CORONAVIRUS

Last Updated: 07.01.2021 This page aims to keep patients informed with regards to coronavirus and how it will affect Cheddar Medical Centre. The situation is constantly changing at the moment so for up to date advice visit nhs.uk

Contents:

What Should I do?

   - Keep Yourself Informed

   - Contain the Virus

   - At Risk/"Shielded" patients

   - What is home isn't safe? 

   - Social Distancing

   - COVID Vaccinations (last updated 10.12.20)

What is Cheddar Medical Centre Doing?

   - Admin - letters/referrals/prescriptions

   - Access to the Surgery

   - Appointments

   - Contacting us

   - Useful Documents

What Should I do?

Keep Yourself Informed

It is essential that you keep yourself up to date with current advice, you can find this on the nhs.uk website. You can also use this website to access the NHS 111 online service if you are concerned that you may be developing symptoms. 

If you are Asthmatic you can find the Asthma UK Coronavirus advice here.

If you haven't already we would urge all patients to sign up for our SMS service. This is by far the fastest and easiest way for us to keep you up to date. You can find the form at the bottom of this page.

Contain the Virus

If you, or a member of your household, notice any of these symptoms:

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back 
• 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 have noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

You must stay at home. You should arrange a coronavirus test and read the official NHS guidance on staying at home here. You can find full guidance on when to self isolate and how long to stay at home here.

At Risk/"shielding" Patients

You may have heard that letters are being sent to patients who are at high risk from coronavirus. Please be aware that these are being sent by NHS England, not by Cheddar Medical Centre.   

The government has announced that shielding will be "paused" from the 1st August. If you have been advised to "shield" and want to know whether it is safe for you to go outside or meet people please visit the government coronavirus website for the most up to date guidance. 

If you are "at risk" and need help getting shopping, collecting prescriptions etc. local support is available from Cheddar Valley Support Group, Village Agents and from Somerset Council.

What if home isn't safe? 

Unfortunately home is not a safe place for everyone. If you are in immediate danger you should call 999.   

For non-emergencies the following charities are available to support victims of domestic abuse: Somerset Survivors, Mankind (for men) and Refuge (for women and children). All of them protect visitors to their site by telling you how to clear your internet history and having "escape" buttons which redirect you to another website.  

Social Distancing

Remember that some people who catch coronavirus will have no symptoms at all and can infect lots of other people without knowing it. Even if you feel well it is essential to follow social distancing guidance. 

While most cases of coronavirus are mild they can pose a serious threat to people who are already vulnerable or have underlying health conditions. You should protect these people by:

• Working from home (if possible)
• Only using public transport if absolutely necessary
• Washing your hands regularly
• Wearing a face covering while out in public

COVID Vaccinations 

Please do not call or turn up at the surgery or the local hospital to enquire about COVID vaccinations.

We know that patients and all health and care staff are eager to find out when they will receive their COVID vaccination. The NHS is prioritising vaccinating those people who experts have agreed will benefit from it the most and we are systematically working through all eligible groups according to the national priorities.

Please be assured that we will contact you directly, when it is your turn to book your vaccination and we will answer all your questions at your appointment.

Health and care teams across Somerset are working exceptionally hard to roll out our local vaccination programme in Somerset in line with the JCVI’s prioritisation and we are continuing to vaccinate people aged 80 and over, care home residents and staff, as well as widening out the offer to frontline health and social care staff.

 Please continue to attend any vaccination appointments as planned. If there are any changes we will contact you direct – please do not call the surgery.

For more information on the NHS Vaccination programme please visit: https://www.somersetccg.nhs.uk/health/local-services/health-services-during-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccinations-in-somerset/

Thank you for your patience.

What is Cheddar Medical Centre doing?

In the interests of looking after our patients and staff at this difficult time we have also made several changes to the way we operate. 

We are asking all patients to wear a face covering if visiting the practice in person. You can find a demonstration of how to make your own face covering here.

Admin: Referrals/Letters/Prescriptions

We are asking all patients to avoid coming to the surgery unless they have an appointment. If you normally collect your prescription from us please choose a pharmacy and we will send your prescription there. If you would normally submit a prescription request on paper you can post your request through the door, sending it to us via post or email it to us (request forms and email addresses can be found at the bottom of this page)

We are continuing to process letters, referrals etc. but please be prepared for a slightly longer wait than usual, especially if yours is a routine request. 

We are not able to issue sick notes for people who are self-isolating due to coronavirus. However you can download and print a self-certification letter to give to your employer at the bottom of this page. 

The usual rules regarding prescriptions still apply and we will continue to process your requests within the normal "3 working days" timeframe.

Access

The main door to the building is locked. All visitors are required to answer some questions about their current health and have their temperature checked before they are allowed to come in. This is to protect staff and patients. 

If you have a pre-booked appointment and no symptoms of coronavirus you will be allowed into the building. Otherwise you will be asked to wait outside while we deal with your query. Anyone with symptoms of coronavirus will be told to return home and self-isolate immediately.

Appointments

For the foreseeable future the majority of GP appointments will be conducted over the telephone. Unless instructed to come to the practice you should assume that you will receive a phone call from a doctor at around the time of your appointment. Please make sure your phone is charged and within reach at this time. 

Appointments with nurses will be restricted to only things which are immediately necessary and you should notify us if you develop any symptoms ahead of your appointment. 

