FLU AND COVID VACCINES - CHILDREN AGED 12 - 15
This year school immunisation teams will be providing Flu and Covid vaccines to children aged 12 to 15. Parents will be asked to give permission for their child to be immunised as part of the consent process.
It is important to remember:
· You will need to make a decision on consent separately for the Flu and Covid vaccines. You can give permission for your child to have both vaccines, only Flu vaccine, only Covid vaccine or neither vaccine.
· Please return your consent form even if you are declining vaccines otherwise we may need to contact you as we do not know your decision
· If you have any questions then we can help you decide
· If you change your mind please let us know straight away
Here are 5 reasons to have the flu vaccine :
1. Protect yourself
The vaccine will help protect you against flu and serious complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia
2. Protect your family and friends
Having the vaccine will help protect more vulnerable friends and family
3. No injection needed
The nasal spray is painless and easy to have
4. It’s better than having flu
The nasal spray helps protect against flu, has been given to millions worldwide and has an excellent safety record
5. Avoid lost opportunities
If your child gets flu, they may be unwell for several days and not be able to go to school or do the things they enjoy
2021 Flu Vaccinations & Covid 19 Booster Vaccinations (Updated 14.09.2021)
This year flu vaccinations and Covid-19 booster vaccinations will be delivered as a combined programme by the Shrewsbury Primary Care Network and will take place at Severn Fields Health Village for all qualifying patients. We are still awaiting confirmation of the Government/JVCI guidance before further planning can proceed but please note all qualifying patients will be invited to book and appointment or be contacted with an appointment for vaccination. Please do not contact your Medical Practice as you will be contacted directly as soon as further updates are available. We anticipate Covid booster vaccines will be delivered in early October. In the meantime please ensure we have your correct mobile telephone number as this is the easiest way for us to invite you.
Global shortage of Blood Bottles
A supplier to the NHS has advised us of a global shortage of some equipment used for taking blood tests.
Anyone who needs a test for urgent health problems will still get one, but where your clinician recommends that it’s safe to do so, then you may be asked to come back for a test at a later date, or your appointment may be rescheduled.
Given the nature of the shortage, we cannot give an exact date for when the test will be rescheduled, but please be assured that if your condition or symptoms require it, then you will get a test, and we will be re-booking your test when supplies become more easily available.
Further information will be posted on Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System (ICS) websites as it becomes available.
Age 16 or 17? You can now have your covid vaccination.
You can do this by attending a walk in clinic, details below:
https://stwics.org.uk/our-priorities/covid-19-vaccination-programme/walk-in-clinic-times
Please do not try and book through the practice, we cannot book covid vaccination appointments for you. The national online booking service will only allow you to book if you are within 3 months of your 18th birthday, so please attend a walk in clinic if you are 16 or 17.
Or if you are going to the Telford Balloon Fiesta this weekend, Bob the Bus will be there too, so you can #GrabAJab there if you prefer!
Monday 5th July
As you may have seen in the news on Friday there have been some discussions regarding a batch of AZ vaccine which was manufactured in India and administered in the UK in March this year.
The advise for any patient who may have received this vaccine is:
You have had an approved and fully tested vaccine.
You have had the Oxford AZ vaccine, not a lesser version of it.
There is no reason to think that you will need another dose at this moment in time.
There are no grounds for the EU to refuse entry to anyone who has has this vaccine.
MONDAY 17TH MAY
As a practice we are aware of the communication from NHSE and media this morning regarding the opening up of GP receptions and appointments as of Monday 17th May. As a practice we are reviewing how we can maximise patient access, whilst maintaining safety for patients and staff safely as guidance changes.
At Radbrook Green Surgery we have continued to work and support patients throughout the whole of the pandemic and continue to respond to unprecedented levels of demand. In the period March and April 2021 alone we have dealt with more calls than in any other period on record, and as a practice will continue to meet the needs of our patients as best we can, whilst continuing to support the COVID Vaccination programme.
In the short term we will continue to monitor access to the premises, and offer a triage first service in order to ensure patients are treated in the most appropriate way and will continue to offer remote consultations and appropriate face to face appointments until a safety review is completed.
We can confirm that face to face appointments HAVE continued throughout the whole of the pandemic, however we reinforce that this is following a triage first service in order to maintain the best interests of both patients and staff.
INFORMATION LEAFLET REGARDING COVID VACCINATION AND BLOOD CLOTTING
For current official information regarding issues with blood clots and the AstaZeneca (AZ) vaccine please click the link below:
Important message sent on behalf of the local health and care system.
The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford are both dealing with high numbers of patients right now - anyone in need of urgent medical care in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin should contact NHS 111 first online or by phone.
Health advisors can help find the best place for treatment and give a time to come in if a face-to-face assessment is needed.
The service, staffed by trained health advisers, will book the caller a time slot for the most appropriate service, such as our urgent treatment centres or minor injuries units, or, if needed, A&E (Emergency Department) at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) or the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford.
By calling NHS 111 first, it will help the NHS manage the flow of patients when capacity in waiting rooms is much smaller than before, to maintain safe distancing and reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection.
If the situation is serious or life-threatening please call 999 immediately. Likewise, if the condition is not serious, seek advice from a pharmacy or make an appointment with a GP.
COVID VACCINATIONS
As from 17.05.21 please contact the National Booking System on 119 for vaccine enquiries including booking appointments.
PRACTICE TELEPHONE LINES
Calls are currently being received into the practice at 65.2% above our normal level for this time of year. We are working as fast as we can to take your calls whilst also trying to maintain a safe working environment for our patients and our staff.
Your patience is greatly appreciated.
