Your guide for your
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pers.co.uk www.taylornewspa Thursday, November
30 - Wednesday, December
6, 2017
ar Horse rides into town New Theatre gets ready to welcome Joey and friends
Witney, Carterton and Chipping Norton GROUP Thursday, November 30 - Wednesday, December 6, 2017
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Chancellor’s budget boost for county
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Page 16
Urgent review of GP services needed after poor diagnosis By Samantha McGregor A HEALTH watchdog has called for an “urgent” review of GP services in Witney after a scathing report raised fresh concerns. Healthwatch Oxfordshire contacted more than 1,000 people to share their experience of health and social care services in Witney, including major hospitals, the community hospital, GP surgeries, emergency and out-ofhours services and social care. The watchdog said the results of the month-long survey highlighted an “increasing pressure on GP services”, increased waiting times and in some cases people calling 999 because they couldn’t get a doctor’s appointment. Healthwatch’s executive director Rosalind Pearce said she was now pressing for better GP services for Witney and would be bringing the opinions to the attention of Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioining Group. Ms Pearce said: “Our report highlights the increasing pressure on GP services, which is only going to increase as Witney’s population increases. I hope that GP services in Witney will be expanded accordingly.” The survey showed one of the biggest complaints was waiting times for appointments, the length of time it took to get through on the phone and waiting times at the surgery to see a
doctor for an appointment. The report said: “There was some indication that A&E was being used when people felt they could not access their GP. “One paramedic reported that ‘we receive a lot of calls from people in their 40/50s who call 111/999 because they haven’t been able to get an appointment with their GP’.” Others people said since the closure of Deer Park waiting times for appointments with their GP had increased and that doctors needed more funding. Witney’s deputy mayor Cllr Brenda Churchill, who fought to keep the Deer Park surgery open, said: “Everyone said when you close Deer Park this would happen. They didn’t have a plan B. They can’t keep closing surgeries because more people are coming to Oxfordshire and there’s more pressure on GPs.” Elsewhere in the report, “communications” between staff, patients and carers at hospitals was a problem, as was the administration of the appointments system and parking, particularly in Oxford. Overall, the survey showed 70 per cent of people who responded rated the range of health and social services good or very good, with 14 per cent rated services as poor or very poor. When asked what was good about the service, many said the “staff”.
Follow the lights on palace’s winter trail VISITORS to Blenheim Palace will be transported to a wintery Christmas landscape following the switch-on of the after-dark festive lights trail in Woodstock. Guests can follow the trail’s winding paths and tranquil waters
and explore stops along the way, including Mistletoe Moment and the Tunnel of Light adorned with thousands of twinkling fairy lights. The trail also boasts glowing lanterns, larger-than-life snowflakes and baubles,
Christmas trees that sing and a lawn of fibre optic colour. Other highlights include a giant water fountain rising high into the night sky and the lakeside boathouse which will become Santa’s bustling Toy Factory.
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AUTUMN IS HERE!