Please tell us about any positive impact on your physical or mental wellbeing as a result of attending Menopause Café(s)

"1st session, however feel more empowered, confident."

"Lovely to talk openly to new people about menopause and hear others stories"

"Real positive impact – shared experiences and open discussion."

"Social time and relief (not alone). Sharing life pressures and anxiety relief."

"It's so lovely to be able to talk to other people about what we are going through and have them understand it has really helped to know that."

"Hearing others stories and opinions and listening to what has helped them."

"First time attending, lovely to hear peoples experiences."

"Just talking to other women and realising they are feeling/experiencing the same things."             

"Excellent communication opportunity - to share thoughts and experiences."

i-Rock Horsham District is a brand-new support and advice hub for young people aged 14 - 25 in West Sussex. At i-Rock, partnership agencies work collaboratively to offer various support services to help with mental health, relationships, money and benefits, family problems, bullying, housing, education and employment. Young people can access the service by dropping in, booking an appointment or through our virtual platform. At i-Rock, we work with you to ensure you succeed and thrive.

Our Clinical Director, Dr Samir Khan, said: "We are extremely proud to be partnered with the team at i-Rock who demonstrate incredible drive and passion towards supporting their target population. We are privileged to be part of this journey towards creating an essential service in Horsham."

CLICK HERE to find out more

Our Care Coordinator team, Emily & Kirstie visited Worthing Hospitals' breast cancer screening unit last week and had the pleasure of meeting with Geraldine (left) and Lovely (right) who are mamogrammars at the unit. The purpose of this visit was for the team to get some vital information about the service and equipment alongside getting some great photos to add to the breast cancer screening videos they've been involved with creating which is aimed at educating our patients with learning disabilities.

Dementia Action Week 2023 saw Horsham Central team up with The Alzheimer's Society at Orchard Surgery to organise a bake sale in order to raise funds for The Alzheimer's Society.

With the help of Orchard's Patient Participation Group (PPG), we raised over £315 which is fantastic!

If you would like to learn more about our PPGs or to join and have your say, please visit your surgery's website.

To find out more about some of the excellent work The Alziemers Society carries out, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk

We'd like to thank all those who baked, came to support and donated.

Last week our fantastic team of Social Prescribers organised a cost of living event at the swan walk shopping centre in Horsham. We were joined by Horsham Wellbeing, Citizens Advice Bureau, Age UK, Horsham Fridge, Neighborhood Wardens, Horsham District Council and more to provide tailored support and advice to anyone in our community who is feeling the pressures of the rise in the cost of living.

These joint-agency relationships are crucial for us to provide the best support possible for our community, and we are proud to be a part of it.

This month, we have launched an online tool which allows patients within our Network (Park Surgery, Holbrook Surgery, Orchard Surgery & Riverside Medical Practice) to self-refer to our Social Prescribing service. We are incredibly happy to of reached this fantastic milestone which gives those who maybe don’t wish, or feel they need, to make an appointment with a clinician access to this service.

Click here to access the form.

Meet Emma Corrigan, one of our admin staff at Park Surgery and here is her story.

"I am 42 now but due to being born with a rare medical condition known as Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome. Following genetic testing in my twenties, it was then decided that Proteus syndrome was a better fit for my symptoms. I wasn’t expected to live past the age of 5 years old. This condition amongst other things affects my lymphatic system and lymph drainage in my body, in particular, my legs and feet.

I first began to notice the signs of Lymphoedema as a teenager going into secondary School just at the time when you want to fit in and look like everyone else. It was then that my legs started to become and feel larger and started to get more pain. My feet, although abnormally large from birth, started to feel more out of proportion to the rest of my body, and I began to feel more self-conscious.

It was at this time that I was told I had Lymphoedema and was referred to the hospital for compression stockings. Naturally, at this time I was reluctant to wear them feeling that it was another thing that made me different. I didn’t start to wear them more regularly until I was 24 when I had surgery to take the varicose veins from both legs. I was still reluctant to wear the stockings as I still felt conscious of what people thought. It wasn’t until we moved to Horsham in 2006 that a doctor at Park (where I was registered at the time)referred me to St Catherine’s Hospice which had a Lymphoedema Clinic. They saw me every 6 months, kept an eye on the measurements and helped find stockings to best suit me. I am now under Pioneer who has carried on that same support.

I have good and bad days but do my best to keep things in perspective. With the help of family and friends, I’ve tried to not let it hold me back and by sharing my story I hope to spread awareness and help others."

Meet Aniston Arulthas, Physician Associate at Park Surgery. He has a special interest in Lymphoedema and here are some quick facts he wants to share with you!

It is vital that lymphoedema is picked up and managed early.

We are incredibly proud to have a network built of strong, innovative, forward-thinking women. Here are a few of them from practice/senior management to clinical/non-clinical staff, GPs and admin staff.

We have been working with Crawley College to offer students doing a T level in Health and Social Care an opportunity to learn about Primary Care through work experience starting this week.

Here is some feedback from Georgia!