We hope you have had a good summer.
It is starting to feel like autumn is on the way …so as it is going to be getting colder, we are pleased to say that we will be able to welcome you all back into the building very soon.
Screens are being fitted in reception in the next week or so and once this has been completed you will be able to come inside to collect your prescriptions.
Just for now - no more than 2 at a time queuing inside due to limited space.
Soon after that we hope that the waiting room will be re-opened. Although we’ve all been very busy the building has been quiet without our patients, so we are really looking forward to having the doors open and seeing you all again.
Changes to appointment booking
The way appointments are booked is changing too, please take a moment to read through the following information.
We very much hope that the new system will be better suited to your needs and we will welcome your feedback (but please give us a week or two while we all get used to it and iron out any teething problems)
As before, if you have an urgent medical need that needs to be dealt with on the same day, including home visits, please call before 11am.
For routine matters please continue to fill in an e-consult if you are able. It is a really useful tool for GPs as it means most of the information that they need is available to them before your appointment and you can be prioritised if necessary.
Many patients who were reluctant to use this technology in the beginning have told us how easy it is, and it eases pressure on the phones as triaging calls can be time consuming for reception staff leading to long waits to get through.
Face to face appointments will continue to be booked by the GP only following an initial telephone call.
Routine appointments will be dealt with primarily in afternoon clinics and currently wait times are 3-4 weeks. This is very much in line with other practices locally and nationally.
If you watch the news or read the papers you will know that NHS services are under huge pressure at every level.
Please be assured that if your situation requires more urgent attention you will be seen, but please also be patient if you have to wait.
Flu Clinics
We have started to book flu clinics and the first 450 slots filled in less than 36 hours! That was a lot of phone calls to answer…
We will be in touch again when the next vaccine delivery dates are confirmed. Please make sure we have your mobile number as sending a invitation by text obviously saves a huge amount of admin time for the team.
If you don’t have a mobile number we will be in touch, but much like the Covid vaccination programme it may take a little longer to get to you. We have something close to 2000 eligible patients to contact alongside our day-to-day work.
Clinics will be available at weekends, in the evenings as well as during surgery hours and we are grateful to all the staff here who work extra hours to deliver this program.
We are initially prioritising all over 65’s and under 65’s with qualifying, underlying health conditions.
Dispensary Hours
Just a reminder that the dispensary hours are changing from Monday September 13th
They will be closing half an hour earlier at 6pm and will continue to be closed between 12.30 and 2.00 for admin time and lunch breaks.
Social distancing and face masks to continue for now...
We appear to be entering a new era of “learning to live with Covid-19” and starting to enjoy some of our old freedoms again, but with this comes some personal responsibility.
We have a duty to continue to protect our vulnerable patients who, despite having been vaccinated, continue to be at risk from Covid-19 and its complications.
We also have a duty to protect our staff. Some of whom are vulnerable themselves, many of whom have family members who aren’t yet eligible for vaccination or are elderly.
The guidance around healthcare has not changed and therefore in common with all direct-access NHS settings we will not be changing our policies at this time.
We request that you continue to wear a face mask unless you are exempt and that you continue to follow social distancing guidelines.
Infection rates locally are high at a time when local services are under seasonal pressure from the influx of visitors and we are all aware of businesses locally who have been unable to open due to staff shortages. If OUR staff are isolating or absent to care for family members who are not well we will not be able to provide the care that you expect. Appointments could be cancelled, prescriptions, referrals to hospitals and local health services could be delayed.
We are very grateful for your support over the last year and a half and we ask that you continue to work with us to keep our community safe.
We understand there may be some frustrations around the ongoing situation but please be kind when you speak to our team. Like you, we are very much looking forward to getting back to normal, but only when it is safe to do so.