***Coronavirus update 16/03/2020 – IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CHANGES TO THE APPOINTMENT SYSTEM***

Posted on March 16th, 2020

***Coronavirus update 16/03/2020 – IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CHANGES TO THE APPOINTMENT SYSTEM***

Please do not attend the Practice for any reason unless a clinician has asked you to do so and given you an appointment.

Following the recent outbreak of COVID-19, and the Prime Ministers announcement on 12/03/2020 and subsequent advice from Devon Clinical Commissioning Group we are taking steps to minimise the risk of exposure to Coronavirus to protect both our patients and staff.

The new advice for Coronavirus is as follows:

• To stay at home (self-isolate), if you have
  • •  A new continuous cough
      Or
    •  High temperature (37.8 degrees centigrade of higher)
• This is regardless of travel history or contact with confirmed cases and without any testing for COVID-19.
• Any confirmed case of COVID-19 can end self-isolation and return to normal life 7 days after the onset of their symptoms if they feel better and no longer have a high temperature. There is no need for testing
• Cough may persist for several weeks in some people, despite the coronavirus infection having cleared. A persistent cough alone does not mean you must continue to self-isolate for more than 7 days.
• Any contacts of a confirmed case who were advised to self-isolate can go back to normal routine life as long as they have no symptoms.
• If you do have symptoms there is also some anecdotal evidence that suggests it is best not to take ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory drugs. If you are concerned about any prescribed medication that falls into this category then please contact us via eConsult. (eConsultation link)

Anyone with these symptoms who is WELL can just stay at home and does not need to contact 111 or be tested. Anyone with these symptoms who is UNWELL should go to 111 online for advice. You must NOT come to the GP practice, 111 will assess and advise you. Go online at https://111.nhs.uk/

The Government has published the following guidance:

• Stay at home: guidance for people with confirmed or possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection
• COVID-19: investigation and initial clinical management of possible cases
• The latest public-facing guidance is on the NHS website

For those patients that do not have the above symptoms but require medical advice, we are taking measures in line with the national guidance shared by NHS England and Public Health authorities to minimise risks associated with the virus.

Please do not attend the Practice for any reason unless a clinician has asked you to do so and given you an appointment.

What does this mean for you?

We are moving to manage patient care remotely to minimise the risk of infection to patients and staff.

Existing appointments
All pre-existing appointments are being reviewed by the clinical team. In this time of crisis me may contact you to cancel or re-scheduled this to a later date. If the appointment needs to go ahead, wherever possible this will take place over the telephone. If your appointment is being cancelled or changed to telephone, our team will contact you to advise you of this. If the appointment needs to be face to face you will be contacted prior the appointment and asked some screening questions to ensure it is appropriate for you to attend the Practice.

Effective immediately all new appointments will be either through telephone or eConsult.
eConsult is an online consultation platform that allows patients quick and easy access to medical advice. Use the following link to ask us a question or get self-help advice: https://cricketfieldsurgery.webgp.com/

Please note you are likely to find easier to get through to us via eConsult due to demand on our telephone lines. This enables you to receive advice and care without attending the practice in person. If the GP or Nurse does need to physically see you, they will still ask you to present at the surgery. In such cases, risks for both the patient and our staff will have been assessed.

Please do not attend the Practice for any reason unless a clinician has asked you to do so and given you an appointment.

Access to Cricketfield Surgery
Access to the building will be restricted to the patients who have been invited for an appointment by a Clinician.
Anyone who attempts to gain access to the surgery who has not been invited will be asked to leave the premises.
Only the patient with the appointment will be allowed into the building, unless they need a Parent/Guardian with them or a Carer present. The Parent/Guardian or Carer must also advise the Surgery that they do not have any symptoms of the coronavirus before attending the appointment.

Remember to wash your hands in the toilets at the front entrance as you enter the building and before you leave. The clinician may also ask you to wash your hands before they start the consultation. Please remember to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds each time as this is the easiest way to minimise the risk of coronavirus.

Prescriptions
Paper requests for repeat prescriptions have temporarily been suspended, again to avoid the spread of the virus and you will not be able to collect your prescription from the surgery. We will electronically send the prescription to your nominated pharmacy.
To order a repeat prescription, please either telephone the surgery between the hours of 10:00 at 13:00 or request online. If not registered please contact the surgery to register for online services. You can also use eConsult to order your prescription and just need an email to do so.

Samples

If you are asked to drop off a sample, this will need to be posted through the Surgery door in the correct sample pot and in a sealed bag with your name and date of birth clearly included.

Home Visits
For housebound patients and those in Care Homes we will still visit you for acute medical conditions providing you do not have a high fever and new cough/respiratory issues. It is quite likely that the GP visiting you will wear Protective clothing; this is to protect both the patient and GP.

For those that do have symptoms that could be linked to the coronavirus and are self-isolating but now experiencing medical concerns they should contact 111. The Devon Clinical Commissioning Group have set up a Home Visiting service to assist with this.

Final Note
We appreciate that these measures could be alarming to patients. To that end we would like to assure patients that we are doing all we can to ensure we can provide a service for patients whilst concentrating our efforts on those who need urgent care, during a time of increased demand on our practice.

We will keep you updated if there are any further changes to our service that we need to implement to keep all our patients and staff safe, whilst still providing you with the best care we can.

Please bear with us as we are extremely busy at this time whilst we work really hard to look after our patients. This is a very challenging time for us all and we would appreciate your co-operation during this period of uncertainty.

With thanks,

All the team at Cricketfield Surgery