Welcome to Baddow Village Surgery
14 July 2021
FACE MASK UPDATE
PLEASE CONTINUE TO WEAR A MASK WHILST IN THE SURGERY AND MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING
From 19 July there is no legal requirement to wear a face mask however the Surgery continues to require patients and staff to wear a face covering and maintain social distancing whilst in the Surgery.
NHS England's guidance is available on the link below:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2021/07/nhs-patients-staff-and-visitors-must-continue-to-wear-face-coverings-in-healthcare-settings/
Change to Dispensary Opening Hours
Due to staffing issues it is necessary to change our opening hours with effect from Friday 18 June - for full details please go to the Quick Link - Latest News
General Practice Data for Planning and Research-GPDPR
GPDPR update 19/7/21
Following concerns raised about the proposed General Practice Data for Planning and Research extraction of information from GP records, the Health Minister Jo Churchill has announced that this will be delayed until further conditions are met.
Further information https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/new-plans-to-increase-protection-and-strengthen-security-for-gp-data-collection-programme
Further information from NHS digital
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/advice-for-the-public
You can still opt out from sharing your data outside of the practice for reasons other than your direct care by completing a type1 opt out form.
To opt out from allowing your GP medical record to be shared outside the Practice for reasons other than your direct care, please complete a Type 1 opt out form click here to download form and email this to baddow.surgery@nhs.net with “Type 1 Opt Out” in the subject line.
You can opt out of allowing NHS digital to share your data by completing a national opt out form. (National data opt-out - NHS Digital) You can also make or change a choice for yourself by phoning the NHS Digital Contact Centre. The phone number is 0300 303 5678 – Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays). Other ways to make a choice about sharing data from your health records - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Please also see this addition to our privacy notice General Practice Data for Planning and Research: GP Practice Privacy Notice - NHS Digital
and the NHS Digital Transparency Notice Transparency notice: how we use your personal data - NHS Digital
Support for booking COVID19 vaccination
FIRST DOSE
If you have not had a COVID19 vaccination, and are eligible, please book on the national booking system.
Link to the national booking system:
Book a coronavirus vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Link to book COVID19 vaccine:
Do you know your NHS number? - Book a coronavirus vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
SECOND DOSE
If you have had your first COVID19 vaccination via your GP and you cannot have your second dose from your GP practice, please book your second COVID19 vaccination using the National Booking System.
For people over 50 your second vaccination should be 56 days after your first vaccination. However, you will not be able to book your appointment immediately after your first vaccination - please wait to try and book your appointment.
For people under 50 your second vaccination should be 77-84 days after your first vaccination. However, you will not be able to book your appointment immediately after your first vaccination - please wait to try and book your appointment.
If you try to book too early appointment slots are unlikely to be available for you.
Link to the national booking system:
Book a coronavirus vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Link to book COVID19 vaccine:
Do you know your NHS number? - Book a coronavirus vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
If after waiting as advised above you are unable to book your second vaccine appointment, please contact the CCG Central Referral Team who will be able to help you.
Contact number: 0300 123 0771
Open Mon – Fri, 8am – 6pm
If you have difficulty using the telephone, e.g. hard of hearing, please make contact using email central.referral@nhs.net
Update from the Partners - 17 May 2021
With the latest easing of restrictions in England, we have reviewed our current appointment system and take this opportunity to clarify the current situation.
Throughout the pandemic the surgery has remained open, offering ‘telephone first’ access to clinicians and careful screening of all patients accessing the surgery for face to face appointments that are clinically necessary. We are proud to have had no outbreaks of Covid amongst either staff or patients as a result of our stringent infection control procedures.
As is the case in ALL public indoor areas, 2m social distancing must be maintained within the surgery. Our waiting room has space for 8 people and with up to 13 clinicians working on site at any given time, it is clear that we cannot return to our pre-pandemic appointment system.
Information on how to chase a referral that has been made for you is at the end of this notice.
How do I make an appointment?
25% or more of our appointments are bookable online. Details of how to do this are on the website.
Our reception team is currently at full complement and we have increased our staffing in the morning to assist with the increasing demand. Our receptionists are able to assist you with making the right appointment with the appropriate team member (see below) or can guide you to the appropriate service to help with your problem e.g. community pharmacist, 111 (option 2), 111 first (for A&E) or to dial 999 in an emergency.
We ask that patients telephone for appointments where they cannot access online services or require an urgent same day appointment.
Please do not use the surgery email addresses for clinical consultations/queries or to request an appointment. Patients who do so will receive an SMS or email asking them to contact reception to make an appointment in the usual way.
Attending the surgery to make appointments may mean queuing outside due to the limited size of the waiting area and will delay patients with booked appointments entering the premises.
