum!
November 2011
Pharmacy Building Works - Although the pharmacy is now open, the building works are still ongoing and we hope that everything will be finished by the end of the year. We have just had fire retardent windows installed plus an acoustic door and window in our nurses' treatment room. There is a spiral fire escape to be put in situ shortly and completion of the first floor building works. We apologise for the continuing disruption.
Annual Party & Leaving Party for Dr. Cartledge - We had our annual party at Roundwood Function Centre, Taverham on 12th November. This year it was combined with Dr. Cartledge's leaving party for staff and invited guests. We had a wild west theme, complete with bucking bull (not real !) and games provided by Jammin Entertainments, great food from Roundwood's chef and brilliant music from the Nashville Numbers.
New Senior Partner - From 1st November 2011, Dr. Marinus Rosbergen became Senior Partner of the practice.
October 2011
Dr. Bill Cartledge Leaves - Dr. Bill Cartledge will be leaving on 31st October - his last working day as a partner will be Friday 28th. We all wish Bill, Wendy, Ella and Huw every success in New Zealand.
Pharmacy Opening - The new Pharmacy is due to open on Monday 24th October. It will be open for one hundred hours each week and offer many additional services and home deliveries not only for our own patients but for any member of the public. There will be a pharmacist on duty throughout their opening hours if you need any health advice or guidance on your medication. We look forward to working with the new Pharmacy Team which will include Claire Munt, who was one of the TRS dispensers.
Maternity Leave for Claire - Claire Hudson, one of our receptionists, has left to begin her maternity leave. We all wish her well and look forward to meeting her baby!
Flu Clinic Saturdays - Our two Saturday Clinics on 8th and 15th October were very well attended and we vaccinated over 1,200 patients! Thanks to all the staff and doctors who came in to do the clinics.
September 2011
Building Works - Building works are well on the way for the new Pharmacy. Not only does this involve removing a staircase and enlarging the old dispensary, the builders are also installing a first floor walk-way so that we can get from the original building to the first floor library, meeting room and offices in the front extension. We apologise for any inconvenience whilst the work is being done.
New Staff - Welcome to Martyn Harrod (administration) and Kimberley Brown (maternity relief receptionist) who have joined the team.
Dispensary Closes - Our dispensary is now closed. The new one hundred hour pharmacy which will be run by a tenant company will open in October. If you have any concerns about your prescriptions or difficulties with deliveries if you are housebound, please contact our reception team.
Goodbye to Claire - Our junior administrator Claire Wilcock left on 6th September to become a full-time mum. We wish her and her family well.
Thank You for the Survey Replies - Thank you to patients who were kind enough to complete our survey about whether or not we should continue with the 8 to 8 opening hours. We had over 120 respondents and their comments will very much influence our decision making process and we should have an answer by the end of this month.
Flu Vaccinations - We are holiday two Saturday Clinics this year - 8th and 15th October from 8.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Please book soon!
August 2011
Farewell to Julie - We said goodbye to Julie Saunt, our Phlebotomist and Health Care Assistant at the end of August. Sadly Julie had to leave for personal reasons as she is moving to Norwich. She'll be taking up a similar post with The Humbleyard Practice.
Pharmacy - On Friday 26th August we finally received the go ahead from Breckland Council Planning for the one hundred hour pharmacy.
Doctor & Staff Sickness - Apologies to any patients who were inconvenienced by Dr. Cartledge's unexpected sick leave and also sudden sick leave of our Phlebotomist and Health Care Assistant and Dispenser.
July 2011
Extension Opening - Our new extension was opened on Tuesday 19th July by Mrs. Freda Abell. Patients and members of the public were invited to come along between 11.45 a.m. and 12 noon to view the new building. Light refreshments were available in aid of the Macmillan Nurses Coffee Morning Appeal 2011 and just under £100 was raised for their charity.
Norfolk County Council Schools Work Experience - In common with many local businesses, this year we were very pleased to host a Year 10 pupil for four days. Although we weren't able to allow her any access to patient care or patient administration, we were able to show her what goes on behind the scenes in relation to running our business. Everyone involved found it a very rewarding experience and our student found it a valuable insight as she hopes to go on to train for a career in practice nursing after she leaves school.
Dr. Cartledge is Leaving - Dr. Bill Cartledge will be leaving the practice on 31st October to begin a new life 'down under'. Bill and his family are moving to New Zealand where he will take up a post in a medical practice on North Island. More details to follow soon.
New GP Partner Appointed - Dr. Tim Rice has been appointed as a full time partner to replace Dr. Cartledge. Tim is currently a GP partner in Salford, Manchester and will join us from 1st January 2012.
June 2011
Visiting Doctor - We're pleased to welcome Dr. Faizul Muneem to the practice for the next few weeks. Faizul, from Pakistan, will be observing how general practice in the UK works during his time with us.
