Flu Season 2020

Dear Patients

The government has extended it’s flu vaccination programme to include 50-64 year old patients, wanting to begin vaccinations from November 2020 after prioritising shielded patients, at risk health groups and over 65’s; however this depends on national supplies. We currently do not hold stock to be able to provide this service and have no order process from government stores as of yet. Further information should become available in November on how the government plans to supply the vaccination and we will then contact you personally if you are eligible. In the meantime we kindly ask that you do not contact the surgery to try to book a vaccination. We will communicate with you when we have stock and are able to provide this additional service.

We do have reserved stock for the prioritised population as mentioned above and will begin inviting patients in when stock arrives in October, with increased social distancing measures in place due to Covid guidelines. We will be contacting these patients who are eligible in the next 4 weeks. 

Many thanks

West Hoe Surgery GP Partners

IMPORTANT NOTICE

West Hoe Surgery and Pandemic Coronavirus

Until further notice West Hoe Surgery will be seeing patient by arrangement only.

Please do not attend the surgery unless you have been asked to attend. The front door is open for those who have a pre-arranged appointment only, with a Doctor or Nurse. If you have any queries regarding prescriptions, sick notes etc, please DO NOT attend the surgery, you must phone on 01752 660105 or use the eConsult system (please see below for information or click on the Reception tab, Online Consultation, above). We are also now able to offer online consultations on weekends via Push Doctor. See below for details.

PLEASE NOTE – we are now in our new building at 2 Pier Street, PL1 3BS. This is directly behind the old building.

CORONAVIRUS

Please STOP and THINK

For the most up to date information on Coronavirus symptoms, testing and general queries please visit the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Please like us on FACEBOOK for regular updates and information about West Hoe Surgery.

Push Doctor – Online Consultation Service

Push Doctor services are now available at West Hoe Surgery.

You could be referred to use Push Doctor through the week or if required you can book an appointment directly for a video appointment on Fridays, between 6:30pm and 8pm & weekends between 8am and 8pm!

To book, go to https://www.pushdoctor.co.uk and create your individual account today.

Prescriptions

Requests for paper prescriptions should now be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope so that we may post them. Please post paper requests into the post box found at the back door of the surgery. Alternatively, please either use the online prescription service or request prescriptions via email: westhoe.surgery@nhs.net. In any case, please nominate a pharmacy where you will have your prescription sent electronically. Information on prescription services is available on the practice website. Only current quantities of medication will be issued.

NHS App

The NHS App is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.

Use the NHS App to:

• get advice about coronavirus
• order repeat prescriptions
• book appointments
• check your symptoms
• view your medical record
• register to be an organ donor
• find out how the NHS uses your data

For further information please go to the NHS App option under the Reception tab at the top of our website or visit https://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/nhs-app/

eConsult – Online Consultation service

Face coverings

If you are unsure of wearing a face covering in public please visit the government website for further information https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own

Here you can also find exemption cards should you need one.

Young Devon Counselling Service

The Young Devon counselling service for Plymouth schools is still open and available to provide a remote service for pupils. They  are offering mental health and wellbeing support, including assessments, counselling and listening; dependent on what would be most helpful at this time. All sessions are run remotely and can be accessed via Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, email and phone. They are still here; providing a flexible wellbeing offer to suit young people’s needs or preferences during this difficult time.

Young Devon Plymouth Wellbeing Flyer

Young Devon Wellbeing Toolkit

The Caring for Plymouth Support Hub

The operation to shield Plymouth’s most vulnerable residents from the coronavirus is now up and running. Caring for Plymouth, which is an alliance between the Council, Livewell Southwest and a large number of Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, will ensure that people who are medically vulnerable are provided with emotional support, shopping, medicine collection, support with paying bills and accessing money. In addition, the Caring for Plymouth Support Hub will support other vulnerable older and disabled people who are affected by Covid 19 and who have no-one to support them to maintain their independence. For further information on this new service please visit: 

