Julia Smith, the Holbrook and Shotley Surgery practice manager, gives her final update before leaving her post on Wednesday, November 11.

Practice update from 1st November 2020

As we head into a second lockdown, we have reviewed our processes and will continue

with our previous arrangements, which may be subject to change as the Government

issues more guidance.

â—Flu clinics – our flu clinics have started and we are currently awaiting further

vaccine supplies. You will be sent a timed appointment if you are due a vaccination

so please be patient. We can only send invitations once we have vaccine on site.

â—Blood tests – following the issues with Roche, we are now planning to catch up

with the backlog of tests. Please let us know if you were booked for a non-urgent

test that had to be cancelled if you don't hear from us by the end of November.

â—eConsult – we recommend patients use eConsult for non-urgent queries including

repeat Fit For Work Note/Sick Certificate requests, medication queries, referral to

hospital which will send details to our GPs and staff and we can respond via a one

way message. Visit https://holbrookandshotleysurgery.webgp.com/

â—Some annual checks can be done partially or fully on eConsult. Go to

https://holbrookandshotleysurgery.webgp.com/reviews and click on your

condition. There are templates for Asthma, Diabetes, Thyroid, COPD,

Hypertension, Contraceptive pill and also for a medication review. Complete the

information as fully as possible and we will contact you if necessary once we

receive this. You may still be asked to come in but this will reduce the time of your

appointment as we can gather information before you attend.

â—Medication reviews: if you have a medication review with our pharmacist, you will

still need to order your repeat medication as normal.

â—Face masks and coverings: all patients entering the surgery will be expected to

wear a mask. If you believe you are exempt, please note that we are not able to

issue exemption letters for patients and these are not required by law. Please visit

the government website for further guidance on this.

â—Doors are open: our doors will re-open with our normal opening times. You

should continue to maintain a 2m distance at all times for staff safety and yours.

Spaces are clearly marked inside and outside.

â—Medication collections: please attend during opening hours and maintain correct

distancing.

â—Appointments: where possible please ring to book an appointment or use the

eConsult facility to avoid overcrowding of the waiting room.

â—Higher risk patients: shielding has ceased but we still need to keep our staff and

patients safe. We will continue to see those who are at higher risk at Holbrook and

others at Shotley. Higher risk will include those who previously had shielding

letters, over 70s and pregnant ladies.

â—Patients attending appointments: only the actual patient should come into

waiting room. Children may be accompanied by only one parent. Elderly or infirm

patients needing help should only have one person assisting them.

â—PPE: if you are being seen for appointment, our clinical staff will wear appropriate

PPE. This may include a face mask, gloves, apron and visor depending on your

appointment type. Additional time has been allowed to clean rooms between

each patient and change PPE. Some of our non-clinical staff may wearing hospital

type scrubs whilst working in the practice.

â—Coronavirus symptoms: when you telephone the practice or visit in person, you

will be asked if you have a temperature, a new continuous cough and/or loss

of/change in taste or smell. If you are symptomatic we can still offer you a

telephone or video appointment to discuss your symptoms.

â—Repeat medication can be ordered online via eConsult, the NHS App or

SystmOnline. If you have no online access, you can drop your repeat slip through

the letterbox at either site.

â—Coronavirus testing is available for patients with symptoms via the NHS website

https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test website or ring 119 if no internet

access.

â—A lip speaker is available for those who are hard of hearing. Contact Natalie

Farrugia at [email protected] or on 07860 373317. Natalie has kindly offered to

help but is not employed by the practice. By contacting Natalie directly you

understand the confidentiality issues.

â—Childhood immunisations and baby checks – the midwife and health visitor are

contacting patients and giving advice over the phone or organising for patients to

come in when necessary. Parents should still bring their children for their

immunisations and baby checks.

â—Postnatal checks: our usual 6 week postnatal check will now be combined with

the 8 week immunisations so you only need to attend once and will see both the

nurse and doctor. This will be at our Holbrook site.

â—Cervical screening – please phone us to book these as normal

â—For mental health issues due to coronavirus visit

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/

I will be leaving the practice on 11th November after 7 years of working on the Peninsula

and will be replaced by Jane Horton, a Practice Manager with many years of experience. I

would personally like to thank our patients for bearing with us through this crisis. Our

staff have had to deal with many changes in practice and have worked long and hard to

cover hours and provide the best possible service we can. They are a fantastic group of

people and I will miss them all.

Julia Smith