On Tuesday 21 July 2026, Grove Medical Practice, a GP Surgery in St Ives Cambridgeshire, held its second Open Day for patients. The Open Day ran between 14:00pm and 17:00pm and was open to all patients and anybody who cares for or supports a patient registered with the practice. The focus for this year’s Open Day was older patients and patients living with frailty. The event also provided an opportunity to meet the wider practice team and learn more about the services and support available.
The event was opened by the Mayor of St Ives, Cllr Alex Thompson, who spent the afternoon meeting patients and staff and talking with many of the community partners and support organisations who joined the event.
Grove Medical Practice Partners with St Ives Mayor, Cllr Alex Thompson
(L to R: Dr Aaron Mendoza, Dr Jo Pritchard, Cllr Alex Thompson, Practice Business Manager Simon Stitson, Dr Judith Somers Heslam, Project Co-ordinator, St Ives Cares Jane Jenner)
The practice welcomed stands from local support organisations including ACORN, ADHD+AutiSTic Ives, Alzheimer’s UK and St Ives Dementia Friends, DISH , Citizens Advice Bureau, EDS UK, Change Grove Live, Huntingdon Volunteer Centre, Parkinson’s UK, St Ives Cares and St Ives Library. A team from the local NHS IT services helped patients sign up for the NHS App, while the Co-Op generously provided and served refreshments.
Each organisation created displays and provided resources and handouts to explain the services and support that they are able to offer patients, and how best to contact them.
The Patient Group was also on hand, talking to patients about their role in sharing and discussing patient feedback with the practice and providing insight and support with new ideas and service developments.
Commenting on the Open Day, Simon Stitson, Practice Business Manager for Grove Medical Practice said:
“We were delighted to welcome so many patients and organisations to our Open Day and to spend time talking to people about what matters to them and how we can best support them.
We greatly valued the many support organisations who attended the event – their information and expertise is an important reminder that healthcare doesn’t stop at the surgery door, but reaches into the very heart of the community.
This year we focused on older patients and patients living with frailty. Frailty describes when individuals no longer bounce back quickly from illness, injury or other stressful events and is a long-term state that can make people more vulnerable to sudden deteriorations in health from minor triggers like an infection.
By bringing so many support organisations together, we were able to share and connect patients with the groups and services available within their local communities to help them maintain healthy, active and independent lives.
We would like to extend our thanks to everybody who took part in the event and to Cllr Alex Thompson and Jane Jenner from St Ives Care for all their time and support.”
