EDIT 06/03/26
We've had a change in circumstances that affects the plan outlined below. Dr Foster will now be taking leave for most of March, as he needs to travel to the UK to support a family member. Dr Gibson has opted to push back the date that she drops her Fridays, and the new date is yet to be confirmed.
We are also still waiting to find out when exactly Dr Chris Veal will be able to start, as this is dependent on the visa process (the final hurdle before he can start!), but we're hopeful this will be soon.
Many of our patients will have noticed that wait-times to get an appointment with Dr Foster and Dr Gibson are rather lengthy at the moment!
This is because Dr Foster and Dr Gibson are dropping a day each per week from March onwards - see below for their new hours.
Dr Christopher Veal, who will be starting at the practice shortly, will be working as a permanent locum for both Dr Foster and Dr Gibson on the days that they're each dropping.
Dr Julian Foster
The week of 2nd March will be the last week of Dr Foster's current hours.
From the week of 9th March onwards, Dr Foster will be working Wed-Fri only.
Dr Brenda Gibson
The week of 23rd February will be the last week of Dr Gibson's current hours.
From the week of 2nd March onwards, Dr Gibson will be working Mon-Thurs only.
This will be a half day on Mondays (afternoons) and Wednesdays (mornings) and a full day on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Seeing Dr Christopher Veal as a permanent locum for Dr Foster and Dr Gibson
Dr Foster and Dr Gibson both encourage their patients to see Dr Veal if they don't have availability themselves.* Dr Veal will also be managing Dr Foster and Dr Gibson's inboxes and prescription requests on the days that he works as their locum.
*Dr Veal has not started work with us quite yet but is expected to be starting in March. We aren't taking appointment bookings for him yet but hope to be able to do so soon!
