The Friends of Combe Down Surgery is a Fundraising group, which started in 1999. We have raffles, competitions, Sponsored Walks, and monthly Coffee Mornings. Initially, we purchased equipment such as Blood Pressure Monitors, to assist in the running of the Practice; we bought plants and shrubs when the new Surgery was opened in Sulis Meadows, and in 2007, we paid for two defibrillators for the Surgeries. The staff have been trained how to use them in an emergency. In 2009 we purchased some more Blood Pressure Monitors for use by patients in their homes. In September 2010, we paid for an automated entry system for the front door of the Main Surgery. This will be a big advantage to patients in wheelchairs, or with walking aids or pushchairs.

Our biggest achievement is in raising enough money to purchase a vehicle. We are very grateful to Medlock Charitable Trust, Co-operative Community Dividend Awards, and Mannings Funeral Directors for their very generous donations. In 2006, we took delivery of a Peugeot Montana, which has a ramp, and wheelchair access. This vehicle is now being used on five mornings a week, by elderly and infirm patients, who have been cleared by their Doctors as being in need of transport to get to their appointments at the Surgery.

We are very fortunate at present, as we have Volunteer Drivers, who do not ask for any payment. However, in the future, we could possibly have to pay for the services of a Driver.

The patients using the vehicle are asked to make a donation towards the running costs, but these donations do not cover all the expenses of keeping the vehicle on the road. We also want to build up a Reserve Fund, so that when the time comes to replace the vehicle, we will have some money available to do this.

There are over 8000 patients registered with our Surgery, but less than 300 of them are members of The Friends. Membership of The Friends is £5 per person annually, or £50+ to become a Life Member. Would you be willing to become a member of The Friends? You can have your annual subscription paid by Standing Order if you wish, and if you are a Tax payer, we can also claim the Tax, if you are willing to fill in a simple Gift Aid form.

You are sent a Newsletter every few months, letting you know about any future events, and they are also listed on the Surgery website www.combedownsurgery.co.uk

I do hope that you will consider becoming a Friend – forms are available at both Surgeries, and I look forward to meeting you at our Fundraising events.

Mary Read (Honorary Secretary)
Tel: 01225 837457

Charity No. 1109889 Hon. Sec. Mrs Mary Read, Tel 01225 837457

22 Stonehouse Lane
Combe Down
Bath BA2 5DW

OCTOBER 2011

Dear Friends,

I hope you had an enjoyable summer, despite the weather not being very summery for most of the time. We were fortunate to have a fine day for our Summer Fete at the end of July, in the garden of Colworth. Lots of people came to it, and we raised £700 for our Funds. Our thanks to Phyllis Brown for inviting us into her very attractive garden, to everyone who helped on the day, and to everyone who donated things to sell.

We will be having a Surgery Walk on Sunday 6th November, and hope that more people will want to join in, this year. We are always being told that we should try to do more exercise, so why not give it a go! There will be a £5 Entrance Fee for adults, and you can bring your dogs with you. We are not asking you to get any sponsorship this year. The walk will be approx. 5miles, walking along the Bath Skyline Walk, but we will not be going down into Widcombe, so there won’t be any hills! The Walk will start from Combe Down Surgery at 10am. Please contact the Surgery if you want more details.

There will be our usual Coffee Morning on Saturday, 29th October, from 10.30am to 12noon at Combe Down Surgery. There will not be a Coffee Morning at the end of November or December. Our Christmas Coffee Morning will be held at the Surgery on Saturday, 17th December. Our Chairman has offered to make a Gingerbread House for the Star Prize in the Grand Raffle. Raffle Tickets will be available at the main surgery, in the mornings during the week leading up to it.

The new ECG machine, couch for the Treatment Room at Odd Down, and other equipment, have now been purchased, thanks to the £10,000 Legacy from the Trustees of the late Mr Cannings. We are very grateful for this very generous gift.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best Wishes,
Mary Read

Minutes of the A.G.M. held on Thursday, 17th March 2011 At Odd Down Surgery at 7pm

Our Chairman, Mr Keith Jordan welcomed 24 members.
Apologies had been received from 18 members.

The Minutes of the A.G.M. held on Thursday, 18th February 2010 were approved.

Chairman’s Report
Our Chairman stated that his year began by obtaining sponsorship from Combe Down Garage for free MOT and Service for the surgery vehicle. In return, we display their logo on the bonnet of the vehicle.

He has produced small flyers, which Lloyds Pharmacy has kindly agreed to put in with patients medication, to remind people about The Friends. There are new notices at both surgeries, in the hope that more people will become members of The Friends.

Coffee Mornings have continued, supported by Committee members and the usual regulars. Our finances are in a sound state, but some more support would be appreciated.

It was decided to purchase a shed for storage, as space at the surgery is limited. John and Frances Uphill, and Keith’s wife, Cynthia, were all thanked for their hard work done in preparing the site ready for free erection of the shed. We had obtained a good deal from Whitehall Garden Centre.

The committee unanimously agree to have the main surgery door power operated, especially for the benefit of the elderly, disabled, wheelchair users, and patients with pushchairs. This wasn’t a cheap option, but it was felt that it would benefit patients as a whole, and that money being raised was not simply for the surgery vehicle. Shortly after this was decided, a donation of £5,000 was given to The Friends, which paid for the shed and the door. This very generous donation was very much appreciated.

The committee continues with fundraising through sale of plants at both surgeries, Coffee Mornings, and special Raffles at the Summer and Christmas Coffee Mornings. We have had four more volunteers to drive the vehicle, so we hope to extend its use to some afternoons.

We were nominated for the B&NES Chairman’s Award for Voluntary Work, and although we did not win, it was an enjoyable evening and we were able to see the amount of charitable work being carried out.

Things got even better after a very successful year, when we received £10,000 from the Trustees of the late Mr J. Cannings, who had been one of our patients. Doctors and Committee members are thinking about how this large amount of money could be spent wisely.

Our Chairman thanked everyone for their continued support, especially the Committee, and added that we do need some younger members, especially on the Committee.

Treasurer’s Report
Anne Meddick, our Treasurer and Membership Secretary, said that it had been a very active year, ending with the highest balance ever of £41,640. A Legacy and gifts, amounting to £15,000, have enabled us to purchase equipment for surgery use, and we have no worries about keeping the vehicle on the road.

Patients using the vehicle have donated over £1500, but this didn’t quite cover the running costs. We have just over 300 members now, and their subscriptions and small donations brought in £2610. Donations in memory of two deceased patients, Mrs Long and Mr Newman, amounted to £472. Our thanks go to their thoughtful relatives. We have investments with CAF, which bring in reasonable interest. HSBC brings in almost nothing, but we do need to have a Current Account.

Mary Read, Keith Jordan, and the committee were thanked for organising the Fundraising events.

The Dept of Health gave us a grant of £500, and Gift Aid was reclaimed from most of our members who are taxpayers.

Our spending has included postage stamps,( before the price increase in April), tables and a sack truck for use at our events, the shed in the surgery garden ( thanks to those who worked so hard on this), and the wonderful automatic door, which most of us will have used. Our Treasurer said that it is all due to you, our members, and she has the privilege of counting up the proceeds at the end of the year.

There were no new nominations for Trustees, so the existing Trustees were re-appointed.

Karen Slade thanked everyone for their involvement with The Friends, on behalf of the doctors, and the patients who use the vehicle.

The meeting closed at 7.20pm. It was followed by refreshments, then Mr Bowden, one of our members, gave a very interesting slide show entitled A Cornish Journey.

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