Welcome to Baddow Village Surgery

New Practice Manager

Following the retirement of Alana Shears, we have welcomed Richard Hartwell as Practice Manager.

COVID BOOSTER - 4th vaccine

updated 14 April 2021

Baddow Village Surgery are providing booster vaccinations for our care home and housebound patients aged 75 and over only.  If you have not had a call to arrange a visit by Friday 6 May please call the Surgery.

Patients who do not fall into the above categories and are eligible should book their  vaccination or go to a walk in centre - the details are below.

Where can I book my booster vaccine?

• A list of walk-in Covid-19 vaccination sites is available at:  https://www.essexcovidvaccine.nhs.uk/

·       Pre-bookable appointments are also available at large vaccination centres and sites such as a community pharmacies.

·       A Walk In vaccination centre is open at County Hall in Chelmsford 

 How do I book my booster vaccine?

·       Pre-booked appointments can be made online at  Book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - NHS (www.nhs.uk). The website is experiencing high demand at the moment so you may be held in a queue for a short time. Please be patient and keep trying

You can also book by calling the CCG Central Referral Team:

Contact number: 0300 123 0771 - Open Mon – Fri, 8am – 6pm

New Online Appointments

We have now set up online appointments for medication reviews with our clinical pharmacists

If you receive a text from the clinical pharmacy team to book a medication review please book into one of our online slots.

If your dispensary (not the Surgery dispensary) advises you need to renew your medication please do not book a medication review unless one of our team asks you to do so.  It is not always necessary to have a review if you have up to date results such as blood tests and blood pressure readings - please just request your medication from the Surgery and someone will advise you when you do need a review.

We have also set up online appointments for certain vaccinations, NHS Health Checks and smears.

When booking an appointment online please ensure you book an appropriate appointment with the correct clinician.  Booking incorrectly will waste an appointment and your time.

Information about appointments is on the Booking Appointment page using SystmOnline

Thank you for your cooperation.

Staff Shortages

We continue to have absences due to COVID.  Our staff are required to test twice weekly in line with the latest guidance for healthcare settings.

There is an ongoing national issue with recruitment and retention of staff in Primary Care.

The staff shortages cover all areas within the Practice and we ask our patients to be tolerant of our current difficulties.

 Appointments

If you provide our reception team with information as to why you need an appointment, they will be able to guide you to the right professional at the right time.

Many issues can be managed via telephone. A patient can be called by a GP/ANP to assess their condition and if deemed necessary by the clinician the patient can be brought into the Surgery for a physical examination. 

We cannot book every patient with a face to face appointment. Patients with respiratory illnesses cannot be admitted to the waiting area and arrangements will be made with the GP/ANP to safely admit you to the surgery and examine you in an allocated respiratory room.

This protocol is to protect YOU, other patients and our staff.

You may be directed to a community pharmacist, optician, dentist or community nursing team when appropriate. These services are commissioned to support your management in the community.

Please DO NOT shout at our reception team members because they cannot book a face to face appointment without the patient first speaking to a GP/ANP.

We have a zero tolerance approach to abusive and intimidating behaviour.  All calls are recorded and we will follow the policy and issue warnings/remove patients from our practice list as appropriate.

May 2022 FACE MASK UPDATE

England still requires patients and staff to wear face coverings in healthcare settings.

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/

National Guidance for Suspected Coronavirus Cases

• If you feel unwell or have a temperature with symptoms of Covid-19 or flu-like symptoms, please try to stay at home, avoid contact with others and follow the gov.uk advice.
• Try to work from home, if possible. Speak to your employer about the options available to you.
• If you have a medical or dental appointment, or have others coming to work in your home, please let them know you are unwell beforehand.
• If you do leave your home, please wear a face covering and avoid crowded or enclosed places and stay away from those at high risk from Covid-19.

• 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.

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 permanently home the PCN clinical pharmacists.

As part of the Chelmsford City Health Primary Care Network, we have successfully delivered part of the Covid-19 vaccination programme; recruited a team of clinical pharmacist and pharmacy technicians; and now employ a team of social prescribers to support our patients.  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. This has helped enormously with long term disease monitoring. We have restarted our BP machine loaning system; 24 hour blood pressure monitoring; and there is now surgery pod, which allows patients to attend at a time convenient to them to check their blood pressure in addition to other clinical information gathering.

We are participating in an AI powered Teledermatology system, which allows 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.

Safeguarding our Patients

We are mindful of the impact of the pandemic for our patients' health and wellbeing. 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 

* * * * * * * *