Welcome to Ball Tree Surgery

The GPs, nurses and practice team at Ball Tree Surgery would like to welcome you to our website.

It is in the process of redesign to make the information you are looking for easily accessible. Thank you for bearing with us.

Please look below and in the tabs for further information about surgery services and links to local support and resources.

Our opening times and phone number are towards the bottom of the page.

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO COVID SICKNESS, WE HAVE REDUCED STAFF NUMBERS WORKING AT THE MOMENT
WE ARE SORRY BUT IT MAY TAKE LONGER TO GET THROUGH ON THE TELEPHONE CURRENTLY AND SOME CLINICS WILL BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT SHORT NOTICE

ON A FEW DAYS IN AUGUST WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY ROUTINE GP APPOINTMENTS - WE APOLOGISE IN ADVANCE FOR THIS
Unfortunately it is not possible to provide GP locum cover on many days due to the national shortage of GPs
Please be kind to our reception team who will do their best to help within the capacity that is available.

Please note we have two locations

Main site - Western Road North, Sompting Lancing, BN15 9UX 

Kingfisher Branch - 19 to 21 Culver Road, Lancing, BN15 9AX 

Please check where your appointment is located if you are coming in to see us.

FACE MASKS ARE STILL REQUIRED FOR ALL PATIENTS - PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN MASK

COVID IS STILL IN THE COMMUNITY AND AFFECTING OUR STAFFING NUMBERS SIGNIFICANTLY

Please BE KIND to our Teams  

It has been a very difficult few years for everyone and we have really appreciated the kind words, patience and support towards our staff from so many people that use our services.

We can understand and share people's frustration at times.

Unfortunately we have had a rise in aggressive calls and this puts additional pressure on our already over stretched team. 

Please put yourselves in our Team's shoes and consider how you would feel in their situation.  They will do whatever they can to support.

Our trained team may ask for details when you call so they can direct you to the best member of the team to help you in the most appropriate timescale

We want you to have a safe sustainable service at Ball Tree - we work incredibly hard every day to provide this and we are doing our best in very challenging circumstances.

Please help us to help you by being kind to all the teams when you get in touch - we will always try to offer you whatever we can as soon as we can.

Please be aware that due to frequent staff absences due to COVID we are not able to offer many pre-bookable GP appointments currently.  

We understand that this can feel frustrating however it is simply not possible for us to change this at the moment.  

Please do not take out your frustrations with the reception team members - they will do whatever they can to help you within the capacity that we have on that day.

We operate a zero tolerance policy.  Rude and agressive patients are removed from the practice list and need to register elsewhere.

GP Appointments

While we do have some pre-bookable GP appointments, most of our availability will be filled on the day.

Where needed, a GP will be able to speak to you on the day and the GP decide with you if a face to face appointment is needed. This will usually be on the same day.

Once we have reached a safe level of capacity each day we will then only be able to take GP requests for urgent matters. 

The phone message will change at this time.  Please note that we are still able to support questions and bookings for all other matters during the urgent only time periods.

We are sorry that this may cause inconvenience.

The demand on our service has increased substantially and we do not have any additional resources.

We want to operate safely for everyone's benefit and want to be available to you in a sustainable way.

Please call as early as you are able to help us plan our daily activity. Please stay on the line and we will reach your call as soon as we are able.

Please consider if you could also be supported by contacting NHS 111 online or by phone or by a local pharmacy before calling us.

Annual Reviews for Ongoing Conditions

We are gradually moving back to our previous programme of annual reviews for people who have ongoing medical conditions.  This means that we aim to contact people around their birthday month for one or two appointments to cover key areas of health.  These may be by telephone or in person depending upon the type of review.  We are required to send out at least two invitations per person per year for those who have ongoing conditions.  These invitations will mainly come out by SMS or Email so please do ensure that we have your latest contact information.  

If you have any concerns or worrying symptoms at any time you can book a review of your conditions with a Nurse or GP.  It may be that we ask you to book an appointment with one of our healthcare assistants for a blood test or other checks before your review appointment so that the clinician has the most up to date information to support your care.

We are still affected by the ongoing impact of COVID across all our teams and services as COVID continues to be active within the community.  COVID is impacting our staffing levels just as it is for all organisations across the world. If you call to make a review appointment and we are not able to provide this on your first attempt, please be kind and patient with the team.  We are updating our diary each week but we continue to have to cancel clinics at short notice due to staff sickness with COVID.  Please do call us again after a couple of weeks so that we can try again to support you with an appointment.

For people who are more frail or unable to leave their house we offer review appointments at home.

INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS ABOUT CORONAVIRUS

Please wear a mask when attending the surgery and vaccine site

Corona virus levels are still high in the community so masks help to protect yourself, our staff and other vulnerable people who may be attending the surgery.

