Stephenson House 75 Hampstead Road London NW1 2PL Twitter: @NHSProperty www.property.nhs.uk Dear patient, East Barnet Health Centre temporary relocation As you may be aware, your local GP Practice has been temporarily based at Vale Drive Primary Care Centre, Barnet EN5 2ED, since June 30, 2014. This is to allow NHS Property Services to carry out some structural works to the premises. Unfortunately we are experiencing unforeseen delays with this project, due to additional remedial works which have become apparent as this scheme has progressed. These will require the Practices to remain at Vale Drive for several more weeks. The reason for the delay is that a quantity of asbestos-containing paint has been discovered above the ceiling in some areas of the building. This material had been fully encapsulated and its presence posed no identifiable risk to building users, however in the interests of allowing our tenants to use the building more flexibly in future, we have instructed our contractors to remove it completely. A factsheet is enclosed with this letter which explains more about asbestos, why it is present in many buildings and why we at NHS Property Services prefer to remove it from our sites. We therefore expect to reopen East Barnet Health Centre to patients in mid-November. However, if you are booking an appointment at any time during November please confirm the location with your Practice. The Practices can still be contacted on the usual number 020 8440 7417. We would ask all callers to be patient as the Practices are experiencing higher than usual call volumes at this time. For patients requiring repeat prescriptions, we are advised that local Pharmacy SVR will continue to deliver requests to Vale Drive. All patients with a repeat prescription form can take it to the pharmacy at 147 East Barnet Road, New Barnet, EN4 8QZ, or drop it through their letter box out of hours. Please mark your request clearly with ‘East Barnet Health Centre’. If you wish to collect your prescription from SVR Pharmacy please call them direct on 020 8440 4430 to arrange. If you have any questions for which you cannot find the answer in this letter or our factsheet, please speak to your Practice or write to us at [email protected] NHS Property Services apologises sincerely for this delay in returning the Practices to East Barnet Health Centre, and we are grateful for your patience during this time. Yours sincerely, Malcolm Brydon Project Manager NHS Property Services NHS Property Services Limited, Registered in England & Wales No: 07888110