Currently many of us struggling to get a pre-bookable appointment with our GP within 3-4 weeks. Appointments are given out on a 'first come, first served basis' at 8 a.m. Monday to Friday and clearly there's not enough to go round because if you are lucky enough to get through on the phone, then most of these appointments have gone by 8.30. In addition to this our local walk in centres have been closed. So what do you do if you are unlucky enough to fall ill outside of designated hours? Be prepared for a very long wait! If you phone 111 you are directed either to A&E or meddoc. Recently there have been several accounts of A&E triaging patients straight across to meddoc (even some of those taken in by ambulance) with those patients suffering severe consequences and in some cases nearly dying, as they get bounced backwards and forwards between a&e and meddoc. On one occasion whilst we were waiting with my daughter to be seen by meddoc, a man collapsed in front of us and the crash team had to be called. He had just been triaged by a&e and sent across to meddoc! Sadly this isn't an isolated incident either. Many people in Medway have experiences to tell of their loved ones nearly dying because of inadequate care and resources. This includes stories of cardiac arrests, sepsis and brain injuries. Staff work flat out but there just aren't enough of them and they are trying to meet unrealistic targets set by the government. Those that actually make it through triage and are deemed serious enough to not be referred to meddoc can then expect a 12 hour plus wait on Lister ward, where doctors and nurses are run off their feet and there isn't so much as a water machine for patients. I experienced this myself with a suspected pulmonary embolism four days after a total knee replacement operation. I can tell you that spending 12 hours trying to sit with your knee bent or stand for hours after a total knee replacement is excruciating! On that occasion there were many elderly and disorientated patients needing care that were simply left on chairs (if they were lucky) in a cramped, airless waiting room or in dark corridors, with no access to water. This is becoming a desperate and untenable situation. I for one am genuinely afraid that should one of my family fall ill and need emergency care that they may too end up being in the middle of the meddoc waiting room with a crash team around them, simply because there aren't enough doctors and too many targets to be met. It's time for this currently flawed and failing system to be reviewed and effective strategies put in place. We need our current government to listen and do what Boris Johnson promised the public over Brexit, which was to invest much needed funds into the NHS.

My eldest daughter ( now 10), was born with this. She was very poorly and we were told that she may not survive. She was in the Neonatal unit for a week in Birmingham Women's Hospital. We later found out she also had pneumonia and pneumothorax. She was severely unwell. Most babies born with this who survive are deaf and have learning difficulties. Abby was a lucky one. The only way she has been affected is with a weakened immune system. THE SCARY THING IS WOMEN DO NOT KNOW THEY CARRY THIS DEADLY BACTERIA UNTIL THEIR BABIES ARE BORN AND ALL TOO OFTEN IT IS TOO LATE

Local peoples health and lives will be put at risk by the Ill prepared changes that are being rushed through without many of the necessary preparations having been put in place by the Authorities and the CCG

My son took his life, age 23 yrs. His mental health for the last 4 years, since losing his father to Esophageal Cancer, in 2015 was up and down. He received some treatment & support in 2016/17 but was discharged in 2018, deemed well enough to no longer need the services. His mental health then deteriorated further, his life spiralled out of control and he was in complete denial about his health and completely lacking any insight into his problems. He also may have felt he needed to mask/hide his problems because; I believe they may have been too uncomfortable for him to talk about. When an Adult child is out of the "system"; It is very difficult to get them back into it unless they Engage, Co-operate or visit their GP or actively seek treatment. My argument is that they are too unwell to engage, especially when they lack insight into their condition. The problem the loved one, parent or care giver then faces is, in my experience, no-one will listen to you because: (they are over 18) and the Adult Child either refuses or does not seek help, which then leads to to them missing out on treatment or not receiving it at all. Not listening to the parent/caregiver or their loved ones, because of confidentiality, in these circumstances, is in my opinion, "ridiculous". The parent/caregiver or loved one is usually the closest to these individuals and knows them best of all. This has to stop and common sense must prevail. If the Adult child has a history of Mental Health problems, has a confirmed diagnosis, has sick notes and medication.........Caregivers/parents and close loved ones, must not have the confidentiality card shown to them. Healthcare providers must intervene and listen to the the people who are speaking up for and on behalf of their Adult child/loved one. We are all responsible for SAFEGUARDING. We don't want to hear: "Call the Police". The Police are not adept at Mental Health issues and the unwell individual does not need this; they need care and assessments by professionally trained Psychiatric Dr's/Consultants or Senior Psychiatric Nurses and even if the Adult Child has never had an episode of Mental ill health, their nearest and dearest, who know them best and want to help them need to be listened to. We cannot let any more young men or women slip through the net because "They Wont Engage" or "We cannot talk to you". This is a fob off and an insult. (Perhaps the individual would engage if you knew how to engage them). I never want another Mother/Father/Caregiver or Loved One, to go through the extensive and heart wrenching pain I am going through right now. I plead for your support and for common sense to prevail. We need to increase the availability of mental health resources and to reduce barriers to accessing care. (The World Health Organisation), (International Association for Suicide Prevention) and the (World Federation for Mental Health) all agree that barriers to accessing care need to be removed. Wikipedia Thank you all so much for your support and reading and sharing my petition.