Contacting us

Our phone lines are extremely busy at the moment however there are other ways to contact us:

email: cheddarmc.chedmed@nhs.net 

Online: If you have signed up for online access you can request prescriptions here. 

Post: Our postal address can be found at the top of our website. You can find useful forms below which can be printed and sent to us. 

Useful Documents

Self Isolation Note - you can use this link to generate a self-isolation note in the event that you (or someone in your household) develops symptoms of coronavirus.

Prescription Request Form 

Registration Form 

Temporary Registration Form

SMS Messaging Service - Consent Form

Confidentiality

Here at Cheddar Medical Centre we safeguard all confidential information about you and your health. All staff are required to sign a confidentiality document when they start work at the surgery. This is to ensure that they are fully aware of the need to maintain patient confidentiality at all times.

So that we can all work together for your benefit, we may need to share information about you with others in healthcare. We only ever use or pass on information about you if healthcare workers have a genuine need for it and it is in your interest. Wherever possible we will remove personal details that would identify you. 

Patient Information Lealfet - Your Information

Patient Information Leaflet - Consent

How we use Your Information to Provide Your Healthcare

Read our Fair Processing and Privacy Statement

Freedom of Information

The ICO has published a new Model Publication Scheme that all public authorities are required to adopt.

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1153/model-publication-scheme.pdf

Chaperone

You have the right to ask for a chaperone for any appointment, read our Chaperone Policy to find out more.

Comments & Complaints

We have our own complaints procedure and, if you need to make a complaint, please address it to the Practice Manager, Mrs Pauline Drummond who will take full details of your concerns and decide how to deal with the problem. Full details of our complaints procedure may be found in our complaints leaflet. 

We would be grateful for any suggestions you may have to improve the services we offer – please direct these to the Practice Manager. 

The Health Service Ombudsman

The Health Service Ombudsman has published a booklet that describes the ‘six principles for remedy’ in relation to complaints handling and involves:

1. Getting it right
2. Being customer focused
3. Being open and accountable
4. Acting fairly and proportionately
5. Putting things right
6. Seeking continuous improvements

If you remain unhappy after everything has been done to try to resolve your concern or complaint you have the right to approach the Ombudsman.
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Write: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP.

Rights & Responsibilities

You have a right to expect a high standard of medical care from our practice and we will try at all times to provide the very best care possible within the resources available.

In order to assist you in this we require that you take full responsibility for ensuring that you do not abuse the service. For example, it is your responsibility to ensure that you keep medical appointments and follow the advice given.

You must accept that we require 72 hrs notice to process a prescription request and that a 'normal routine appointment' is likely to be offered within a week of your request. 

You must also accept that our 'emergency' appointments relate to medical urgency, not personal urgency. Please remember this when making appointments with our reception team.

Finally, you must understand that our reception team will ask for explicit information when dealing with a request for a visit or telephone conversation with our GPs. They are part of our team here and are subject to confidentiality agreements. Our GPs demand this information to enable us to safely manage patient risks therefore do not be surprised when this happens.

Very occasionally a practice/patient relationship breaks down completely. In this situation the patient may choose to register with a different practice. We accept this and will process this request as quickly as possible.

Zero Tolerance

The practice has the right to remove any patient from their list. This would generally only follow a warning that had failed to remedy the situation and we would normally give the patient a specific reason for the removal.

Patients who are aggressive, verbally abusive, violent or threaten violence towards GPs or their staff will be reported to the police and will no longer be able to use the services at this practice.

The Kings of Wessex student Information

We are aware that some of our patients believe that they must see a GP to achieve evidence for school when they have been poorly and away from school.

We would like to clarify matters:

• You should only make an appointment to see a GP if there is a medical reason to do so
• You should not make an appointment to prove to school that you have seen a GP to justify an absence from school as the GP is unable to certify any absence
• If you are poorly with ‘normal’ viral illness (sickness & diarrhoea/ cold/ flu etc.) then these are better dealt with by staying at home, drinking lots of fluid and resting, not spreading this infection around to other people

Our advice would be to stock the medicine cabinet with:

• Pain killers
• Anti-diarrhoeal medicine
• Rehydration mixture
• Indigestion remedy
• Cold and flu remedies
• First aid kit with bandages,
• plasters, antiseptic wipes and
• cream, eyewash, medical tape,
• sterile dressing, thermometer

We understand, like the academy does, how important it is for you to attend school and would encourage you to do so.

However we cannot provide certification regarding sickness.

Please find a link below to the letter that our GPs would provide should they be asked for this type of information.

Letter to Schools (certificate) 2014

Your GPs are here to medically treat their patients and it is really important that poorly patients can access this service.

As people live longer, and more serious illnesses are treated outside of hospitals with GPs monitoring the patient’s health directly, the pressure for appointments is growing.

We must ask you to respect this and only see the GP when YOU feel you need to.

The Academy understands that this is our position.

The academy have explained may be students whose attendance is approaching 15% absence or who have a history of non-attendance whereby the school may well direct them to the GP for medical advice. They have explained that is because the school is not aware of any obvious reason for their continued illness and so they would like the student to explore with a GP the reasons for their non-attendance NOT to achieve a certificate for the school.

However the decision to make a GP appointment is your own, and please do not make an appointment if there is no medical reason to see a GP or just to achieve a certification as this is not available - other than the letter above.

Feel free to print this off and use as you see necessary however this will not satisfy the academy regarding your continued absence.