In the early hours of yesterday morning, a lone male broke into the practice. It appears that his intention was to steal the safes from the premises.
Neither the practice nor the Community Centre holds cash on site, so thankfully his efforts did not amount to much. However, the damage and mess left behind had a significant impact on our ability to provide services and, in particular, on access to the practice.
The incident was immediately reported to the police, and the Crime Scene Investigation team attended. Once we were given permission to enter and begin cleaning, the practice team pulled together and worked tirelessly to get the building safe and operational so that we could resume services.
I am extremely proud to say that not one patient was cancelled yesterday. Despite significant disruption, particularly around access to the building, our patients were incredibly patient, understanding and supportive. We are very grateful for the kindness and cooperation shown by everyone who attended.
I would also like to thank the entire practice team for doing everything they could to ensure that our patients were still seen and cared for. A particular thank you goes to Eccles and Irlam PCN, who provided additional services and support, enabling us to continue booking patients in and maintaining patient care while we dealt with the aftermath of the break-in.
It is disappointing that someone chose to target a health service in an attempt to steal money, particularly when the impact of their actions could have been far greater than the material damage caused. A healthcare setting exists to support patients and the community, and leaving behind such disruption inevitably affects the very people who rely on our services.
Thankfully, through the efforts of our staff, the support of our colleagues and the patience of our patients, we were able to keep our doors open and continue providing care.
Thank you to our patients, our staff and our PCN colleagues for your patience, support and teamwork. We genuinely appreciate it.
The Practice Team