Welcome to the South Brent Health Centre

Update on the delivery of Covid-19 Vaccinations -  1st April 2021

The Local Vaccination Service will move from St Boniface, Buckfast, to Follaton House, Totnes, from Wednesday 7 April and patients will be contacted by the practice to confirm this when providing an appointment for their second vaccination.

WE ARE BOUND BY A CONTRACT WITH NHS ENGLAND WHICH DICTATES IN WHICH ORDER THE VACCINATION GROUPS ARE PRIORITISED. WE CANNOT DEVIATE FROM THIS DIRECTIVE. WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO RECEIVE THE COVID 19 VACCINATION YOU WILL BE CONTACTED.

It is a little over three months since we delivered our first vaccine as part of the joint South Dartmoor & Totnes and South Hams Primary Care Network Covid Vaccine Programme. Working as a group of 10 GP surgeries with the support of a large group fantastic volunteers has enabled us to provide the rapid delivery of the vaccine programme which has delivered over 20,000 vaccinations. whilst at the same time running services in our surgeries as close to business as usual as is possible. This has required our teams working seven days a week and I could not be more proud of the effort and dedication shown by everyone here.

Looking at South Brent I am delighted to say that as of this morning 3227 of our patients have now been given the first dose of their vaccines. This represents 56% of all our patients. In addition to this 460 of our patients have now received their second vaccine. Patients will be contacted by the surgery either by text message or landline.  If you have already received a vaccine via one of the Mass vaccination centres and you then receive an invite from the surgery, please let us know as there can be a delay in the system updating this information.

With rapidly changing guidance and very short notice on vaccine delivery I do appreciate that there will be some individual circumstances where people will have questions, so I do hope the below provides clarity on how the programme will progress from here:

1.       Appointments for 2^nd Doses

We will only be notified of the specific delivery dates of our 2^nd dose vaccine supplies 2-3 weeks before they arrive. As the Pfizer vaccine needs to be used within three days of delivery we cannot confirm dates for second doses until we have confirmation from NHS England. Regardless of the vaccine you have had, as soon as we know when the vaccine will be delivered we will contact all those who are due to inform them of when this will be. Because of the complicated logistics we are unable to provide flexibility on these dates to fit personal preference.

2.       Current Cohorts eligible for 1^st doses

All patients in JCVI Cohorts 7 are now eligible for their vaccine. This covers all of those aged 60 to 64 . The main risk groups identified by the committee are set out at the bottom of this message along with a link to the full guidance.

3.       Booking your appointment

As we have our vaccine delivery schedules confirmed we are sending out text messages to those with mobile phones. You can click on a link in this message to book your appointment – this is the quickest way of booking your appointment. We are also proactively phoning patients to invite them for appointments, emailing those we have email addresses for and writing to those who require it. 

Thank you all for your support over the past year and please stay safe.

Kind regards

Anna Keene
Practice Manager

Link to JCVI Guidance: Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation: advice on priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination, 30 December 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Those in Cohort 6

·         chronic respiratory disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and severe asthma

·         chronic heart disease (and vascular disease)

·         chronic kidney disease

·         chronic liver disease

·         chronic neurological disease including epilepsy

·         Down’s syndrome

·         severe and profound learning disability

·         diabetes

·         solid organ, bone marrow and stem cell transplant recipients

·         people with specific cancers

·         immunosuppression due to disease or treatment

·         asplenia and splenic dysfunction

·         morbid obesity

·         severe mental illness

·         those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the   carer falls ill

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Advice on patients wearing face coverings in practices

The surgery has a legal responsibility to protect staff and patients from risks associated with COVID-19.  We have conducted our own risk assessment to determine necessary controls, and we ask that patients please apply a face covering before entering the surgery, when possible.  Wearing a face covering is an added precaution that may have some benefit in reducing the likelihood that a person with the infection passes it on. Evidence shows a face covering can help in reducing the spread of droplets; it stops them from leaving the mouth and nose area and reduces the size of area in which they spread.

A medical grade clinical mask is not necessary. These need to be prioritised to clinical staff working in high risk areas. Instead, for patients who are visiting healthcare sites, a face covering is sufficient and there is guidance for people to make these at home with items they may already own. Contaminated droplets can also be picked up from surfaces by touch and subsequently from touching the face. It is important people refrain from touching their face covering when wearing it, where possible, to avoid hand to mask transmission of the virus. Face coverings are not a replacement for social distancing. Regular hand washing remains an important action.

Please view a copy of our Face covering policy

Appointments:

All appointment requests for our GPs continue to be triaged over the phone or by video consultation. If the clinician feels that you need to be seen you will be invited into the surgery for a specific time slot. 

Samples:

If you are asked to collect a sample pot these are available from the main reception area. Please wait in front of the barrier. The sample containers come with a sealed bag and a sample form. When you return a sample, please ensure you have added your details to the label on the container and the form is complete. It is vital that your full name and date of birth are on both the container and the form. Any samples must be pre-approved by a clinician and returned by 1pm Please do not use your own containers for samples.

Prescriptions:

All prescriptions will be issued electronically to your nominated pharmacy. You will need to order your medication. It may take 5 working days to get your prescription electronically sent and dispensed at your Pharmacy.

We would encourage everyone to try and order their repeat prescriptions using either your online account or using the NHS App (can be downloaded onto any smartphone).  We have ceased taking prescriptions requests via telephone.

We thank you for your continued support.

The South Brent Health Centre Team 

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We offer ‘eConsult’ to allow patients to get medical help without making an appointment or calling the practice.

We have introduced ‘eConsult’ to help you get health advice online. By clicking on the most appropriate link below you can:

• self-check your symptoms and find medical guidance written by doctors 24/7
• get administrative help (e.g. a medical certificate or letter from the surgery)
• seek medical advice from our doctors at the surgery

Please note the following important information below:

• This is only for patients registered with our practice
• This is only available to patients over 6 months of age
• It is not an appropriate route to seek urgent medical help
• It is not a bypass or shortcut for requesting routine GP appointments
• Where a response has been requested, we aim to respond by the end of the next working day either by email (don’t forget to check your junk email folder) or with a phone call, as appropriate to your consultation
• The eConsult tool works best for issues that we can resolve – or start to resolve – online, for example by generating a script, arranging a blood test etc. There will be some problems where the appropriate next step is for you to see or speak to a GP routinely, in which case we will advise you by email or text to make an appointment.
• Please click on the link below to watch a short video on how eConsult can work for you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fGEpzrgAJc&t=16s

ZERO TOLERANCE

NHS STAFF MUST BE ABLE TO COME TO WORK WITHOUT FEAR OF VIOLENCE, ABUSE OR HARRASSMENT FROM PATIENTS OR THEIR RELATIVES.  THE NHS HAS A ZERO TOLERANCE ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIOLENCE.

VIOLENT, THREATENING OR ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR INCLUDING SHOUTING AND SWEARING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AT THIS PRACTICE.  PATIENTS WHO ACT IN SUCH A MANNER WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE PREMISES;  THE POLICE MAY BE CALLED AND YOU COULD BE REMOVED FROM OUR PRACTICE LIST.

OUR STAFF ARE HERE TO HELP YOU, PLEASE TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT

SBHC Zero Tolerance Policy