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'Save Our Surgery' April Update (dates changed and new Survey!)

Save Our Surgery

Breaking News on the Consultation Process

Please note that the focus groups to be arranged by Danebridge Medical Practice will now be scheduled for Thursdays in April.

Date	Time	Topic
Thursday 1 April	1pm	General discussion, medication issues, repeat prescriptions and Disease modified Anti Rheumatology Drugs (DMARD)
Thursday 8 April	1pm	Sample drop off
Thursday 15 April	1pm	Appointment Booking for Sandiway and Cuddington residents
Thursday 22 April	1pm	Alternative model of care

If you have a particular issue which will be made more difficult by the closure of Sandiway surgery then please write to the Practice offering to take part in one of the Focus Groups listed above.
Contact details are: Amanda Skelding-Jones with email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

THE FOLLOWING IS URGENT:
PLEASE READ AND ACTION IF YOU WISH TO RETAIN THE SURGERY!!

On Tuesday 25th March Danebridge Medical Practice issued an email to those patients who have volunteered to take part in four Focus Groups. These are limited to 15 patients in each session
Danebridge have been instructed by the Clinical Commissioning Group (Cheshire CCG) to widen their consultation and have been asked (by the CCG) to put out a short survey. This survey asks some of the same questions as will be asked in the Focus Group discussions
Danebridge have only sent this to a very small group of patients (mostly those who will be in the Focus Groups)
The survey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ZK65TR5
The DECISION on the future of the surgery has NOT YET BEEN TAKEN and so you need to fill in the survey and make sure that you use the comments boxes to make your views known
Over 900 residents in Sandiway and Cuddington signed to support the Save Our Surgery campaign back in January of 2020

WE NEED YOU ALL TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY, PLEASE!

If you are a patient with Danebridge Medical Practice and want to contact the Action Group to show your support for the campaign to keep the surgery open, please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Healthwatch Cheshire have been very actively following this campaign. If you wish to make any comments about the impact of closing Sandiway on your health care you can email Jem Davies at Healthwatch: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you wish to voice your concerns directly to the Clinical Commissioning Group you can contact them at www.cheshireccg.nhs.uk/get-in-touch

'Save Our Surgery' - further February update

Save Our Surgery

Progress Update

Our MP Edward Timpson has been following progress on the fight to save Sandiway Surgery and has been very helpful in keeping up correspondence with the NHS regulatory bodies to ensure that our case is being heard.

He recently wrote to NHS England North West on our behalf. His letter and the reply from the NHS are shown below:

PRESS HERE for MP Edward Timpson letter

To the Director of Primary Care and Public Health NHS England and NHS Improvement – North West

I have been working for some time now with my constituents regarding the planned closure of a GP surgery in Sandiway, Cheshire. This surgery currently serves over 3700 patients in a rural location and is one of three owned and managed by Danebridge Medical Practice based in the nearest town, Northwich, serving 25000 patients in total.

Danebridge Practice has told its patients that it intends to close the rural surgery at Sandiway and that all GP services will be provided by the remaining two surgeries at Danebridge and Kingsmead located within I mile of each other, but both approximately 5 miles away from the Sandiway population.

Sandiway surgery is in the Cuddington Key Service Centre serving a village population of 5500 and has existed there since 1928. The number of patients registered at that surgery over 70 and under 16 is in total 1421, 38% of the practice list for that surgery. This cohort of the patient list is very dependent on public transport and Cuddington and Sandiway suffer from the very common rural problem of poor public transport links, which make the use of public transport for GP appointments extremely difficult and in the case of Kingsmead surgery, impossible.

The practice has made it very clear to patient representatives and recently to the Cheshire CCG-PCC that they are not prepared to consider keeping the surgery open, despite the fact that the vast majority of patients in the village, and the majority of patients in the practice, do not wish to see the surgery closed.

Danebridge Medical Practice has cited a number of challenges around workforce, finances, sustainability and quality of services, and clearly needs support if it is to continue to manage the Sandiway surgery. They have, in discussions with the CCG-PCC committee, declared that they are expecting partners to retire, but they have a very low expectation of finding replacement partners. This “last partner standing” is a common issue and one that NHS England will be aware of and, I understand, is prepared to help with.

