News

East Surrey resident Ian Grant was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in 2016, and through sheer determination and support from Speech and Language Therapists at First Community Health and Care, he has improved his speech and helped produce a well-known cover song.

Following his PD diagnosis, Ian suffered with several associated symptoms including difficulties with his speech, which led to a referral to First Community’s Speech and Language Therapy Team to help manage his condition.

There are no immediate changes to COVID Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) requirements in healthcare settings. This includes the requirement for staff, patients and visitors to wear a mask/face covering.

The consistent application of IPC measures, alongside the roll out of the vaccine programme and staff and patient testing, remains the most effective defence against the entry and spread of COVID-19 in healthcare settings.

Today, First Community's Chief Executive Sarah Billiald shared a video explaining why First Community is a great place to come and work.

Sarah talks about the range of benefits and extra rewards on offer for people who work at First Community, and the organisations passion for supporting professional development and staff health and wellbeing. 

Click here to watch the full video. 

On Monday 17 January, NHS England and NHS Improvement launched a new mental health campaign to highlight that feelings of anxiety and depression can affect us all - and the NHS is here to help.

The NHS provides a range of talking therapies for common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression which are free, effective and confidential. The ‘Help’ campaign will encourage anyone experiencing common mental health problems to seek help from these NHS services – either by referring themselves, or by contacting their GP.

First Community would like to thank our staff, partners and all those working over the holiday period to provide health care across our local community.

Minor Injury Unit - Caterham Dene Hospital

Our Minor Injury Unit at Caterham Dene Hospital will remain open as normal from 8am to 8pm daily for those aged 18 and over throughout the festive period.

First Community Health and Care today launches its Urgent Community Response (UCR) Service.

The new, multidisciplinary UCR team will provide an urgent response in the community to east Surrey residents seven days a week from 8am to 8pm, giving patients the right care in the right place, including in their home if it is safe to do so, to prevent hospital admissions or readmissions.

Pictured left to right - Steve Slade (Treasurer), Helen Denton (Chairman), Linda Woodland (Trustee), Jean Mallery (Trustee), John Hazell (Chief Executive Officer) Friends of Caterham Dene Hospital.

Over the past year local charity, Friends of Caterham Dene Hospital, have gone above and beyond to raise money for large scale projects, including one which has seen the hospital benefit from new air conditioning technology.

Today the First Community Network launches, giving members of the public the opportunity to have an input into the way community health services are provided and developed in east Surrey and parts of West Sussex.

To achieve its aim of delivering first-rate community healthcare, First Community wants to listen to the voices, views, and opinions of those in the community it serves and give people a choice of how they would like to be involved.

Members of the public are reminded not to attend the Minor Injury Unit (MIU) at Caterham Dene Hospital if they are displaying any symptoms of Covid.

If patients or visitors displaying Covid symptoms attend the unit, we are required to temporarily close it to undertake a deep clean to reduce the risk of infection and keep all staff and other patients at the site safe.

You can help us to keep you safe by:

Homeowners in and around Oxted are being advised to boil their tap water after tests showed that supplies could be affected by the bacteria E-coli.

SES Water are working to investigate and fix the problem.

Customers should boil their water – and then let it cool – before using it for drinking, preparing food or cleaning their teeth.

You can find affected postcodes here:

https://seswater.co.uk/your-water/work-in-your-area/network-latest