PRACTICE NEWS

COVID VACCINATIONS

We are pleased to say we are helping to vaccinate patients with the new COVID vaccination. We are a Wave 1 site with the other practices in Yeovil and surrounding villages. We will be calling you when it is your turn to get a vaccination but please note this is dependant on supplies and will be a structured process with vaccines being released by the government. Please await a phone call or letter for an invite. All vaccinations will be carried out at central sites and not currently at any surgery sites.

We understand that people are anxious to be invited for their COVID-19 vaccinations. We are working very hard to invite people in the priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation as quickly as we can. Please help us by not contacting us to ask about your appointment. We will contact you when it's your turn.

If you have received a letter from the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service inviting you to book an appointment at a vaccination centre, you can book as advised in the letter or wait to be invited by the surgery.

Please do not contact or visit us to ask when we will contact you. We are working as quickly as we can to get to everyone in the priority groups.

For information on the vaccination please go to :

Guide for older adults: COVID-19 vaccination: guide for older adults - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What to expect after vaccination: COVID-19 vaccination: what to expect after vaccination - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Women of childbearing age, those who are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding should read the detailed information on www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination.

In order to deliver this important vaccination programme the government has allowed us to offer limited services on the days we are vaccinating . Please note we will therefore be only open to urgent requests on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 December. Many thanks for your help with this.

With the current Covid restrictions and everyone's safety in mind, could we ask that you only attend the surgery if you have an agreed appointment.

We have also had to make changes to our prescriptions ordering service please check out our prescriptions tab for details. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Click for help online with askmyGP

The easiest and fastest way to get any kind of help is with AskmyGP. It saves us time too, so please help us to help you. Ask MyGP is for access to a doctor, paramedic or nurse practitioner.

For nurse appointments please telephone as usual ( i.e. dressings, blood tests, blood pressures, vaccinations, injections, diabetes and asthma/COPD, family planning).

For everything else use AskMyGP :

Available between 7 am and 6 pm Monday to Friday - we respond in working hours, 8:30am to 3:00pm
We can usually get back to you within 48 hours, and will see you same day if needed.
All our registered patients are welcome, parents and carers on behalf of patients too.
You can name a GP if you wish (so long as they are working today)
You may prefer a telephone, email or face to face response
You can sign up now, with no paperwork, just click the link at the top of the page.

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GP Community Pharmacy Consultation Service

There is a new, same-day, GP Community Pharmacy Consultation Service to help you receive quality care and support for minor health conditions, more quickly through accessing care via your community pharmacist. This is for minor illnesses and injuries such as: ankle, foot, knee, lower leg or arm swelling or pain, athlete's foot, allergic reactions, bites or stings, coughs and colds, eye infections, headaches, lower back pain, mouth ulcers and blisters, rashes, sore throats and shoulder pain.

Now, when you contact us regarding a minor condition, after discussing your conditions, where appropriate, Patient Services will offer you the option of having a same-day appointment with your Community Pharmacist.

Community Pharmacists are highly qualified and experienced in providing clinical advice and care (including recommending over the counter treatments) for minor injuries and conditions. They will offer you a same-day consultation via the phone, or in person, which can be arranged quickly and at a time to suit you.

Your Pharmacist will take your medical history, ask about your symptoms and any current medication you might be taking. Following the consultation, the pharmacist will offer you self-care advice and if appropriate, offer you an over-the-counter product. The pharmacist will make a record of the outcome of your consultation and send it to your GP.

If having given you advice/treatment, your pharmacist identifies you need further specialist help, your pharmacist will be able to refer you back to your GP or onto another health service for support.

Community Pharmacists have already successfully seen thousands of patients for a consultation for a minor condition, following a call to NHS 111 and through GPs around the country who have been piloting this service. Evidence from these pilots shows advice provided by Community Pharmacists results in the same outcome, as if the patient went to see their GP, or attended an emergency department.

CQC