I understand that CCGs around the country are encouraging all GP practices to become part of local Primary Care Networks (PCNs), based around a GP registered list of approximately 30,000 – 50,000 patients, encompassing general practice and other partners in community and social care.

I believe that Danebridge ought to be encouraged to engage with NHS England and the CCG to consider the option of partnering with other practices, to form a PCN which could service the rural community and maintain a presence in this Key Service Centre. This would enable the provision of the service envisaged in the NHS Primary Care Home initiative where “ Staff come together as a complete care community – drawn from GP surgeries, community, mental health and acute trusts, social care and the voluntary sector – to focus on local population needs and provide care closer to patients’ homes.“

I am writing to the Cheshire CCG and to Danebridge Medical Practice, but I believe that in addition, this will require an intervention by NHS England to prevent a short-term issue undermining the strategic intent of NHS England care policies.

Edward Timpson CBE MP

and the reply from Anthony Leo, Director of Primary Care and Public Health, NHS England and NHS Improvement – North West

PRESS HERE for the Director's reply

12 February 2021

Dear Mr Timpson

Re: Sandiway Surgery, Cheshire

Thank you for your email dated 16 December 2020, in which you outlined your concerns regarding the future of Sandiway Surgery, which is a branch surgery to Danebridge Medical Practice, Northwich.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are aware of the Danebridge Medical Practice application to close the branch surgery at Sandiway and recognise that this is an important issue for the residents and patients of the Sandiway area.

As you may know, NHS Cheshire CCG holds delegated commissioning responsibility for primary medical services and, therefore, retains oversight and management of local general practice services. This means that decisions are taken locally by the CCG and managed in accordance with relevant national policy and guidance including the requirement for patient and stakeholder engagement.

In relation to this matter, we understand that a decision has not been taken by the CCG at this time and that the CCG’s Primary Care Commissioning Committee has requested further information from Danebridge Practice and had asked it to undertake further patient engagement which the practice has committed to do. As part of engaging with stakeholders, I am also aware that the CCG has been in contact with the Chester West and Chester Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee to keep it updated.

In light of the on-going need during the Covid-19 pandemic to focus on the delivery of patient services as well as the Covid vaccination programme, I have been advised by the CCG that the process has been paused. However, the CCG is committed to ensuring that meaningful patient and stakeholder engagement takes place in due course so that all information and feedback is properly and carefully considered before any conclusion is reached. The CCG has undertaken to keep you updated on progress.

During the course of the last 18 months, all general practices across England have been encouraged to become part of local Primary Care Networks and across the North West there has been extremely high take up. NHSEI in the North West has worked closely with all CCGs to support the development of PCNs in Cheshire and Merseyside, and I am able to confirm that Danebridge Medical Practice (including the branch surgeries) has been an active member of the Northwich Primary Care Network since 2018, supporting a patient population of over 73,000 across all seven member practices, and prior to this date had operated within a local Care Community formation. As part of this, we encourage all PCNs to continue to work closely with all partners to ensure patient access to the range of services for the local population.

Primary Care Networks have demonstrated their real value in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including through the delivery of support to care homes and through the resilience they have offered to practices with particular challenges. Primary Care Networks will continue to play a critical role in the NHS recovery from the pandemic, including tackling the health inequalities within our society which COVID-19 has vividly highlighted. PCN member practices, together with their health and care and voluntary sector partners, will collectively deliver the range of services to meet local population needs.

I trust that this response provides assurance that the CCG continues to review matters and will provide you with further updates on progress.

Yours sincerely

Anthony Leo
Director of Primary Care and Public Health
NHS England and NHS Improvement – North West

'Save Our Surgery' February Update

Save Our Surgery

Postponement of Consultation process

Please note that the focus groups arranged by Danebridge Medical Practice and listed below have now been postponed owing to the vaccine roll-out programme.

Date	Time	Topic
POSTPONED	POSTPONED	General discussion, medication issues, repeat prescriptions and Disease modified Anti Rheumatology Drugs (DMARD)
POSTPONED	POSTPONED	Sample drop off
POSTPONED	POSTPONED	Appointment Booking for Sandiway and Cuddington residents
POSTPONED	POSTPONED	Alternative model of care

If you have a particular issue which will be made more difficult by the closure of Sandiway surgery then please write to the Practice offering to take part in one of the Focus Groups listed above.