All patients entering the premises are expected to wear a facemask, maintain 2m social distancing and will be screened for Covid symptoms. Our receptionists are trained to prioritise answering the telephone as the ‘unseen patient’ is potentially the sickest.
Who will my appointment be with?
We have an experienced team of clinicians and allied health professionals at the surgery who are able to offer the advice, investigations, treatment and long-term disease management that our patients need.
Phlebotomists: We offer blood tests daily at the surgery. Appointment lengths remain increased to reduce patient numbers in the waiting room and we would like to continue to prioritise our patients with mobility or frailty issues. Blood tests can also be booked at a number of local clinics by calling 01245 516963 or online https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/midessex.php.
Health Care Assistants (HCA): Our health care assistants provide a number of services including wound care, health checks and lifestyle advice, ECGs, B12 injections, flu vaccinations and are involved in long term disease monitoring (to name but a few of their skills).
Practice Nurses: The practice nurse team consists of members with both community and hospital nursing backgrounds who have developed skills in long term disease management including asthma, COPD and diabetes. They will continue to offer virtual, telephone and face to face reviews, working in collaboration with the GPs. In addition, they continue to provide our full range of other services including wound care, smears, immunisations, injections and contraception services.
Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP): Both our ANPs are experienced nurses with backgrounds as community matrons. They are able to manage minor illnesses in addition to acute presentations of long term diseases; patients with learning difficulties; dementia; and frailty. They are able to prescribe and make onward referral for investigations. We have expanded our ANP hours to provide appointments every day alongside our GPs.
Clinical Pharmacists: Through the Chelmsford City Health Primary Care Network, we employ a team of clinical pharmacists who are able to conduct medication reviews and review of long-term disease management e.g. asthma and diabetes. They assist with the monitoring of medications under ‘shared care’ with our hospital colleagues and are able to request blood tests and facilitate medication changes, including following hospital advice/discharge.
GP Registrars: We value training and development in primary care and as a long-standing training practice, we have GP registrars who are registered doctors that will be fully qualified GPs within 1-2 years.
GPs: There are 6 GP partners and 3 salaried GPs currently at the surgery, with a patient list that is pro-rata to our sessional hours. Where possible we ask that, for continuity of care, patients make appointments with their usual GP but there are urgent appointments available with our ANPs and GPs every day for matters that are clinically urgent and cannot wait.
How will my appointment happen?
We have made significant developments in the way in which we are now able to consult with our patients effectively, safely and conveniently. Despite the necessary changes to our services with the peaks of the pandemic, we were proud to achieve the targets set for our long-term disease reviews in the last year and even saw improvements in our diabetes monitoring targets. We intend to take the skills learnt in the last year and the new tools at our disposal to continue to care for our patients.
We have returned to all previous services that we offer including minor ops, joint injections and contraception services. We have now increased capacity for these and other services such as immunisations, injections and smears and will continue to monitor the impact this has upon the numbers in the waiting room and those needing to queue outside or wait in cars.
Long term disease reviews e.g. asthma, COPD and diabetes, are being done using a combination of telephone, SMS and face to face assessments when required by our nursing, pharmacist, ANP and GP teams.
Appointments with the ANP or GP will be via telephone so an assessment of the presenting problem can be made. A variety of medical problems, provision of advice and review of medications and long-term conditions can be done remotely using telephone/video/SMS/email resources.
As has happened throughout the last year, when a clinician needs to see a patient face to face, we will ask if you are happy to attend the surgery (after screening for Covid symptoms) either on the same day or at a future date. A decision to attend for a face to face appointment will be made in collaboration with our patients, where there is either a clinical need to be seen or when the alternative methods of consulting are not appropriate.
We would ask that patients do not attend more than 5 minutes before their appointment time to avoid occupying waiting room space unnecessarily. Please do not be offended if our reception staff request that you wait outside or in your car.
All patients entering the surgery will be asked to observe the ‘hands-face-space’ rules.
Patients exhibiting Covid symptoms MUST NOT enter the surgery. You and your household should isolate and the symptomatic household member must arrange a PCR test. A lateral flow test (LFT) that is kept at home and provides an immediate result is NOT the correct test for a patient with symptoms and we will insist that you are tested and any face to face assessment may be delayed until a result is available on your record.
How do I collect my prescription?
Prescriptions will be sent to your designated pharmacy electronically. Dispensing patients will continue to collect from the exterior window hatch to limit the number of patients entering the waiting room and prevent even greater queuing at the main surgery door.
Where do I drop off a sample?
This can be done via the exterior window hatch to limit the number of patients entering the waiting room.
Where do I collect my test form?
These can be collected from reception via the dispensary window. We remain hopeful that in the future electronic requests accessible at all phlebotomy sites across Mid and South Essex will be introduced to remove the need for you to attend the surgery to collect these, but we remain reliant upon paper forms for now.