If your call is not urgent then please put the phone down and try again a little later when the call level may have eased. Please remember to order your medication via the Prescription Ordering Direct system by calling 0333 358 3509 and to also use e-consult if you have an admin task or a question your need an answer to.
NHS Cervical Screening Programme
Radbrook Green Surgery have been advised of a possible scam in current circulation. Some women are being contacted by text message, claiming to be from the call and recall service to advise they are overdue for screening. The message asks them to call a mobile number and provide personal details. These messages ARE NOT from the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, please do not call the number but contact the surgery if you are concerned.
Online Services
Due to the Coronavirus - Online Appointments booking has been temporarily suspended - please telephone Reception to book an appointment. Please ring 111 for advice if you suspect you may have contracted the Coronavirus.
POD (Prescription Ordering Direct)
Please note that as a contingency for the POD lines becoming overwhelmed at this current time there is now an email address that you can use to order your repeat prescriptions if you are unable to join the telephone queue. Please email shropshire.pod@nhs.net with your request ensuring you have provided ALL of the following information in your request: Registered GP Practice, Full Name, Date of Birth, First line of address, name of drug, strength, dose and formulation (tablet, cream, inhaler etc), Nominated pharmacy, contact number. If you are ordering on behalf of someone else, you also need to provide your name and your relationship to the patient. Please only order when you have 7 days worth of medication remaining. Inappropriate or early prescription requests will not be processed.
Ranitidine
There is a worldwide shortage of ranitidine due to a recall of products. Please continue to take the ranitidine you may have at home but we will be unable to continue prescribing due to shortage. Please make contact with the surgery to discuss with our Clinical Pharmacist or GP when you have 1-2 weeks of ranitidine remaining.
Patient Survey Results 2019/20
The Practice is pleased to be able to make available the results of our latest patient survey. Please click the link below to view the results.
https://www.mysurgeryoffice.co.uk/psurvey.aspx?p=345839&v=M82016
GP Extended Opening Hours Clinic (Darwin Health)
We would like all patients in our community to be able to see a local GP or Nurse when they need to. Darwin Health offer extended opening hours to widen the availability to access GP services. This extended opening hours service operates between 6.00pm-8.00pm on weekdays and 9.00am- 1.00pm on Saturdays and Sundays and allows patients to be seen within a network of GP Practices at a convenient time and location, depending on availability.
Patient Messaging Service
We have started using our new patient messaging service.
We will be able to communicate with you via text message, using automated technology that will enable us to contact you much more quickly and effectively. This will free up our staff to deal with those tasks only a human can do!
It is important that you keep us up-to-date with your current mobile phone number.
Examples of how it will improve our communications include:
• Automated appointment reminders 24 hours before. You can cancel your appointment by text using the word CANCEL, which immediately frees it up for others to book.
• Targeted health promotion campaigns, such as flu clinics.
• Reminders to attend specific clinics, e.g. diabetic, health checks, etc.
• NHS-required information such as smoking status: you can simply reply by texting one word to give us your status.
• Urgent communications: for example, if a GP calls in sick first thing in the morning, all patients in that surgery will be advised by text within minutes.
Of course, you can opt out by sending us a message or advising reception, but you would not be benefiting from the quick and non-intrusive communications from us that the system provides.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Named Accountable GP
From 1st April 2015, practices are required under the GMS contract, to allocate a named, accountable GP to all patients, including children. All patients registered at our surgery are allocated to a named GP. Please ask your doctor, or the reception staff, who your named GP is. Should you express a wish for this to be changed to another GP we will do our best to accomodate your wishes.
Please be aware that this does not affect your ability to make an appointment with any of the GPs in the practice of your choosing.
Results of our recent CQC inspection:
We are very proud to announce that we have been rated as overall ‘good’ in our latest CQC inspection. For more information please click here::
Radbrook Green Surgery CQC inspection
IMPORTANT NEWS - action required:
We are now using ‘Patient Access’ (see brown icon on the home page opposite) for booking appointments and ordering of REPEAT medication.
Please register for this service by coming in to the practice and asking the receptionist for a registration letter which will give you your unique registration details. You will need to bring in ID (e.g. Passport or Driving licence).
CARE.DATA Programme
Confidential information from your medical record can be shared within the NHS. YOU HAVE A CHOICE: Do nothing OR let us know that you do not want your data shared. Please click here for more information.
We are pleased to announce improvements to our telephone service.
Please click here for more details.
Extended Access Clinic
Do you work late? Do you find it difficult to attend the surgery during normal surgery hours? If so we are pleased to be able to offer you our Extended Access Clinic. Please ask at reception for our Monday evening and Thursday morning opening hours.
Out of Hours
If you need urgent medical help or advice when the surgery is closed the number to call is 111. The NHS111 service is free to call, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year’
Test Results
If you have had x-rays or blood tests etc., you may enquire about the result without seeing the doctor. All results are screened by the doctor and it is your responsibility to contact the Surgery for your results 3 or 4 days after the specimen has been sent to the laboratory
Home Visits
Home visits are available to the housebound and to those too ill to come to the Surgery. If a visit is required on the same day, please try to contact the Surgery before 10.30 a.m. A doctor will usually ring you prior to visiting.
Free Prescriptions for Cancer Patients
People being treated for cancer will be eligible for free prescriptions from 1st April 2009 and can apply for free prescriptions from today.
The new scheme, announced by the Prime Minister in September last year, abolishes NHS prescription charges for everyone undergoing treatment for cancer, the effects of cancer, or the effects of cancer treatment.
All cancer patients are entitled to apply for a 5-year exemption certificate, which will entitle them to all their NHS prescriptions free of charge, not just those relating to cancer. The certificate can be renewed as many times as necessary and will not have to be returned if the patient’s condition changes.
Patients should contact their doctor to apply for exemptions.