What the Save Our Surgery Action Group is doing:

The Action Group has written a Review of the Equality & Quality Impact Assessment (EQIA) carried out by the Clinical Commissioning Group and presented at the Primary Care Commissioning committee meeting in November.
This Review has been sent to the chairs of the CCG and PCC and also the chair of the CWaC Scrutiny Committee. The EQIA is, in our opinion, of a very low standard.
Edward Timpson, our MP, has informed us that he has written to NHS England asking, among other things, that they intervene and consider the establishment of a Primary Care Network to serve the rural community.
Edward is also writing to the Clinical Commissioning Group asking for them to seriously consider how to retain the service level for the affected patients and asking them to talk to other local practices and primary care networks.
Councillor Fifield has made contact with the Integrated Care Partnership for Cheshire West and Chester on our behalf and we will be discussing the situation with them.
If you are a patient with Danebridge Medical Practice and want to contact the Action Group to show your support for the campaign to keep the surgery open, please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you wish to voice your concerns directly to the Clinical Commissioning Group you can contact them at www.cheshireccg.nhs.uk/get-in-touch

Following the Government's recommendations in March relating to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, a large number of events, classes, etc have either been cancelled or postponed.

The events which have been brought to our attention are:

Cuddington and Sandiway GALA DAY in June was CANCELLED

All PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS are cancelled with immediate effect - to be reviewed in early June

the parish council have announced that their meetings can restart in July and held their statutory meeting on 13th July 2020 in the Village main hall

The VILLAGE HALL is closed with immediate effect - the Hall will be reopened as soon as government guidelines suggest it is safe to do so

the Village Hall reopened from Monday 6th July but under very strict guidelines and with only the main hall in use
children’s play areas at Boundary Lane Green and Norley Road re-opened on 4th July 2020, as per our government’s advice - notices will be displayed advising the public of the necessary two metre social distancing (see July 'Newsroom' for further guidance)

SANDIWAY SURGERY has been temporarily closed from 1pm on 24 March - it will reopen "once things have settled"

With effect from Monday 7 September 2020, Danebridge Medical Practice will be re-opening Sandiway Surgery, which will become the Practice’s designated location for patients in the Extremely Vulnerable Group, formerly known as "Shielded". The surgery will open from 8.30am – 1.00pm Monday – Friday and will be operated by a Doctor and a Patient Services Co-ordinator.
Sandiway Surgery will be a 'closed location'. Patients will only be able to attend, if in the Extremely Vulnerable Group and through an invitation from a clinician.

All regular group activities and events at SANDIWAY LIBRARY are suspended until further notice
- indeed, since 20 March Sandiway Library has been CLOSED
- this includes all PCSO (Police) Surgeries normally held in the library

Sandiway library reopened on 10 August, albeit with reduced opening times and some services (PRESS HERE for more details)

ST JOHN'S CHURCH will not be open for services, for midweek worship or for our regular Saturday morning open church and other activities. "In the light of government guidance around non-essential contact, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued advice that public worship is suspended until further notice. We will continue to pray for our community and strive to be good neighbours, but we are still working out the practicalities of this. We will update our Facebook Page and website with resources to use at home, as soon as possible."

St Johns has restarted certain weekend services - PRESS HERE for more details from the St John's website.

All Tuesday morning activities at Sandiway Methodist Church cancelled until further notice

The Ark Cafe, Arts in the Ark and JIMS in the Church Hall are cancelled until further notice
[The Ark Cafe will be trialling a sandwich takeaway service on Fridays in April to those people who fall into a high risk category and are self-isolating at home: please call 07955-600570 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ]

Blakemere Village Tourist Attraction has closed from 21 March until further notice. There are two shop exceptions to this on site, both Ginger & Browns and Cheshire Aquatics are both continuing to trade as they are supplying essential food products to the pet market. The Village Restaurant & Coffee Bar remains closed to the public but are offering a delivery service for meals as well essential food boxes - click their link to get in contact and for more details. Oakmere Children’s Nursery are also still open for key workers children to attend, again contact them direct via the link for clarification on whether this applies to your family.