How do I chase a referral?
Once a referral has been made by the GP or ANP we are not advised when your appointment will be made. This is the responsibility of the health care provider to whom you have been referred.
For referrals to hospital you should call CRS (Central Referral Service) on 0300 123 0771 who can advise you of the current status of your referral.
For ophthalmology (eyes), or to rearrange an appointment please call the Broomfield Appointments line 01245 513900
Radiology which includes MRI and CT scans as well as x-rays and some ultrasound scans please call Broomfield Hospital Radiology Department on 01245 514301
Community Ultrasounds are provided by Essex Ultrasound on 01268 947000
Endoscopy is provided by InHealth and their referral centre number is 0333 212 3187
What does the future hold?
Baddow Village Surgery continues to grow and develop. We have been working towards increasing our clinical space by utilising the second floor of the surgery building, but our efforts have been hampered by delays beyond our control. We hope to have new consulting rooms, a waiting area and space to home the PCN clinical pharmacists.
As part of the Chelmsford City Health Primary Care Network, we are soon to have successfully delivered a significant part of the Covid vaccination programme for our patient population since January 15th 2021. Although we approach the end of this work, we look forward to continuing to work together in the future including the recruitment of further staff members to supplement our diverse health professional team.
Our thanks go out to those patients who have invested in a blood pressure monitor over the last 12 months. This has helped enormously with long term disease monitoring. We have restarted our BP machine loaning system, but there is an essential 72 hour delay before a machine can be cleaned and re-issued. We know that some patients have missed the surgery machine previously located in reception and we recognise that this is useful for some patients. Therefore, we are in the early stages of arranging a ‘Surgery Pod’, which will allow patients to check their own blood pressure and the readings will be automatically uploaded to the patient record.
We are soon to be participating in an AI powered Teledermatology system, which will allow clinicians at the surgery to see and assess skin lesions and use a device to access immediate advice and a final decision regarding skin lesions within 2 working days.
Shielded Patient List
Shielding will be paused nationally from April 1st 2021.
Approximately 400 patients from our almost 13000 list size are currently identified on the Shielded Patient List.
For any updates regarding shielding status, please see the gov.uk website.
National Guidance for Suspected Coronavirus Cases
The government has put is place a policy of SELF ISOLATION for any patient with a new onset cough, and/or fever and/or loss of sense of taste/smell, that could be attributed to Covid-19 infection. Patients well enough to remain at home should self isolate for 10 days and ALL HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS should self isolate for 10 days. If any other household member who is already self isolated develops symptoms, they should remain isolated for 10 days from the onset of their symptoms EVEN IF this means for longer than 10 days in total from when the first household member became symptomatic. Patients well enough to remain at home WHO LIVE ALONE should self-isolate for 10 days.
- If a patient is concerned that they are not well enough to remain at home with these symptoms then they should use the online NHS111 assessment tool, dial NHS111 or contact the surgery.
Testing for Covid-19 can be requested for anyone via the gov.uk website. If you do not have internet access then call 119.
- Track and Trace is now in operation. Any contact will be from the national team and their instructions should be followed. The practice are not involved in this process.
Medical certificates will not be issued for self-isolation or household isolation. Please utilise the NHS isolation note service available online. You can do this for yourself or another individual.
Click here to read guidance for patients isolating at home
Safeguarding our Patients
At this time when we are socially distancing and confined to our homes, we know that there are vulnerable adults or children who may be at greater risk or struggling to cope. We remain vigilant in safeguarding our patients. You may find these resources below useful:
National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247 https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/
NSPCC helpline: 0808 800 5000 If you're worried about a child, even if you're unsure, contact NSPCC professional counsellors for help, advice and support.
Childline 0800 1111: Offers free, confidential advice and support for any child 18 years or under, whatever the worry.
MIND: Mental Health Support with specific advice on ‘Coronavirus and your wellbeing’. www.mind.org.uk
YoungMinds: Supporting children and young people and their parents/carers with their mental health and wellbeing. Specific advice on managing self-isolation and anxiety about coronavirus. https://youngminds.org.uk
ICON: Babies cry: You can cope. http://iconcope.org/
SafeLives: Specific resources for domestic abuse and COVID. http://safelives.org.uk/news-views/domesticabuse-and-covid-19
IRISi interventions: irisi.org/iris/find-your-local-iris-site/
MENCAP: The voice of learning disability, has an easy read guide for any individuals with learning disability on their website www.mencap.org.uk
We thank our patients for their understanding during this time of unprecedented challenge for the NHS, and our staff for their unwavering dedication and hard work in caring for our patients.
The Partners
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Patient Information on Coronavirus
The latest information on symptoms of coronovirus infection and areas where recent travel may have resulted in a high risk of exposure can be found on
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/