We are pleased to be able to offer an online consultation tool as part of our service. They can be a convenient way for you to contact us about your health and can often save you time. However, we want to remind you that online queries are not always suitable for every situation. What follows is advice on how to get the best out of the online consultation tool and, importantly, use it safely.

When using the online consultation tool may not be safe

Using online forms or messages for urgent or serious symptoms can sometimes delay the care you need. For example, online consultation tools are not appropriate if you are experiencing:

• Chest pain or difficulty breathing
• Severe abdominal pain
• Signs of a stroke (such as sudden weakness, facial droop, or difficulty speaking)
• Heavy bleeding
• Sudden confusion or collapse
• Any situation where you feel your life may be at risk

In these circumstances, please call 999 immediately or go straight to the nearest Accident & Emergency department.

When to call instead

• If your problem is urgent but not life-threatening, please telephone the practice so that we can assess and advise you quickly.

How to use the online consultation tool safely

Online consultation tools work best for:

• Routine queries
• Requests for sick notes for a condition already assessed by a clinician at the surgery
• Non-urgent health advice
• Follow-up questions about existing conditions

By using the service appropriately, you help us to keep it safe and effective for everyone. Please be aware that if the number of queries rises above safe capacity then the queries may be added to a waiting list to be answered at a future date.

Patients are encouraged to check if an alternative service could answer their query.

For example, if the query is about a hospital appointment or visit - contact the hospital department, or if it is about a medication – use the NHS app to request repeats or contact your community pharmacy. More information on the range of services available to you can be found on our website: Homepage - Moorland Medical Centre

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us provide the best possible care for you and all our patients.

LEEK & BIDDULPH

PATIENT LOCALITY GROUP (PLG)

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 Tuesday 18^th November 2025.

1pm. Online ‘Teams’ Meeting.

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of the Patient Locality

Group.

Patient Group Members from each Practice are invited to attend. 

In order to facilitate access, Participants are requested to share their email address with The Secretary at:

ppgleekhealthcentre@gmail.com

OR

Directly with their own PPG’s Chair - who is asked to forward details to The PLG Secretary -

Before the 4^th November 2025.

 Requests after this date will not be actioned.

Please note that ‘Teams’ access is managed on our behalf by Primary Care Network staff, with whom it will be necessary to share email addresses.

 NOMINATIONS FOR THE ROLES OF CHAIR, DEPUTY CHAIR AND SECRETARY,

together with any proposals for agenda items, must be received in writing (email preferred) by The PLG Secretary by the 4^th November 2025 at the latest.

Ian Robbins.

PLG Secretary.

29.09.25

Last updated: 19 September 2025

The new weight management medication, Tirzepatide (also known as Mounjaro®) has been approved for NHS patients to support weight management.

NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent has created a GP-led hub model across the county; eligible patients will be invited by prescribing hubs for assessment. This means those with the most urgent clinical need will be seen first, and you may have to wait until you are invited for assessment.

Please do not contact your GP, as they will not be able to assess your eligibility or prescribe you Mounjaro for weight management.

Eligibility criteria for Mounjaro

Following approval by NICE, tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) will be available on the NHS for eligible patients who meet the strict, nationally-set, criteria.  

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board uses the NHS England-set criteria, which states that patients must have:

• A BMI of 40 or higher (at the time of your assessment)
• Four more of these qualifying conditions:
  • hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • dyslipidaemia (abnormal levels of lipids in the bloodstream)
  • obstructive sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep)
  • cardiovascular disease (a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels)
  • type 2 diabetes (a common, chronic condition where the body doesn’t make enough insulin or the insulin it produces doesn’t work effectively, leading to high blood glucose levels).

Patients meeting the above criteria will be eligible for assessment to identify their suitability for Mounjaro. Anyone not meeting this criteria will not be eligible for assessment in the first year of the drug being available to NHS patients. 

Please do not contact your GP; if you are eligible to be assessed you will be contacted over the coming months and invited to attend an appointment for assessment. Those with the greatest clinical need will be contacted first, so this may mean you have to wait a little longer for an appointment, however it is our intention that anyone who meets the above criteria will have been invited for an assessment over the next 12 months. 

GP-led hubs created to assess patients’ eligibility

The service in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will be provided by General Practice ‘hubs’, this means you may be asked to attend a location that is not your normal GP practice but will still be accessible. GP practices have been asked to work together to ensure that you have better access to the specialist skills needed to deliver a holistic lifestyle assessment. The hubs will be managed by GPs from your local ‘primary care network (PCN)’ and your registered GP will be updated with all your progress and assessments. 

We recognise that a number of patients who have been taking the medication privately will be affected by the announcement of 14^th August, outlining price increases to the Mounjaro injections. The NHS position still remains the same; we will only be offering the injection to those who meet the criteria set out above. Your GP will be able to support you with a conversation about managing your weight but will not be able to prescribe Mounjaro for weight management alone.  

If you are looking for support to help you manage your weight you can find useful information and resources on the ICS website at https://staffsstokeics.org.uk/local-weight-management-services/ and on the dedicated page for weight management medication at Weight Management Medication – Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, ICS . 

Patients with a complaint about this matter, should contact the Patient Advisory Liaison Services at patientservices@staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk . 

Mounjaro and patient choice

NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is committed to giving patients greater choice and control over how they receive their health care, in line with the NHS Constitution and the NHS Choice Framework. 

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board works with referrers, including GPs, to ensure they are aware of patients’ right to choose, and that appropriate information is available at the point of referral to ensure that an informed choice can be made. 

As set out in the NHS Constitution, you have a number of choices concerning care and treatment as a patient. These choices include but are not limited to: 

• The right to choose which hospital or service to go to if your GP needs to refer you to see a specialist for a physical or mental health condition as defined in National Guidance 
• The right to be involved in decisions about your healthcare and to be given the information you need to do this 
• These are not the only choices you can make. There are choices in your lifestyle, decisions about your treatment, and even the way in which you interact with doctors and other health professionals that can all affect your health. 

Patients wishing to be prescribed Mounjaro will not be able to use their rights under the NHS Choice Framework; this is because the model for prescribing Mounjaro in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent does not meet the criteria for patient choice.

To find out more please visit Your choices in the NHS – NHS (www.nhs.uk). 

Oviva

We are aware that GPs are also still receiving enquiries about the availability of Oviva (Wegovy) in Staffordshire ad Stoke-on-Trent.

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-TrentT ICB does not commission a tier 3 weight management service from Oviva in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.  In line with NICE and NHSE guidance, weight management injections will be made available to eligible patients through a locally commissioned service from the end of June 2025.

Weight Management Services and Pregnancy / Contraception

Women taking medicines for weight loss and diabetes should continue to use effective contraception while taking these medicines, and in some cases for up to two months between stopping the medicine and trying to become pregnant. 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has warned that prescribed medication, such as Mounjaro, must not be taken during pregnancy, while trying to get pregnant or during breastfeeding. Anyone who gets pregnant while using them should speak to their healthcare professional and stop the medicine as soon as possible. This is because there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the baby. 

Effective contraception includes oral (the pill) and non-oral (the implant, coil or condoms) forms of contraception.

Mounjaro may reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives in those who are overweight. Those taking Mounjaro who are overweight and are using an oral form of contraceptive are advised to also use a non-oral form of contraception. This only applies to those taking Mounjaro, and is especially important for the four weeks after starting Mounjaro and after any dose increase. 

The full advice can be found on the regulator’s website. It comes after concerns from the UK regulator that some people are not using these medicines for weight loss and diabetes safely.