Blakemere Village shops have started to reopen - PRESS HERE for more information
The Village Restaurant & Coffee Bar is reopening from 4 July with tables adhering to the social distancing rules

Delamere Park has cancelled all group activities/meetings in their Clubhouse

All the Music Train events during April and May

Cuddington & Sandiway and Round Tower Women's Institute have cancelled their meetings due to be held in April and May

All British Legion meetings are cancelled until further notice

Cuddington and Sandiway Community Singers who normally meet each Friday evening at Cuddington Primary

Afternoon Teas at the Village Hall normally held on the 1st Thursday of each month

St John's Toddler Group is 'closed for the foreseeable future'

Northwich Leg Club which normally meets every Thursday afternoon at The Lighthouse in Weaverham

Cuddington Parish Council

General Data Protection Regulations May 2018

The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) will take effect in the UK from 25 May 2018. It replaces the existing law on data protection (the Data Protection Act 1998) and gives individuals more rights and protection regarding how their personal data is used by councils. Local councils and parish meetings must comply with its requirements, just like any other organisation.

Our practices and procedures are listed below. If you require further information please contact our Parish Clerk in the first instance.

Cuddington PC - Detailed Privacy Notice

Cuddington PC - Data Audit Schedule

Cuddington PC – List of Documents for Retention or Disposal

Cuddington PC – Retention and Disposal Policy

Danebridge Patient Participation Group (PPG)

The local Parish is covered by a number of GP Practices based in Northwich, Weaverham and Frodsham. The most popular, and the only one with a local Surgery (on Weaverham Road, Sandiway), is Danebridge Medical Centre. This page refers only to the Danebridge Patient Participation Group (PPG) - other GP Practices will have their own PPG groups and should be reached through their websites / offices.

The PPG, sometimes also known as the PRG (Patient Reference Group), continue to work with the Practice for the Practice. The PPG is a committee of voluntary patients who support the work of the practice – this unique partnership between patients and their practices is essential to achieving high quality and responsive care. The Danebridge committee meet monthly along with practice representatives to discuss matters arising and to discuss on-going suggested improvements within the practice. From 1 April 2015, it has been a requirement in the GP Contract for all practices to have a PPG.

The role of the PPG includes:

Being a critical friend to the practice;
Advising the practice on the patient perspective and providing insight into the responsiveness and quality of services;
Encouraging patients to take greater responsibility for their own and their family’s health;
Carrying out research into the views of those who use the practice;
Organising health promotion events and improving health literacy;
Regular communication with the patient population.

The PPG would welcome any views and/or concerns you may have, but they must be about general issues. You can address any mail to Danebridge PPG, c/o Danebridge Medical Centre (see www.danebridge.org.uk/danebridge-medical-centre) or email your comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also drop a note in at any of the three reception desks. The PPG would love to hear your views and concerns, but they must be about general issues - the PPG cannot cover personal matters. Please take up any personal issues directly with the surgery.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The PPG contains over a dozen volunteers, and a number of them live in our local Parish:
Russell Smith (Webmaster of this website), Sheila Bowker, Les James.

Should you wish to discuss any relevant topic with one of these local PPG members, please send a message to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (listed on the “Contact Us” page) and somebody will call you.

Minutes of the PPG meetings are listed here: www.danebridge.org.uk/prg-minutes and other information here: www.danebridge.org.uk/patient-reference-group-prg.

Website Accessibility

We are a community website run by volunteers. We know that some parts of our website are not fully accessible. If you are experiencing problems accessing this website, or if you know of others who cannot access it, please contact the webmaster by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , including information about any alternative format that is suitable. We will endeavour to supply information in alternative formats.

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'Save Our Surgery' April Update (dates changed and new Survey!)

Save Our Surgery

Breaking News on the Consultation Process

Please note that the focus groups to be arranged by Danebridge Medical Practice will now be scheduled for Thursdays in April.

THE FOLLOWING IS URGENT:
PLEASE READ AND ACTION IF YOU WISH TO RETAIN THE SURGERY!!

WE NEED YOU ALL TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY, PLEASE!

If you are a patient with Danebridge Medical Practice and want to contact the Action Group to show your support for the campaign to keep the surgery open, please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Healthwatch Cheshire have been very actively following this campaign. If you wish to make any comments about the impact of closing Sandiway on your health care you can email Jem Davies at Healthwatch: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you wish to voice your concerns directly to the Clinical Commissioning Group you can contact them at www.cheshireccg.nhs.uk/get-in-touch

'Save Our Surgery' - further February update