Newsletter Autumn 2025
Welcome
Thank you for taking the time to read our latest newsletter. We hope you find this issue informative and valuable. If you have any questions about anything you read, please speak to a member of our team.
More information regarding the surgery can be found at: www.swanmedicalgroup.co.uk
In This Issue:
- GP Changes
- Flu & COVID Clinics
- Rowan Ward
- Friends of Petersfield Hospital
- Macmillan Coffee Morning
- Social Prescribers
- Medlink – Annual Reviews
- Patient Survey Results
GP Changes at SMG
Farewell to Dr Suzy Holden
After 30 years with Liphook & Liss practices, Dr Suzy Holden is retiring at the end of August. Since joining in 1995, she has cared for thousands of patients and generations of local families. Loved by both patients and colleagues, she will be greatly missed. We’re sure you’ll join us in wishing her a happy and well-earned retirement.
Welcoming Dr Heather Farrell
We’re pleased to announce that Dr Heather Farrell will be joining the team permanently from 6th January 2026, taking over Dr Holden’s patient list. In the interim, experienced locums Dr Sarah Longstaff and Dr Steve Buckley will be providing cover. Thank you for your understanding during this transition.
Maternity Leave
We extend our warm congratulations to Dr Hannah Lennard-Jones who will begin maternity leave in October. We send her and her family our very best wishes. To provide continued care during her absence, Dr Zaheen Uddin has joined Swan Medical Group this month, currently working at Liss and Riverside. He will transfer to Swan Surgery in Petersfield from October to cover Dr Lennard-Jones’ patient list for the duration of her maternity leave.
New GP Arrivals
We’re delighted to welcome several new GPs to Swan Medical Group:
Dr Joanna Peters joins on 1st October, working at Liss and Riverside sites on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Dr Maggie Adnett will join as a long-term locum on 20th October, covering maternity leave at Liss on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Staff Changes
Dr Sarah Boulter will be leaving SMG on 17th September to focus on her hospice care work. We thank her for her contributions and wish her the very best.
We’re also pleased to welcome back Dr Issy Yerburgh, who will take over Dr Boulter’s patient list. She’ll be based at Liphook Village Surgery on Mondays and Wednesdays from late October.
We’re delighted that we have successfully recruited some excellent GPs to join the SMG team. We’re grateful for your continued support and patience as we navigate these changes. We remain committed to keeping you informed and providing the highest standard of care.
Flu & COVID clinics
As Autumn settles in, we want to remind you that Flu & Covid season is officially upon us. At Swan Medical Group, your health and well-being are our top priorities, and we would like to encourage all eligible patients to book in for their annual vaccinations with us. Winter can be unpredictable, and vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and those around you.
This season’s main Flu & COVID programme starts on 1st October. Clincs will run at these 3 locations
- Swan Surgery, Swan Street, Petersfield, GU32 3AB
- Liphook Village Surgery, The Square, Liphook, GU30 7AQ
- Liss Surgery, Hillbrow Road, GU33 7LE
Flu & COVID clinic dates (by appointment only)
Saturday 4th October 8am -12pm
Saturday 11th October 8am -12pm
Saturday 18th October 8am -12pm
Eligibility for Covid:
- Residents in a care home for older adults
- All adults aged 75 years and over
- Persons aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed
Eligibility for Flu:
- Those aged 65 years and over
- Those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups
- Those in long-stay residential care homes
- Carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
- Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- Frontline workers in a social care setting
We will also be running mid-week clinics by appointment only, we will be contacting all eligible patients very shortly to offer an appointment into one of our clinics commencing in October.
Rowan Ward Petersfield Hospital
The Swan Medical Group Patient Participation Group has written to the Hampshire & IOW Integrated Care Board expressing concern on behalf of patients about the potential closure of beds in the Rowan Ward at Petersfield hospital. The letter made the point that the beds are an important support facility for SMG patients, and an efficient way of delivering local care.
Swan Medical Group: “We have significant concerns around the proposed reduction of 20 inpatient rehabilitation beds at Petersfield Hospital. This ward is a critical local facility serving both the local area and wider geography. We are committed to supporting our patients and are having discussions with relevant stakeholders on this topic.”
Thank You to the Friends of Petersfield Hospital!
