Ashfields Primary Care Centre had a visit from local MP, Sarah Russell, amidst a series of consultation events that she has hosted in the community to further inform improvements to the NHS.

Sarah, MP for the Congleton constituency, went along to the Middlewich Road GP surgery which has received high praise in recent months as it achieved a gold standard as part of the Armed Forces Covenant for its work with veterans and their families as Nub News revealed here.

This formed a key part of the meeting which took place between Russell, veterans champion David Crosthwaite, and the wider teams involved with essential community care.

Their work supporting vulnerable groups – namely veterans and those suffering from mental ill health – goes beyond that typical of a GP surgery and has been shaped to use methods that best benefit those groups.

They offer drop-ins to ensure there is help available not constrained to regular scheduled appointments. With regard to veterans, the practice originally had 12 patients registered when the programme started - they now have over 500.

Another department that makes the practice regionally exceptional is its in-house research department. Having met with two of the three research nurses – both of whom had been involved in a vast number of research that fed into national trials – it was clear that the amount of work being done in this department is rare for practices outside of major cities.

Reflecting on her visit, Sarah Russell said: "I am so pleased that the government has achieved the extra two million NHS appointments promised in our manifesto, and done so several months ahead of schedule.

"I really enjoyed meeting the staff at Ashfields. Everyone I met was clearly committed to providing the best possible healthcare for Sandbach residents.

"They face challenges, as have NHS institutions across the country in recent years. I also want to thank the volunteers at Communicare. The surgery staff appreciated them helping patients to get to appointments. It is the sort of community initiative that we're really lucky to have locally.".

Assistant practice manager, Kate Evans, said: "Ashfields was delighted to welcome our MP Sarah Russell to the surger.

"David and I were proud to discuss the achievements of the practice and talk to Sarah about how we support our patients. It was great that Sarah was able to spend time with our Research Team and learn about how the department works with our patients.

"We hope that Sarah was able to see some of the exceptional work the staff at Ashfields do each day to look after our patients."

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