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Jess’s Rule is a new patient safety initiative being displayed in every GP surgery in England from this week onwards. It is designed to help doctors spot serious illnesses earlier by encouraging them to take a "fresh eyes" approach when symptoms continue. How it works Strike One:  A patient visits their GP with symptoms. Strike Two:  The patient returns because the symptoms continue or worsen. Strike Three:  The patient attends again and there is still no clear diagnosis. At

Healthcare charity Sue Ryder has been awarded a major new NHS contract to grow its compassionate palliative and end-of-life care services across Wokingham Borough, Reading, Newbury and South Oxfordshire.    Starting in January 2026, the new services will help more local people living with life-limiting conditions access palliative and end-of-life care to manage their symptoms, provide comfort, and improve their quality of life, often in their own home.  These services include

As the Christmas holidays approach, there are temporary changes to our opening hours. Our phone lines close at 3pm on Thursday 18th December and reopen at 10am on Tuesday 6th January, 2026. Our office closes  at 5pm on Monday 22 December and reopen at 9am on Monday 5 th  January, 2026 During this time, you can still get in touch with us by emailing: enquiries@healthwatchwokingham.co.uk   or by using our online form  to share your experiences over the holiday period. From ph

The festive season can mean reduced service hours and extra pressure on health services. Our guide has everything you need to know, from local pharmacy opening times to urgent dental care and mental health support, to help you and your loved ones stay well over the holidays. Should you have a medical emergency during the festive season, please call 999.   NHS 111 Contact NHS 111 for all non-urgent medical help or advice, including mental health crisis support.    NHS 111 op

With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, we'd like to remind everyone to stock up their medicine cabinets and ensure repeat prescriptions are ordered in time for the holidays. Many local pharmacies will be closed or operating reduced hours throughout the Christmas period. However, there are still some pharmacies local to the borough you can visit if you want to speak to a pharmacist about any health concerns and minor illnesses. These include: earache (aged 1 to 1

Resident doctors (previously known as junior doctors) are striking from Wednesday 17 December 2025 to Monday 22 December 2025, across England. This impacts Wokingham Borough. Whilst Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is putting plans in place to reduce the impact that this will have on the running of Royal Berkshire Hospital and other local services, some appointments may need to be changed. If your appointment is impacted by this, you will be contacted by the Trust to resc

Fraudsters are impersonating the NHS (claiming to be your GP surgery receptionist/care navigator or a doctor) and targeting patients with phone calls claiming that they must update their GP records or risk being removed from their GP surgery list. These calls are fake and are designed to steal personal information. How the scam works People receive automated calls warning that their GP records are out of date and urging immediate action. The fraudsters may try to: Pressure y

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has stated: Whilst we are putting in place plans and contingencies to reduce the impact that this will have on the running of the hospital, some appointments may need to be changed. If your appointment is impacted by this, you will be contacted by the Trust to reschedule your appointment to another day. However, if you have not heard from us, you should come in as planned for your appointment. If you need urgent or emergency care on the da

At the end of October, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced that for the first time, menopause advice and questions will be included in free NHS health checks, helping millions of women. Routine NHS appointments will now help tackle one of the most overlooked women’s health issues — the menopause. This change will make sure that women going through perimenopause or menopause get clear information and support. It will also help more women spot the signs e

Welcome to our NHS App information page. This is your one-stop page for support and guidance. Whether you're just getting started or want to learn more, we’ve got you covered. If you can’t use the NHS App on your mobile phone, you can still access the same services through the NHS website. You can log in online using a laptop, computer, tablet, or phone with internet access: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/ You can also still contact your GP practice or pharmacy by phone or in per

Improving health services and care for women across Wokingham Borough is a key focus in our workplan for this year. We're pleased to highlight a new service that supports this goal. T he LARC (Long Acting Reversible Contraception (such as coils and implants)) service is now more accessible to women in the borough. You can still book this service through your GP but a new Mid Hampshire service also offers additional access, giving women more choice where they are seen and mak

The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has urged pregnant women to avoid taking paracetamol, also known by the brand name Tylenol, due to an unproven link between the drug and autism. In response, the Department of Health and Social Care, The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency have published clear statements on the safety of paracetamol use in pregnancy. They

What’s happening? Starting in January 2026, NHS England will offer the chickenpox vaccine free of charge as part of the routine childhood...

The NHS has announced its winter vaccination programme for flu, COVID-19 and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), for children, pregnant...

The UK Government will carry out a national test of the Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September 2025 at 3:00pm. It is a system...

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), which runs the NHS 111 service in the region, is urging people who take...

Pregnant women can now book to see a midwife without visiting a GP by completing a simple online form. You can choose which NHS trust...

When you book a GP appointment, you have certain choices and some of these are your legal rights, and others are based on NHS guidelines...

Residents across the borough and England have made it clear: NHS dentistry must be affordable and accessible for all. To help you understand the current situation, we’ve created a quick Q&A covering local dental access, how to find care, and what Healthwatch is doing to help. Looking for an NHS Dentist? Currently, no practices in Wokingham Borough are accepting new NHS patients . Many have long wait lists, however, you can join multiple dental surgery waitlists and be contact

NHS England has published the long-awaited updates to the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) The AIS was first published in 2016 to...