COVID-19 Primary Vaccination

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Your GP practice is still here for you and continues to provide services.

• Primary care staff have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic not only in delivering primary care in rapidly changing circumstances, but also in the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine and we want patients to treat practice staff with kindness and respect.
  
  
• Face-to-face appointments are available to all patients where there is a clinical need. You will be asked to first discuss your conditions over the phone or online with a member of the healthcare team to assess what would be most appropriate for you and which practice member would best provide it. This is called triage and will help you get the right support quickly
  
  
• Please continue to contact the practice by phone or online to begin with. You will be assessed and offered a phone or video appointment, or a face to face appointment if you need one.
  
  
• The majority of common conditions can be assessed and diagnosed by your doctor by telephone or video consultation. They are experienced and skilled in doing this. Using technology like this will help to protect you, your family and loved ones - and GP practice staff from the potential risk of the virus
  
  
• When the practice is closed you can call 111 or go to https://111.nhs.uk/ for help and advice.
  
  
• If you have symptoms of COVID-19 please do not attend your appointment. Please contact the practice to advise them and follow national COVID-19 guidance which can be found on nhs.uk.

What you can expect when contacting your GP

• When you call the practice to book an appointment, you may be asked by the reception staff why you are calling. Please provide as much information as possible to make sure you get the most appropriate help for your needs.
• Alternatively, practice receptions are now open to those patients who do not have access to phones. However, if attending in person, you will need to make sure you adhere to social distancing and other measures such as wearing a face mask or covering. You may be offered a telephone appointment with a clinician, such as a GP or practice nurse. During this appointment the clinician will assess what type of help or care you need.
• If you need to be seen face-to-face you will be offered an appointment to go into the practice.
• On arrival at your GP practice, measures may still be in place to control the number of people within the building. This could be a queue system or an intercom. We ask that patients continue to wear a mask, unless exempt, even after 19th July.  This is to make sure you and our staff are as safe as possible from the spread of disease.
• Please treat GP practice staff with kindness and respect. Primary Care colleagues like all NHS staff, have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and now in the roll out of the vaccine. Please be patient and kind when speaking to your local practice staff.

ALL PRESCRIPTION REQUESTS ARE TO BE MADE VIA ONLINE SERVICES OR EMAILED TO: prescribingteam.grange@nhs.net 

ADMINISTRATION QUERIES CAN BE EMAILED TO OUR ADMIN TEAM: gp.n84024@nhs.net - please do not use this if you need clinical advice, you can use the E-consult online service on our webpage. 

UPDATE ON FACE COVERINGS FROM 19 JULY 2021 ONWARDS 

Everyone accessing or visiting healthcare facilities must continue to wear a face covering and follow social distancing rules, COVID restrictions ending in many other settings in England from 19 July.

This means that staff, patients and visitors in GP practices, hospitals, dental practices, optometrists and pharmacies, are expected to continue to follow social distancing rules as well as using face coverings and other personal protection equipment to ensure patients and staff are protected.

Chief Nursing Officer for England, Ruth May said: “Face coverings and social distancing measures will remain in place across healthcare settings so that the most vulnerable people can continue to safely attend hospital, their GP surgery, pharmacy or any other healthcare settings for advice, care and treatment. And it is important for the public to continue to play their part when visiting NHS and care settings to help protect our staff and patients, particularly those who may be more vulnerable to infections.  As restrictions are lifted in many places on Monday everyone has a part to play in helping to control Covid by getting vaccinated and acting responsibly. It is vital that in healthcare settings, we do all we can to reduce the risk of infection for those working in our services and those who need our care.”  

Fiona Taylor, chief operating officer at South Sefton and Southport and Formby CCGs said: “We are still in the third wave of the pandemic and there are rising cases of the Delta variant in Sefton. We are urging people to keep working together to keep safe. By wearing face coverings, we can protect ourselves and those around us, as we could be carrying COVID-19 but not showing symptoms. So, continue to wear a face covering, washing your hands and keeping your distance in GP surgeries and other healthcare settings and in busy indoor places. Continue to get tested regularly, whether you have symptoms or not and please, get vaccinated as soon as you can. We’ve all worked so hard and come so far in this pandemic and we’ve got to keep working together to ensure that staff and patients are kept safe".

Getting vaccinated is the best way of keeping you and those around you safe – for details on where you can get vaccinated click here.

UPDATED INFORMATION ON CORONAVIRUS 

USE THIS SERVICE IF YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD TO STAY AT HOME BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS AND YOU NEED A NOTE FOR YOUR EMPLOYER: Fit Note Service>>

Do not leave your home if you have either:

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)

• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot 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 usual)

•a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

To protect others, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital if you have symptoms. Stay at home.

Use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do.

Read general information such as:

• Advice for everyone
• Advice for people at high risk
• Symptoms and what to do
• Self-isolation if you or someone you live with has symptoms
• Getting an isolation note

We thank you for your patience and understanding, and will continue to update you with the latest changes and guidance given that will affect Primary Care services.