Coronavirus

Appointments

As in other parts of the NHS the practice is making difficult choices about how best to protect patients and our team. With immediate effect the following types of appointments will not be available:

Routine BP checks
Spirometry
NHS Health Checks
Ear syringing
Travel injections
Routine blood monitoring
Routine ECGs

With regards to the appointments that are already booked our nurses will check on a week by week basis at the start of the week whether the appointments are deemed urgent or not. They will then contact patients via text or telephone to inform them if they are to attend.

The following appointments will still be available at least for now:

Baby immunisations
Cervical screening
B12 injections
Urgent blood tests requested by a GP
Urgent ECGs requested by a GP
Amber drug monitoring (these are specialist medications which require extensive monitoring)
Hormone injections
6 week baby checks
Wound checks
Midwife appointments

For patients with chronic diseases such as asthma, COPD and diabetes all monitoring will be attempted over the phone. We accept that this is not ideal, and you may need a “catch up” appointment later in the year to get any information needed in a face to face appointment.

If you do have an appointment, you will need to confirm you do not have any a new persistent cough, a temperature of more than 37.8C, change or loss to your senses of smell or taste, or are currently residing in a household which is self isolating. If you have an appointment booked, and develop these symptoms, please contact the surgery to cancel this as soon as possible.

Prescriptions

You can order your prescription online through the SystmOnline or NHS apps, and we strongly recommend that patients use these services. Alternatively you should contact your pharmacy to order repeat prescriptions.

The practice is currently being swamped with patients over ordering their prescriptions or requesting them early. This means it is taking longer to process these requests than normal for all our patients. There is no reason for patients to order more medication than they would usually.

Use the online service if you can and don’t over order!

Ways you can help

Download the NHSApp - We strongly recommend all patients download the NHSApp onto their smartphone. You can use this app to book appointments and order repeat prescriptions.
Keep up to date with official information – the best sources of information is nhs.uk/coronavirus and gov.uk/coronavirus and follow the guidance.
Follow basic hygiene rules - Wash hands your hands often for at least 20 seconds using soap and water, always wash your hands when you get home or into work, use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze, put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards.
Avoid close contact – try to distance yourself from people who have symptoms of coronavirus. Do not have visitors to your home, including friends and family.
Stay at home if you can - only travel on public transport if you need to, work from home, if you can; avoid social activities, such as going to pubs, restaurants, theatres and cinemas and avoid events with large groups of people.
Don’t visit the practice unless you are invited by a GP - use phone, online services, or smartphone apps to contact us or other NHS services.
Don’t over-order you repeat prescription. Although it may take a day or two longer than normal to process your prescription, there are no shortages of medications. Only order what you normally would.
Care for others – If you’re able try to help out your family, friends and neighbours
Don’t panic and don’t spread misinformation – This is a serious situation for all of us, but if we pull together, we will get through it.

Advice for people at high risk

If you're at high risk of getting seriously ill from coronavirus, there are extra things you should do to avoid catching it.

These include:

not leaving your home – you should not go out to do shopping, visit friends or family, or attend any gatherings
avoiding close contact with other people in your home as much as possible

Read the full advice on protecting yourself if you're at high risk from coronavirus on GOV.UK.

Who is at high risk?

You may be at high risk from coronavirus if you:

have had an organ transplant
are having certain types of cancer treatment
have blood or bone marrow cancer, such as leukaemia
have a severe lung condition, such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma
have a condition that makes you much more likely to get infections
are taking medicine that weakens your immune system
are pregnant and have a serious heart condition

Infant Feeding Advice

Parents may be concerned about getting the right formula milk if supplies and stocks are low. Please see https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/Infant-feeding-during-the-Covid-19-outbreak.pdf for all the information on breastfeeding and formula feeding, the main points on formula feeding are:

Formula feeding

Continue adhering to current guidance on washing and sterilizing equipment. Bottle feed responsively, including pacing feeds and limiting the number of people who feed your baby.

Accessing infant formula – information from https://www.firststepsnutrition.org/parents-carers

There are reports of parents being unable to purchase infant formula. We have been informed that retailers do have stock and continued supplies of infant formula at this time. The main reason shelves have been bare in some shops is because of stockpiling. The British Retail Consortium have said that the major retailers will now limit purchases of infant formula to 2-4 tins per customer (retailers may vary in the number restricted) to ensure that there is fair distribution (BRC communication, 16th March 2020).

Local stores, pharmacies and corner shops do not seem to be experiencing the same empty shelves that the main supermarkets have had. Many pharmacies will order products for their customers if asked.

Stage 1 / first infant formula should be used for infants in the first year of life:
If you are unable to get your usual brand of first infant formula, don’t worry – you can use any first infant formula as all preparations have a similar nutritional composition to comply with legislation.
Don’t use stage 2 follow on formula for any baby under 6 months – only use first infant formula.
If you are using follow on formula for a baby older than 6 months and cannot access this, then use first infant formula.
If you are using other milks such as anti-reflux milk, comfort milk, etc. and can’t access these, then use first infant formula.
Always make up infant formula as per manufacturers guidance – do not be tempted to add more water to make it last longer as diluting the milk could endanger your baby’s health.

Instead call NHS 111 for further information and guidance, or vist the NHS website.

We do not have the facility to test for Coronavirus at this practice.

The symptoms of coronavirus are:

a cough
a high temperature
shortness of breath
loss or change to your senses of taste or smell

But these symptoms do not necessarily mean you have the illness. The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu.

Do not go to your GP surgery or hospital.

Use the NHS111 Online tool, or call 111, stay indoors and avoid close contact with other people.

For further information please visit the NHS website , or the UK Government website.