News

Rayleigh Road Branch Closure

Dear Patient,

As a patient of Rayleigh Road Surgery, I am writing to inform you that the local NHS decision-making body has approved our application to close the 346 Rayleigh Road Surgery site.

This means the 346 Rayleigh Road site will be permanently closed from Tuesday, 1st April 2025.

You do not need to do anything as this closure will not affect your medical records and patient registration. As a registered patient of Eastwood Group Practice, you will continue to be able to access services from our other two locations:

· Belfairs Branch, 335 Eastwood Road North, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 4LT

· Kent Elms Branch, 1 Rayleigh Road, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 5UU

Please also be assured that any current treatment, medication, investigations and/or referrals will remain in place and will not be affected by the closure.

All routine prescriptions will continue to be sent to your usual nominated pharmacy.

How to book appointments

From Tuesday 1st April 2025 please use the following contact methods to make appointments at either Kent Elms or Belfairs branches:

· Telephone: 01702 529111 or 01702 421888

· In person at either Kent Elms or Belfairs branches

· Website via SystmConnect

· Email (for non-medical queries):

drzaidi.belfairs@nhs.net or drzaidi.kentelms@nhs.net or drzaidi.eastwood@nhs.net

· You can also contact us through the NHS app.

Key Dates

The Rayleigh Road Surgery site will close permanently at 6.30pm on Monday 31st March 2025. Patients will be seen at Kent Elms or Belfairs from Tuesday, April 1st 2025.

Why is this happening?

At present, providing services in the limited space at Rayleigh Road reduces our clinical capacity at the other two sites. This restricts overall patient appointment activity and limits available services at our other two larger, purpose-built sites.

Consolidating the doctors, staff and the team of wider healthcare professionals in the remaining two sites will enable us to provide more appointments throughout the day, provide greater continuity of care for all patients, and allow us to introduce additional services.

While we recognise that the closure may cause concern, it will help us improve access for all our patients and provide a wider range of services than we currently can.

We appreciate that this may cause concern for many of our patients and we want to reassure you that we will make every effort to ensure transition is as smooth as possible. We would also like to thank everyone who provided feedback to us during our recent patient engagement.

Should you not want to travel to Kent Elms or Belfairs surgery, you do have the choice to register with an alternative GP practice provided you live within that practice’s catchment area or if that practice is accepting patients from outside their catchment area. Information about GP surgeries is available at https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this closure, please do not hesitate to contact us via email practice.managerf81128@nhs.net.

Published on 16th Oct 2025

MAGGIE - Automated Design Assistant

Who is MAGGIE?

MAGGIE is a digital support assistant that enhances patient access to practice information and services. By providing automated navigation and self-service tools, MAGGIE empowers patients to efficiently interact with healthcare services, streamlining their ability to find and access the information they need.

What does MAGGIE stand for?

Medical Administrator Gives Good Information Efficiently

How do I access MAGGIE?

You can access the automated digital assistant via the practice website and directly by visiting https://www.surgeryassist.co.uk/chat/eastwood

How can the digital assistant help me?

help in getting set up with the online apps
help with booking certain appointment types using online apps
help with managing and checking appointments
help with accessing your medical record and test results
help with managing and requesting prescriptions
help and guidance with requesting sick notes or Med3
help requesting proxy access
help finding your NHS Number