IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

West Hoe Surgery are sad to announce the retirement of Dr Philippa Chapman, her last working day at the practice is 31^st March 2022.

Dr Chapman has been a part of the West Hoe team since 2002. After her many years of dedicated service to the practice, we would like to wish her well in her retirement.  She will be greatly missed by staff and patients.

Due to the current Covid-19 situation we are unable to give her the big send-off she deserves. If you have any goodwill messages you would like passed on to Dr Chapman please email Westhoe.surgery@nhs.net or send to the Surgery c/o Jo Lloyd-Davies, Practice Manager.

Coronavirus Update 07.01.2022

The NHS in Devon is expecting to be very busy in January due to a predicted surge in Omicron cases, peaking in mid-January.

Even with very high vaccination uptake in our patients and staff, the spread of COVID-19 is already having a significant impact on NHS staff absences and this is likely to become worse. This will further impact on staffing and will cause more disruption to wider health and services.

Every additional person with COVID-19 impacts on the ability of the NHS to carry out other important work.  For example, for every inpatient in hospital with COVID-19, on average more than eight other operations are postponed.

To prepare for this surge in January and the impact on staffing,  we might need to:

• Reduce non-urgent work, for example routine check-ups, routine monitoring, minor surgery
• Starting each consultation with a telephone/video call.  We need to limit exposure for both patients and staff but anyone who needs to be seen face-to-face patient contact will be, where it’s safe to do
• Limit the staff working in our practice to reduce the risk of outbreaks
• Cancel and/or rearrange your appointment short notice

We will continue strictly applying infection control precautions such as masks,  ventilation, social distancing and hand sanitiser along with regular staff testing.

By ensuring these measures are in place, we will keep our practice open and therefore support our local hospitals, ambulances and out of hours services.

Our practice will review the situation each week as we learn more about the impact Omicron on NHS services in Devon.

How can you help?

 Please be patient and kind to our staff who are working under extreme pressure

• Get your COVID-19 booster vaccination as soon as possible if you haven’t already.  Many people in intensive care units in Devon are young and unvaccinated.    Walk-in vaccination sessions in Plymouth  https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/newsroom/mainstories/walkinvaccinationsessionsweek  or call 119 to book your appointment or online https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/
• Continue to follow national guidance about wearing face coverings, social distancing and any other restrictions that are in place.

What Restrictions will look like at West Hoe Surgery after 19th July 2021.

For the time being there will be no changes here at the practice.  Patients coming to the surgery will still need to wear a mask, use the hand sanitiser and socially distance.  Our staff will continue to wear appropriate PPE.

We have made this decision as often patients coming to the surgery are sick, vulnerable and maybe unvaccinated due to medical reasons, so we feel that these precautions will help to protect everyone.

We also need to minimise the number of our staff catching Covid so we can keep a functioning service, so for this reason alone these measures are vital.  

Our doors are open but we will still limit the number of patients that can be in the surgery at any one time.

Our consultations will continue, these might be offered as a telephone, face to face or video. It is worth noting that we are consulting with much higher numbers of patients than we ever did before the pandemic, so you may have to wait longer for your routine appointment. For this reason we are encouraging patients to download the PushDoctor app so that they can consult a GP online.

We hope you will understand why we need to continue with these measures and keep the surgery as safe for everyone as we can.  We have all come so far in trying to minimise the impact of Covid, let’s continue to stay safe together.  

Thank you for your understanding.

NHS England have created an animation to help explain to the public how they can continue to access GP services, including how to get in contact, the different ways care may be delivered, and how face-to-face appointments have changed. 

CORONAVIRUS

For current information on Covid-19 please visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/   

Please take a look at our Covid-19 page by clicking on the Covid-19 Tile.

Push Doctor – Online Consultation Service

Patient consultation rates have increased during the Covid-19 Pandemic. We now offer an Online service via Push Doctor, which may benefit you.

Did you know you can now see a doctor without leaving the house?

See an NHS GP, whenever suits you. All you need is a laptop, smartphone or tablet. 

Secure appointments with access to your complete medical history. 

Get started at PushDoctor.co.uk/NHS, or download the Push Doctor app to book an appointment whenever suits you. 

Appointments are available between 6:30pm – 8:00pm Monday to Friday and over the weekend between 8:00am – 8:00pm 

Link to site –  https://www.pushdoctor.co.uk/

eConsult – Online Consultation service

To access eConsult please click on the ‘Online Consultation’ tile. 

West Hoe Surgery is part of Waterside Health Network – Primary Care Network