Public Living Room

The public living room is a cosy, welcoming space to relax, connect with others and take part in fun activities.

Reception Roadshows

Is your little one starting Reception in September 2026?   If so, why not go along to the Starting Reception Roadshow on Saturday 14th March.   See the attached poster for more information.

Doctors urge people in Essex to take up NHS cancer screening as National Cancer Plan is published. People in Essex are being urged to take up cancer screening invitations, as the Government today (4 February 2026) publishes the National Cancer Plan 2026 for England. The plan sets out a national strategy to improve cancer outcomes by increasing early diagnosis and reducing inequalities in access to care and screening. Earlier detection remains one of the most important drivers of better survival.

https://www.midandsouthessex.ics.nhs.uk/news/doctors-urge-people-in-essex-to-take-up-nhs-cancer-screening-as-national-cancer-plan-is-published/

All practices in Mid-Essex close for training once a month from February 2026, with the exception of August.

We will be closed from 12.00pm on the date below:

Tuesday 10th March 2026 at midday

Medical Advice can be obtained during these times by dialling NHS 111 or www.111.nhs.uk In the event of a medical emergency then contact 999.

The surgery will reopen on Wednesday 11th March at 8.00am. Blackwater Pharma remains open as normal.

• patients are seen sooner 
• more care is delivered out of hospital and within the community 
• a reduction in unnecessary acute activity – freeing services up to focus on more complex patient care (i.e. surgical interventions). 

• Single Point of Access for all routine MSK, Orthopaedic, Rheumatology and Pain referrals
• Tier 1 and 2 physiotherapy
• Pain Management
• Rheumatology
• Surgical provision (carpal tunnel, podiatric surgery). 

Cick here to access the GP Fair Processing Notice

• Be clear whether it is face to face (f2f) where you come into the surgery and see a clinician, or a telephone appointment that you require.  If it’s a telephone appointment, please add your contact number
• Be clear on what the problem is
• Do not book medication reviews
• Do not book routine diabetic or asthma reviews
• Only book cervical smear tests in the allocated appointment slots
• Do not book for blood test requests

Get the right care and support at Get the right care and support - Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System

Calling all young carers........get your voice heard.   Please refer to the poster below for more information about this opportunity!

Young Carers

Last Tuesday of every month (except December) you are invited to the Maldon United Reformed Church between 10.00am and 12.00pm to find out what's available in the local community. Please see poster below for more details.

Essex Dementia Care has over fifteen years of experience helping people with dementia continue to live active and fulfilling lives. Please see poster below for more information.

Stand Up To Cancer 2025 campaign will take place from 5-12 December, with Cancer Research UK joining forces with Channel 4 for a week-long awareness campaign to raise funds and encourage people to attend screening. 

A simple online screening checker has been developed by the campaign organisers and will be launched on 5th December, which is designed to help people quickly see what screening programmes they may be eligible for.  A live broadcast is also planned for the evening of 12 December.

Blackwater Medical Centre are hosting a dementia support clinic on Friday 10th October 2025
Appointments currently available at 10am, 11am and 12pm at the Heybridge Surgery

Please contact Reception in the first instance

For Autumn 2025, COVID-19 vaccination will be offered to:

• Adults aged 75 years and over
• Residents in care homes for older adults
• Individuals who are immunosuppressed.  We are only vaccinating adults aged over 18
• Patients can also book their appointment online

This represents a change from the Autumn 2024 programme, which also included adults aged 65 to 74 and all those aged 6 months and over in a clinical risk group.

The vaccine should usually be offered no earlier than around 6 months after the last vaccine dose.

We are currently holding clinics for eligible groups on Saturday 4^th and Saturday 11th October.   Please book for these clinics after 2pm Monday - Friday

Need Housing Advice?  Call 0800 048 7967

Mounjaro

From 1st July 2025, you can now book your routine X-ray online!

If your clinician referrers you for a routine X-ray, you should bе contacted within two working days. 

Depending on the type of examination, you may receive a text message, inviting you to make an appointment using our booking portal called Swiftqueue.

Please follow the instructions to login / register an account. This will allow you to choose an appointment time that is most convenient for you, without the need of contacting the hospital directly.

If you have not heard from us after two working days, please contact the Hospital's Radiology Appointments team directly - contact details can be found on the Mid and South Essex Hospitals' website:
www.mse.nhs.uk/radiology-services

On 23rd June 2025, it was announced that people living with obesity will be able to begin accessing tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) for weight loss purposes in primary care settings. However, the national roll out does not mean all people will be able to get a prescription for tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) on this day.

Weight management services are locally commissioned at an Integrated Care Board (ICB) level. In mid and south Essex, access to tirzepatide will initially be through specialist weight management services only. Access to tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) through primary care is not expected to start in mid and south Essex until later in 2025.

NHS Mid and South Essex ICB has provided information on tirzepatide on its website - Visit the website for more information.

Due to the demand for our dementia support clinics, we are hosting another clinic on Friday 10th October 2025. If you would like more information, please leave your details at reception and someone will contact you.

Alternatively, email us at blackwater.medicalcentre@nhs.net

A safe space for people to learn new skills, expand on existing ones, and attend FREE courses developed to support mental health recovery.

Bite Size Skills

So far this year (January - March 2025) there were 16,974 appointments

484 appointments were booked, not attended and not cancelled.  

Please ensure that if you cannot keep your appointment, you let us know as soon as possible so that another patient can have it.   This is a complete waste of time and resource, and we ask our patients to please be considerate to others.   There is now an option on the phone system to cancel appointments to make it easier.

From 31st March 2025, the ICB will no longer be funding e-consult as they are trying to streamline their digital service. The chosen provider will be Accurx. Some patients may have already seen this with blood pressure monitoring.

The NHS app is still available if patients should prefer to continue using this route.

How does Accurx work?

1. A patient’s request comes in through a structured form submitted online, over the phone or by visiting the practice.
2. All requests enter a shared inbox that’s fully integrated with your clinical system.
3. The surgery team action the requests, triaging and signposting patients based on clinical need.

getUBetter is working in partnership with the NHS to provide digital support for all muscle and joint problems. See the attached information to find out how to download the app for all common musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries and conditions such as back, neck or knee pain, as well as pelvic floor health.

GetUBetter information

Evening and weekend appointments are available at this GP practice or at an NHS service nearby.