If you have symptoms that may be covid, however mild, please call the surgery rather than coming down and we can make necessary arrangements over the phone. 

Thank you

General COVID Advice - NHS 111 Online LATEST Guidance

If you are worried about symptoms - NHS 111 What to do if you are worried

COVID PASSPORTS - PLEASE CALL 119 or use the NHS APP 

Vaccinations

Vaccination clinics are being held at Lancing Parish Hall

Invitations to appointments will come via Text and by phone call.  Please ensure that Ball Tree has the correct mobile telephone number for you.  There are a mixture of pre-bookable appointments and walk-in availabilty.  This will vary week to week according to demand and vaccination patterns.  There is a publically available Facebook page for the vaccine centre which holds news regarding activity at the Centre. https://www.facebook.com/LASCHSussex/ 

Science-based information on vaccines can be found via official NHS and Governmental websites.

Children and young people aged 12 to 17

Children aged 5 to 11

Mental Health

Coronavirus and your wellbeing - MIND

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/

https://www.westsussexmind.org/news/news/covid-19-corona-virus-west-sussex-mind-services

Every Mind Matters   https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

NHS Mental health signposting   https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/

Mental Health Apps List of Mental Health Apps - April 2020 [PDF]

Wearing Face Masks Help with anxiety relating to wearking a face mask from MIND if you have a hidden disabilty - information at Hidden Disability Store

Loneliness Independent Age https://www.independantage.org 

CRISIS Support - Sexual or Violent Abuse

Safe in Sussex https://www.safeinsussex.co.uk

Survivors Network (Susex Based) https://survivorsnetwork.org.uk/) 

Refuge https://www.refuge.org.uk/

Survivors UK (for Male victims)  https://www.survivorsuk.org/

Women's Aid https://www.womensaid.org.uk/

Rape Crisis https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

Younger People's Support 

NSPCC https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/our-services/childrens-services

Bernardo's https://www.bernardos.org.uk

LGBTQ Younger People https://www.allsortsyouth.org.uk

Childline https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/our-services/childline/ Call 0800 1111 (for kids) Call 0808 800 5000 (for adults concerned about a child)

Loneliness - Local Youth Organisation - Esteem - http://esteem.org.uk

COVID Support

Local Council Support for Vulnerable People If you know someone who cannot access these internet resources, please assist them or ask them to call the surgery

UK Government Support for extremely vulnerable people

Lancing and Sompting local support via Facebook

Top Ten Tips for Managing COVID at Home [PDF]

Isolation Pack for Over 70s - Useful information [PDF]

Local and Community Resources to help with impact of COVID [PDF]

Support for Younger People [PDF]

Support for Older People and those with dementia [PDF]

Support for Maternity and New Parents

Planning your birth during covid-19

Looking after yourself and your baby in pregnancy during covid-19

Parent information for newborn babies during covid-19

e-Consultations

We apologise. We have suspended the eConsultation system while we work with the CCG to improve the system 

Self Care Leaflets and Advice for those with long term health conditions

COPD and Asthma - Keeping Yourself Well

Diabetes Type I - Sick Day Rules

Diabetes Type II - Sick Day Rules

How To Look After Your Kidneys

Diabetes and CKD - Keeping Yourself Well

COPD Assessment Test - Monitoring your COPD symptoms

Asthma Control Test - Monitoring your Asthma Symptoms

Adur and Worthing Coronavirus - Call for Volunteers

The response of the community to the pandemic and with the vaccine project has been inspiring. So many people stepped up to help in any way they could and made a real dfference to people's lives. We are very grateful. 

If you are interested in volunteering there is useful local council website with links and advice on how to get started 

https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/community-wellbeing/being-active-in-your-community/ 

Your Ball Tree Surgery

We welcome you feedback and involvement in your surgery. 

The Medical Team at Ball Tree aims to provide all our patients with access to quality personalised care in a friendly environment.

We aim to be Safe, Effective, Responsive, Caring and well-led as directed by our governing framework and our regulators the Care Quality Commission

Our team have created a mission statement for our practice which outlines our aspirations - Mission Statement

Every patient registered with Ball Tree has a named GP responsible for their overall care. We strongly encourage you to see the same GP for ongoing problems whenever this is possible.  We believe that prevention of illness is better than cure and actively educate and encourage our patients to make healthy choices and share responsibility for improving their well being.  

