Nunwell Surgery



The World is currently a very different place and we are all having to make adjustments. The way we are working has changed completely and everything we do has to be considered with regard to social distancing, infection control and ensuring the safety of all our patients and our staff. Winter and the onset of the flu season and escalation of COVID-19 will bring further challenges. With an increase in ‘new onset, continuous’ coughs which may be Covid-19 or a winter cold, more high temperatures which may or may not be flu or Covid-19, we are having to make further changes.COVID SYMPTOMSIf you have any Covid-19 symptoms of:New continuous cough – coughing a lot more, for more than an hour or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than normal)High temperature – hot to the touch on your chest or backLoss or change to your sense of smell or taste – you cannot smell or taste anything or they smell or taste different to normalYOU MUST TELEPHONE 119 AND BOOK A SWAB TEST TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE COVID-19. You must stay at home, do not have visitors until you get your test result, only leave home to get the test. Anyone you live with or in your support bubble must also stay at home until you get your results.IF YOU ARE FEELING UNWELL, telephone the surgery in the usual way and you will be called back either by telephone or a video consultation by a doctor or nurse practitioner. If the doctor or nurse practitioner needs to see you, a face to face appointment will be made.You must make us aware if you have any of the symptoms above, if you have had a recent test or are waiting for a swab result or if you have been in contact with anyone confirmed positive with Covid-19. If someone with undisclosed Covid-19 symptoms comes into the surgery it may mean that we have to close to deep clean the surgery or even have to close for a time.Seeing patients face to faceWe are installing a portable cabin at the rear of the surgery specifically to see any patients that have any of the symptoms above. The doctor will ask you to park in a designated bay and ring the surgery when you arrive but wait in your car. They will then telephone you to explain what you need to do next. If you do not have a car, tell the doctor or reception and we will make alternative arrangements.Reception and the telephone linesWe understand there have been some issues about the telephone lines. Unfortunately, we were mandated to move to a total triage system. This means that every person ringing in requesting a doctor appointment, has to be contacted by telephone or video call first. The increase in calls to patients has meant that the phone line has sometimes been busy. We have implemented clinicians using their personal mobile phones, ordered additional mobiles and investigated internet options to try to improve things.DispensaryMany changes have had to happen to make dispensing medication to our patients safe. This has led to the team being relocated all around the building making a lot of their tasks more difficult to achieve. Medication can be ordered in a number of ways and this would help the team immensely so if you could use any of these options, it would be much appreciated:NHS App – you can self-verify and order medication easily on this AppPatient Access – if you already have access you can order regular medicationEmail nunwell.dispensary@ with your requestSome information From Public health England regarding flu “Even if you are in one of the listed groups, you may be asked to wait to have your flu vaccineOverall, there is enough flu vaccine for everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated before the flu season starts, which is usually in December. Flu vaccine is delivered to GP practices, pharmacies and other services in batches in the run-up to and over flu season. This year, early demand for flu vaccine has been higher than usual.This has meant that while a lot of people have been able to get vaccinated, some people have not been able to get vaccinated straight away as some GP practices and pharmacies have used their early supplies of flu vaccine, due to the level of demand.If you are eligible and haven’t been able to get your vaccination yet, you will still be able to have it before flu season starts.”“Why some people are being offered the vaccine while others have to waitThere are several types of flu vaccines available. You will be offered one that is recommended for you based on your age. This means some people will be offered a flu vaccine that is in stock while others, who need a different type of vaccine, may have to wait.”“The best time to have a flu vaccinationIt is best to have the vaccine before flu starts to circulate, which is usually from December onwards. But, if it is later in the season than this, it is still worth having.The priority this year is to vaccinate those who are most at risk from flu first, including people of all ages who have a health condition that makes them more at risk from flu. People aged 50 to 64 without a health condition that puts them at risk from flu will be offered the vaccine later on and should wait to be invited for vaccination.”We will contact everyone by early November to invite for a vaccination or explain when we will be able to secure additional vaccine and our plans to deliver them to patients.Please help our staff to help youWe aim to deal with all of our patients with respect and courtesy and we respectfully request that our patients treat our staff in the same way. We will do our best to be able to meet the needs of our patients during these difficult times but this is not always possible. If you do have any questions or issues, please contact the surgery and ask to be called by one of our practice managers. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download