News Articles / Posts

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Protecting Vulnerable Patients

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Shielding Guidance for high risk vulnerable patents.

On Monday 16 March the UK government announced a package of measures, advising those who
are at increased risk of severe illness because of COVID-19 to be particularly stringent in following
social distancing measures.

Patients who have specific conditions are likely to be at highest risk from COVID-19.

These conditions include

  • Solid organ transplant recipients
  • People with specific cancers
  • People with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer
  • People with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
  • People having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
  • People having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system,
  • People who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs.
  • People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD (Chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease)
  • People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell disease)
  • People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
  • People who are pregnant with significant heart disease

Over the coming days, councils and health professionals will be working together to keep in
contact with you to make sure you have access to food supplies and any medicines you need. If, at
any point, you think you have developed symptoms of coronavirus, such as a new, continuous
cough and/or high temperature (above 37.8 °C), seek clinical advice by phoning the NHS on 111.
Do this as soon as you get symptoms.

This is different to the advice that we are giving people who do not fall into the very high risk
group, who are only being asked to contact the NHS if they feel very unwell. We are asking you to
get in touch sooner than we are advising everyone else.

 

 

PDF

CMO-Letter-26-March-2020

Coronavirus – Scams

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The following information is important and will help stop you from falling for some of the scams that are currently going around.

When calling you back we aim to ensure the risk for spam and fraud are minimised. We will not call you unless you have initiated the communication (first call), and we will not require you to :

  • provide your financial details or passwords as part of any COVID19 communications
  • “verify” or “update” your details or “reactivate” an account or anything like that
  • reply to any text messages we send

If you think you might have responded to a text message scam and provided your personal or
financial details, contact your bank immediately. If you think you have received a call or text message
related to corona virus that you think is fraudulent please refer to the Action Fraud website at the link below.

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/alert/coronavirus-scam-costsvictims-over-800k-in-one-month

 

Pharmacy First- helping reduce the need for a GP appointment

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Pharmacy First

Pharmacy First allows patients to access FREE advice and/or treatment for :

  • minor ailments
  • uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection in women age 16-65, with no need for a GP appointment.
  • Impetigo, a common skin infection affecting mostly younger children, can also be treated by pharmacy.

The pharmacist will ask about your symptoms in order to give the right advice.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms  speak to your local community pharmacy team.

Urinary Tract Infection (females age 16-65)

  • Burning or stinging sensation on passing urine
  • Need to pass urine frequently
  • Need to pass urine urgently

Impetigo

Patients with the following symptoms may be able to access the service:

  • Minor skin infection on one area of the body
  • Red sores that pop easily and leave a yellow crust
  • Fluid-filled blisters
  • Itchy Rash

For more information-

https://www.know-who-to-turn-to.com/

Advanced Nurse Practitioners

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We are delighted to have two Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) working with us at Woodhead Medical Practice.  Kerry Donoghue has completed her training as a ANP and works Tuesday morning in the practice.  Michelle Dalgarno is in training as an ANP having worked as a District Nursing Sister for many years and works in the practice on Monday afternoon and Friday morning.

ANPs are highly experienced and educated nurses who are able to assess, investigate, diagnose, and prescribe. They can deal with a variety of problems including respiratory infections, ear ache, urine infections, bowel or digestive problems, skin conditions and rashes and joint or muscle problems.

If you are calling the surgery, our receptionists will ask for a brief description of your problem. This is to ensure that you receive an appointment with the most appropriate person. Our ANPs can manage many health care problems without the need for you to see a GP.

Prescription Requests

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Prescriptions will be available for collection on the following basis:
Requests made before 5.00pm will be ready for collection two working days later after 2pm. For example, prescriptions requested on a Monday will be available for collection on Wednesday after 2pm. If you are calling to request a medication not on your repeat prescription, please ensure you have advised us of an up to date contact number. If the doctor requires any more information before issuing a prescription, we will call you to discuss this.

Please do not phone to confirm your prescription is ready as this blocks our telephone lines and generates a large amount of work for reception staff.  Prescription requests made 10 days or more early are unlikely to be granted unless a reason is given i.e. if you need medication sooner for example due to holiday then please let us know.  You may be asked to attend the surgery on occasions for a review of your medication.

You can find out more about this subject on our Prescription Requests page.

New Self Check-in facility

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We have a new self check in facility at woodhead medical practice. This allows you to register your arrival for your appointment without having to waiting at reception to be checked in by staff.

When arriving at the practice you will see the self check in screen at reception. Simply enter your date of birth and confirm your appointment type on the screen. Please note if you are any more than 10 minutes late for your appointment you will need to report to reception. If you are attending for an “urgent” appointment you will also need to report to reception.

Changes to Operating Hours

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From Monday 11th June 2018 Woodhead Medical Practice will be closed for routine enquiries between 1pm and 2pm every day to allow time for staff training and service development. You can still phone the surgery during that time in the event of an emergency.

Wednesday Morning Open Access Clinic

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We have an Open Access Clinic on Wednesday mornings from 09:00am.  Please phone on the day and a receptionist will advise you what time to attend for your appointment.  Due to the nature of the clinic we cannot guarantee that you will see the doctor of your choice.

Merger Update

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Important Notice regarding the merger of Park Surgery and York Place

Park Surgery and York Place will merge on 1 st of May and become Woodhead Medical Practice.

There will be some disruption to service over this time as our computer systems are combined and updated. We are working hard with the Health Boards to reduce the impact this has as much as possible. Please see the time line below which outlines the changes which will happen to support the merger and the impact this will have upon the service we provide.

Friday 27th April 2018.

Our computer systems will not be available over this time to allow data to be transferred onto the new server. This means that the doctor will not have access to your health record and will not be able to see what medicines you are taking or check your blood results. Repeat and one-off prescriptions will not be available at this time. There will be no pre-bookable appointments with doctors or nurses (including bloods) on this day. For emergency appointments please contact your current practice (i.e. York Place or Park Surgery). Drs Davda and McGroarty and staff will move from York Place to the new Woodhead Medical Practice at Saramago Street at close of business.

Monday 30th April

Computer systems will continue to be unavailable and doctors will not have access to your medical records and will be unable to issue repeat or one-off prescriptions. All patients previously registered with York Place and Park Surgery will now be seen at Woodhead Medical Practice located at Saramago Street (current Park Surgery address). Emergency appointments will be available over this time.

Tuesday 1st May

Computer systems will likely be unavailable and doctors may not have access to your medical records and may be unable to issue repeat or one-off prescriptions.

All patients will now be seen at Woodhead Medical Practice.

Wednesday 2nd of May

All computer services should be available, and while we expect to be able to start providing prescriptions, there will likely be a backlog and one-off prescriptions may take longer than the usual 48 hours to issue. We will update notice both in the practice and our website www.woodheadmedicalpractice.co.uk to keep you informed of events.

Woodhead Medical Practice telephone lines will be closed for routine enquiries between 1pm and 2pm every day to allow time for staff training and service development. You can still phone the surgery during that time for an emergency.

Drs Davda, Fraser, McGroarty and Ness