Self-care can often be the best care for many conditions and we ask our patients to think carefully before booking to see a GP or Nurse.  Before contacting us about minor conditions that have only been present for a couple of days we recommend the Self Care Forum or NHS Choices where there are many helpful resources.  You can also pop into your local pharmacy who will be happy to help you with many common conditions and problems - see a list of common issues where No Prescription Is Required [PDF]  There is a video just below and a leaflet Help my NHS

Our duty of care extends widely and we believe that every child and vulnerable adult has the right to be safe. We are committed to safeguarding all our patients and staff.  If you have personal concerns or would like to share concerns about welfare of child or adult, we have a dedicated member of our team who, supported by our partner organisations, can work with you.

We are working with Going Local - a community referral service accessed via our GPs to help people by supporting access to local organisations for finance, employment, housing and digital engagement.  Going Local has highlighted a range of local activities that may be of interest... Going Local [PDF]

If you are able to give the time to feedback in the survey that will help us understand what works , and doesn't. If you would want to be more involved in shaping our services then please contact the practice manager via the reception team. 

Ball Tree Patient Voice: If you have feedback - compliment or complaint please see our information on the routes available to get in touch

Ball Tree Patient Voice: Click Here for the results of our latest patient survey

Local GP Access Hubs

GP and Nurse appointments are now available during the evening and at the weekend at local GP access hubs

• Urgent appointments for a new illness
• Same day and next day appointments
• Access to your GP medical records with your consent
• Appointments booked via Ball Tree
• Clinical are operated by IPC which is a not for profit organisation owned by local GP practices

If you are offered one of these appointments by the team please do consider accepting as it will likely mean that you are seen sooner.

We will lose this valuable service if people do not accept the appointments that we offer there.  

To keep your local GP service at Ball Tree available and sustainable we need our patients to see the most appropriate person and often this will be at the Access Hubs.

Talk to our reception team and they can advise you further!

Communication: Let us know if you need support accessing our services or our communication materials and we will do our best to meet you needs.  

Self care advice

Under pressure:
Please be aware that General Practice is facing significant challenges due to increasing workload and reducing resources (despite what you may see in the headlines - there is no new money).
Please use our services wisely so that we can continue to provide a safe and caring service for all our patients.
Patients NOT coming to appointments costs us tens of thousands of pounds each year - which could be going towards your health care
Please lobby your MP - we are in need of a new building and additional resources - Lancing is not currently a priority for the area - please help us raise its profile

LGBTQ+ Friendly

Ball Tree is a safe and welcoming space

We have pledged to be Antibiotic Guardians This is important for YOU and those whom you love. Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to our current way of life.  Without effective antibiotics, many routine treatments will become increasingly dangerous.  Please do not expect to receive antibiotics... trust the expertise of our GPs to prescribe them when they are truly needed. Click here for information.

Our Opening Hours

Ball Tree Surgery - Main Site

Western Road North, Lancing, BN15 9UX

Kingfisher Branch 2021

19 - 21 Culver Road, Lancing BN15 9AX

When We Are Closed

When the surgery is closed (Out of Hours), you are still able to access a GP.   Telephone NHS 111 (free from land line or mobile) NHS 111 Team will talk through the reason for your call, and just like our reception team, if they agree that you need an urgent appointment they are able to book this for you at a local surgery / arrange a home visit. They may advise you to attend Accident and Emergency - but this would only be in the most serious of situations.

 Usually it is always better to telephone:

• 111 - When you need advice or guidance when we are closed (or you can talk with a local pharmacy if they are open).
• 999 - To report a serious accident, injury or illness - 999 Team will advise you and may arrange an ambulance.

Only visit Accident and Emergency if you or someone you are caring for has a very serious injury or illness. If you attend A&E for less serious issues, it causes huge problems for the hospital and costs the NHS many times the cost of using 111 or visiting your GP during usual opening hours.

Your Local Pharmacist

Your local pharmacist will be able to give you free health advice at any time – you don't need an appointment.
Many pharmacies operate extended hours on a rota basis.  Download our guide to local Pharmacy Opening Hours [PDF]

Serving You

Our dedicated team are here to treat those minor ailments that occur as well as providing specialist management of long-term conditions and clinics covering a wide range of healthcare issues. The technology also means you can now do a lot of things from the comfort of your home such as order a repeat prescription or cancel an appointment.

Partners in Care

Once registered, patients and healthcare professionals work together to ensure the most appropriate care is provided. This partnership philosophy extends even further and our active patient group exists to make sure that patient needs and the practice offering are always heading in the same direction.

Access

Our surgery has suitable access to the ground floor for patients using a wheelchair. A stair lift is available to the first floor which staff will be happy to operate for you. We also have a parking space which is reserved for patients displaying a disabled sticker.

We can arrange interpretation and translation services for patients who do not speak English. Please let us know if you need this service when booking an appointment - it may require additional time for us to be able to arrange interpreting services and we will also need to book a longer appointment.