Goodbye Melissa - Our dispenser, Melissa Greeves, leaves on Friday 17th June to take up a post as dispenser at Bayfield Surgery, Docking. We feel sure that our dispensing patients will join with us in wishing her well in her new job after the past 4.5 years at TRS.
May 2011
GP Vacancy - We are seeking a new GP salaried doctor or partner. Please visit the Staff Vacancies page for full details.
Extension News - The new extension is almost ready. The main contractor is sorting out a few final adjustments and we are now embarking on installation of the fixtures and fittings. The official opening date will be advised shortly.
Training Session - A surgery training session was held on the morning of Wednesday 18th May, 2011. The surgery was open from 1.00 p.m. until 8.00 p.m. on that day. Our next training session will be on Thursday 23rd June and on that day we will be open from 8.00 a.m. until 1.00 p.m.
We decided to change our training sessions from full days to half days in order to minimise disruption to patients.
Appointments - We apologise for any inconvenience due to unexpected doctor (Dr. James Green and Dr. Bill Cartledge) sickness this month. Our receptionists have done their utmost to contact patients and let them know and the doctors have added extra surgeries in order to try and help the situation.
April 2011
Norfolk Registration Service - Changes - From 1st April 2011 Norfolk becomes a unified district with one register office in Norwich and eight registration offices around the county. The change will mean that people can go to the office most convenient to them whether or not it is where the even occurred. The nearest registration office to our surgery is at Breckland Business Centre, St. Withburga Lane, Dereham. NR19 1FD Telephone 01362 697118. The registrar for Births and Deaths is Ms. Carolyn Bailey and the office is open Tuesday 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. and on Thursday and Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Click here to go to the Norfolk County Council Register Office page.
Blood Tests - We apologise for any inconvenience caused to patients requiring a blood test. Unfortunately one of our phlebotomists has had to unexpectedly take time off and we are therefore experiencing a severe backlog of blood test appointments.
Building Work on the Extension Nears Completion - The main contractor is due to finish on site on 28th April (4 weeks later than planned mainly due to weather delays). There will then be a few weeks whilst we fit out the new rooms and hope to open the new building in May.
Prescription Charges rise - As from 1st April prescription charges rise - please see our "Prescriptions" page for full details .
March 2011
Congratulations! - To our Practice Manager, Val Harvey, who has worked at the surgery for thirty years this month. Val joined the practice in 1981 as medical secretary to Drs. David Mathias and Adrian Caro, and took over from Maurice Turnbull as Practice Manager in 1984. There have been some amazing changes during that time - when Val joined us the practice didn't even have an electric typewriter until Dr. Caro brought in one of his own for her to use! Val was presented with a gift voucher for the Art-E-Fax Gallery in Holt and flowers from the partners and a selection of lovely gifts from the staff to mark the occasion.
Prescription Charges - Prescription charges are due to rise from 1st April 2011 - see our "Prescriptions" page for full details.
February 2011
Welcome Back - Welcome back to the team Practice Nurse Lynnette Wood. Lynnette has been on maternity leave following the birth of baby Amelie.
Go Ahead for 100 Hour Pharmacy - We're delighted to say that the Primary Care Trust has granted permission for the 100 Hour Pharmacy to go ahead. We're very pleased to be working in collaboration with Costessey (Norwich) Limited and will shortly begin work on the internal alterations to provide a satellite waiting area and a larger pharmacy/dispensary. More news on this subject to follow soon.
Thank You Patients - Thank you to all our patients who had their consultations with Katie Honney during her four weeks with us in January. Katie found her time at TRS very useful and has given excellent feedback to University College London.
Welcome Back - Welcome back to the team Becky Haynes! Becky has been on maternity leave following the birth of baby Oliver. She'll now be working less hours per week but taking over one of the late evening reception slots.
January 2011
Decision Awaited - By late January we should learn whether the application to have a one hundred hour per week pharmacy on our site has been approved. This would be a considerable asset to the practice, patients and the town and would be open long hours each day and on Saturdays and Sundays too.
Medical Student Supervision Placement - We're pleased to welcome Katie Honney to the practice from Monday 10th. Katie is a final year medical student from University College London and will be working with us for throughout the month. All of the partners will be involved in her mentoring and Dr. Klaus Koch is her tutor/supervisor whilst she is with us.
Thank You Orchard Surgery! - We're very grateful to the partners at Orchard Surgery for allowing us the use of their seminar room for the next three months so that we can continue teaching our medical students on Tuesdays (Dr. Green) and Thursdays (Dr. Koch). We are already squeezed for space whilst our building work is in progress so having ten extra people every Tuesday and Thursday was likely to be a step too far!
Welcome Back - We're pleased to welcome back Claire Wilcock after her maternity leave. Claire starts work again on Thursday 13th following the birth of her second baby last May.
December 2010
Thank You! - A big thank you to all patients who very kindly sent us Christmas cards or brought in Christmas presents. Your thoughtfulness was much appreciated. We wish all our patients a happy and health New Year!