It is important as this the local practice for most of the village and has been for over 100 years also the community don’t have great access to travel to other practices it has been bad enough with the cuts to services vital to the community.

We understand that local authority funding has been viscously cut by successive governments, since 2008. However we also understand that it is the legal responsibility of local authorities to deliver support and care to vulnerable people within their communities. We call on you, Andy Burnham, as mayor of Greater Manchester and figure head for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to take a stand.

NHS staff are facing a new peril that is sweeping across the UK. Frimley Health Trust is creating a Wholly owned subsidiary company that is another route for the Trust to cut terms and conditions for staff and save money through avoiding VAT. Frimley Health will have a private company which will be set up by them to deliver outsourced NHS services. Please support our NHS workers who are under threat of being privatised by signing the petition. #NHSmeansNHS

We started this project because the sport of climbing is completely unrepresented in our area. We want to give people the chance to experience the fun and excitement involved in climbing and to expand their resources to achieve a healthy lifestyle. The people in our community have already showed a huge amount of interest in this project and with climbing's debut in the 2020 Olympics there's no better time to make this project a reality.

Without this facility children with life limiting conditions and their families will suffer and there will be an impact on NHS services in the local area that are already overstretched and cannot provide the type of care that Forget Me Not specialises in. The work they do is so important, let’s hope none of us ever need their support but it would be reassuring that should we be in that difficult position, Forget Me Not would still exist to provide help and care.

This is important to me and a lot of of patients.. I have been attending this surgery for the past 10 years and have built up a strong bond and trust these guys with my life. My daughter, autistic and severe Learning disabilities has also attended here for the past 7 years. She trusts the doctor she sees on a regular basis and is really comfortable going. This is something that will completely change if we have to move. I will not be able to get her to the doctors due to her anxiety and behavioural issues. This is a huge disappointment not only for my family but many of other families in situations like myself. Realistically, how are alternative surgerys in Shrewsbury going to accommodate nearly 4,000 patients? People are struggling as it is to get appointments with their gps, the closure of Whitehall is going to add pressure and majorly effect other gp surgeries in Shrewsbury.

Two of the three local authorities involved in scrutinising these plans have rejected them and referred them to the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock MP.  Respected local health professionals believe they will result in irreversible harm to the health of the population served by Southend Hospital and must be stopped now.  Many local residents have expressed deep concerns over the plans and made their feelings clear during the consultation process.  Chief Executive of the three hospital Trusts in mid and south Essex, Claire Panniker, along with her management board, have unilaterally decided that they can wait no longer for the outcome of the referral process and are initiating changes set out in the referred STP plan. Any reasonable person would expect a complete cessation of changes pending the decision of the Health Secretary. The Trust's management risk squandering vast amounts of NHS funds with their gung-ho attitude on changes that may ultimately be refused permission to take place.

I myself and many of the other elderly/ house bound patients will find it extremely difficult to travel to Royton or Shaw health centre for NHS doctors services. I ask the health authority bodies to keep this Trent Road surgery open.