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/newsroom/pressreleases/caringplymouthsupporthublaunches

or phone: 01752 668000 between 8am and 6pm

Message from Barnardo’s Plymouth:

As you may know Barnardo’s Children’s centres Plymouth are currently closed due to COVID 19, but we are working hard to maintain a high level of virtual support and contact with our families.
Please see attached a poster detailing a new service we are providing as from today.
Four members of the Early Support team will be providing information, advice, guidance and parenting tips and ideas, responding to email enquiries received in the new “support” email address. support@barnardos.org.uk
Families can state when they email what method of return communication they would prefer. This could be either a telephone call or an email response.
The information will also be posted on the Barnardo’s Face Book page today.

Caring for Carers

Due to COVID-19 the Caring for Carers service by Improving Lives Plymouth is running a little differently, but support is still available. Please take a look at the following links:

https://www.improvinglivesplymouth.org.uk/our-services/caring-for-carers/caring-for-carers-covid-19-information 

There is also a link to Improving Lives Plymouth’s other services with their contact numbers and details of how they can help.   

https://www.improvinglivesplymouth.org.uk/ 

Newsletter for Carers: https://mailchi.mp/54eb1202cc73/carers-news-edition-20  

If you require any information about the Improving Lives Service or support available to carers you can contact 01752 201890. 

Staying well at home

Livewell Southwest and Plymouth City Council have put together an information leaflet about how to stay well at home. Please see the link below for more information:

Staying Well at Home

Self-Certification during COVID-19

People unable to work for more than seven days because of COVID-19 can obtain an isolation note through a new online service.

Isolation notes will provide employees with evidence for their employers that they have been advised to self-isolate due to COVID-19, either because they have symptoms or they live with someone who has symptoms, and so cannot work.

As isolation notes can be obtained without contacting a doctor, this will reduce the pressure on GP surgeries and prevent people needing to leave their homes.

For the first seven days off work, employees can self-certify so they don’t need any evidence for their employer. After that, employers may ask for evidence of sickness absence. Where this is related to having symptoms of COVID-19 or living with someone who has symptoms, the isolation note can be used to provide evidence of the advice to self-isolate.

People who need to claim Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance because of COVID-19 will not be required to produce a fit note or an isolation note.

The notes can be accessed online at https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note. After answering a few questions, an isolation note will be emailed to the user. If they don’t have an email address, they can have the note sent to a trusted family member or friend, or directly to their employer. The service can also be used to generate an isolation note on behalf of someone else.

The isolation note service can be accessed via the 111 online COVID-19 service or NHS.UK/coronavirus as well as via the NHS app.

In the event that the online 111 service is unavailable or does not work we have a self-certification form, if you require one, for your employer during this time. It can be found under the ‘Reception’ tab, MED3 Fit Notes section.

Your mental health during this time

If you are feeling low, anxious or feel you need help with your mental health please see the link below for details of places where you can seek help and advice:

Mental Health Help Available

Stay Scam Aware during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has seen an increase in scams and doorstep traders who are trying to exploit fear and uncertainty during this difficult time. Please see this leaflet from Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service for further information:

Explaining Coronavirus to children

Please visit the link to view a book explaining Coronavirus to children, illustrated by Axel Scheffler:

https://nosycrowcoronavirus.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Coronavirus_ABookForChildren.pdf

Lastly, don’t forget to check elderly and vulnerable friends, family and neighbours are OK and have what they need. Thank you to all for your help at this time.

WE HAVE MOVED TO OUR NEW BUILDING

2 Pier Street

West Hoe

Plymouth

PL1 3BS

The Doctors and staff at West Hoe Surgery in Plymouth are proud to offer the highest standard of patient-centred healthcare. We run many clinics for the management of chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes and offer a wide variety of other medical services including antenatal and postnatal care, minor surgery, childhood vaccinations and well-person check-ups.

In addition to everything you need to know about the Practice you will also find a wealth of health-related information in the menus across the top of the website. Please have a look around and do send us some feedback if you like.