Swan Medical Group would like to express it’s sincere gratitude and thanks to the Friends of Petersfield Hospital, who very generously offered to share some of their donation funds to purchase medical equipment to help support our patients.
Items purchased include Spirometers and FeNO machines, a portable ECG machine, portable heart rate monitors, defibrillators, ear thermometers, and medical couches.
This new equipment is vital for our team to continue to deliver high standards of care to our patients, and we are extremely grateful to the Friends of Petersfield Hospital for enabling us to purchase these medical supplies which we know our patients will benefit from.
The Friends of Petersfield Hospital was formed in 1954 as a registered charity and are a voluntary group made up of a small committee and members. If you would like to get involved or for more information, please contact the Chairman:
Mr John Granger
Tel: 01730 263817
Email: john.granger004@btinternet.com
Website: www.friendsofpetersfieldhospital.com
Macmillan Coffee Mornings
Since 1990, Macmillan Coffee Mornings have brought together millions of people from across the UK to have fun and raise money for a good cause.
This year’s Coffee Morning day is Friday 26 September 2025 – Look out for posters or social media posts advertising an event in your local area.
They may be taking place in community centres, cafes, pubs, schools, hospitals and sports clubs.
Social Prescribers
Need some help or advice? Come to one of our drop-in sessions for a chat with our two Social Prescribers. We can help with mental health support, diet and exercise, food and warmth support, financial issues and much more.
Medlink – Annual Reviews – Making your care Easier
We are continuing to send out Medlink questionnaires to support patients in completing their annual reviews.
For our diabetic patients, you can now complete your questionnaire before you attend for your blood tests and foot check. By doing this, your healthcare team will have your answers ready at the time of your appointment, allowing them to focus on your results and overall care.
The flowchart below shows how the process works:
- Receive your Medlink questionnaire via text or email.
- Complete and submit your questionnaire online.
- Attend your blood test and foot check as arranged.
- Review appointment with your clinician, who will have your results and questionnaire ready to discuss.
This new process helps us to provide more efficient, personalised care – and means you get the most out of your review.
Patient Survey results
In July, we sent a survey invite to all patients who had an appointment throughout June 2025. This amounted to just over 8000 invites and we are pleased to say that we had almost 1500 responses.
This survey, devised in conjunction with our Patient Participation Group (PPG), was designed to gain feedback from patients who had a recent experience of our surgeries and services.
The information below is a summary of the most raised points. We are reviewing all comments and taking action on everything we are able to. Please note, some points that were raised are outside of our control, such as the format and usability of the e-Consult form. We hope to carry out this survey on an annual basis; in the meantime if you wish to leave feedback regarding your appointment, please complete the Friends and Family test, which you will be sent following your appointment.
What You Told Us We’re Doing Well
- Listening and caring: Most of you felt listened to and treated with care and concern.
- Call-back system: Many appreciated the convenience and speed of our call-back service.
- Friendly and professional staff: You highlighted our team’s helpfulness, friendliness, and professionalism.
- Efficient service: You praised how quickly and effectively your needs were met.
What You’d Like Us to Improve
- Appointments: Many of you found it hard to book appointments, especially face-to-face ones.
- Phone system: Long wait times and difficulty getting through were common concerns. However our call back system has proved very popular.
- Website and e-Consult: Some found the website hard to navigate, and e-Consult often unavailable.
- Waiting Room: Improved room signage; access to wi-fi and more chairs in certain surgeries. Did you know? All patients have access to free NHS wi-fi when visiting us.
Digital Access
e-Consult Awareness: Website Usability:
✅ Yes: 1,012 Easy to use: 777
❌ No: 383 Difficult to use: 502
What We’re Taking On Board, We hear you—and we’re working on:
- Improving appointment availability and flexibility. We will be extending our e-Consult opening times by the beginning of October.
- Reducing phone wait times and making it easier to get through. We have increased our queue cap inline with higher numbers of staff to cope with demand. This is something we constantly monitor. By extending our e-Consult times, this will mean fewer patients calling in.
- Making our website and e-Consult easier to use and more accessible. We will be meeting with our website provider to make our website even more intuitive and user-friendly. Please note, that e Consult is a separate platform operated by an external provider that integrates with our website.
- Improving our waiting rooms: Improving our signage throughout our surgeries and consistently checking all displayed information is up to date.