Sick Leave & Locums - We apologise for any shortage of appointments as a result of Dr. Green being off sick for the past few weeks. We're glad to say that she will be back at work from the beginning of January. The practice was pleased to temporarily welcome back Dr. Oliver Toepfer for seven locum sessions this month. As some of you may remember, Oliver worked at the practice for a number of months in 2009/10 but has now moved to live in Barcelona with his family.
The Extension Work Begins! - Our first site meeting took place on Monday 6th December and work has started to clear the site at the back of the surgery before Christmas. The projected finish date is at the end of March so we're hoping for better weather to allow the work to speed along. Our main contractors are Draper & Nichols Limited.
November 2010
Poppy Appeal - Thank You! - Thanks to our patients and staff, the sum of £14.46p was raised in the counter collecting box for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. For more information about this charity please click here.
Goodbye Portable Building - On Wednesday 24th November we said farewell to our trusty old portable building as it was lifted out by crane. A big thankyou from the team from Anglo Scottish, Quinto Cranes and our caretaker, Nigel for their help. Site clearance is due to start on Monday 6th December in readiness for building the new extension.
New Opening Hours - From Monday 1st November our reception will be open twelve hours a day Monday to Friday between 8.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m. Doctor appointments will be available every weekday evening up to 7.30 p.m. which we hope will help those of our patients who find it difficult to get to the surgery during the day. Nurse appointments will initially be available on Monday evenings and we hope to expand this side of the service later in the autumn/winter.
Goodbyes & Hellos - One of our younger receptionists, Katie Harvey, left on 3rd November. Katie is opting for a career change and we wish her good luck in her new job. We're very pleased to have been able to offer permanent contracts to Sally Saunders and Emma Beckham. Patients will be familiar with both Sally and Emma as they've been working with us over the spring and summer providing cover for staff on maternity leave and we're glad to now have them both as permanent fixtures in our reception team.
Goodbye to the Portable Building - Our dear old portable building will take to the skies later this month when it's lifted out by crane in preparation for the new extension being built. Those of us who've worked there will be sad to see it go but it'll certainly be lovely not to have to run between the two buildings when it's raining hard or snowing! We'll be on hand with a camera so check back soon for pictures in our gallery.
October 2010
Saturday 'Flu Day - This year our 'marathon' 'Flu' Clinic day was held on Saturday 14th October. Over 1,000 patients were vaccinated and the day ran well apart from an early rainy start! We're still booking appointments for a few catch-up clinics so if you missed our Flu Day please call in or 'phone us as soon as you can.
September 2010
Results of GP Patient Survey Published - The GP patient survey for July 2009 to June 2010 has now been published. The new results are available on the Ipsos MORI site by clicking here. These results are the first of the rolling quarters for this year with further results will be published in December, March and June.
Dr. Kinnaird Qualifies to Fit Coils - Dr. Rachel Kinnaird has now completed her training for coil fitting (IUD's) and is now offering appointments for both this procedure and Implanon fitting. Ask at reception for details or mention it to your nurse or GP at your next appointment and they'll be happy to give you details of the service. Well done, Rachel!
Goodbye Dr. Satish Singh - We say a sad farewell to Satish who has been our regular GP locum for the past couple of years. Satish is taking up a partnership elsewhere in Norfolk next month. He's been a popular member of our team and we wish him all the best in his new life as a GP Partner.
August 2010
Donation from "The Flying Pigs" - We're very grateful to "The Flying Pigs" Large Scale Railway Modellers who have kindly donated a new Actineb Nebuliser to the surgery. Their most recent exhibition was held at Neatherd High School in August and we look forward to seeing them at the Mid Norfolk Railway model railway exhibition at Neatherd High School on 26th February 2011.
Extension Plans Submitted to Council - Plans for our new extension at the rear of the surgery have now been submitted to Breckland Council by our architects, Chaplin Farrant Ltd. of Norwich. We shall be putting the project out to tender in the near future and hope to start work at the beginning of 2011.
New Entrance Foyer Roof Completed - The end of August saw our new roof on the entrance foyer completed. The original clear barrell roof had deteriorated badly and we decided to opt for a solid roof to improve insulation and help minimise reflection on the screen for patients using the booking-in machine. Thanks to all staff and patients who coped admirably with using the back entrance of the surgery whilst the work was in progress. Thanks also to Steven Warman and his team at Ponyspeed Builders Ltd. (01362 637364) who did an excellent job in record time!
TRS Supports the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation - This year the surgery is supporting the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation by sending them our ink and toner cartridges for recycling. Click here for details about the RCLCF.
July 2010
TRS Patients Support the National Autistic Society - Thank you to all of our patients who earlier in the summer donated a total of £43.81p by buying Thomas & Friends zip pulls which were on sale at our reception desk. For more details about the work of the NAS click here.