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Covid-19 Vaccination Update for All Patients – See News Page

Covid Vaccination Update Oakwood Medical Centre 2021

7^th January 2021

Following the announcement concerning the lockdown in England on the 4th January 2021 please remember we are still open and here for you when you need us. 

Like many across the country some of our staff will now be shielding, as well as dealing with caring and childcare responsibilities. While we are doing what we can to facilitate flexible and home working as well as reorganising workloads, there will now be extra pressure on the practice to continue to work alongside reduced capacity.  

At the same time we are working very hard to roll out the vaccine as quickly and as safely as possible, which obviously has an impact on our manpower in practice. 

We are asking you to be patient with us if some things take a little longer than you would normally expect from us, or if we are asking you to do things slightly differently from normal. Please understand we are working as hard as we can to keep everyone safe. 

You can still use the online consulting option on our website here: https://www.oakwoodmedicalcentrebarnton.nhs.uk/online-consulting/

You can call us on 01606 544 241 between 8.30-6.00 every weekday, but please have patience if it takes a little longer to get through, especially at peak times. 

If you have a query that can wait please feel free to post it in to us, or you can use the online consulting option. 

Patients will still be seen in practice after triage, as they have been throughout the pandemic, and we continue to offer support for our most vulnerable patients if clinically necessary via home visits, as well as supporting our care homes. 

To help save you time we would ask that any general queries about COVID-19 and fit notes or shielding are directed to the gov.uk website initially. 

As always, if you have any queries or concerns please contact Laura Clare on Vrccg.oakwoodmanagers@nhs.net 

For more information on our covid vaccination programme please see the practice webpage here: https://www.oakwoodmedicalcentrebarnton.nhs.uk/covid-19-vaccination/

On behalf of the entire practice we want to thank our patients for your support during this difficult time.

Thank you

The Partners, Oakwood Medical Centre

Practice Update Sept/Oct 2020

Please see our Practice Update for September / October 2020. Thank you

Your Feedback Needed

We need your feedback on your experiences of healthcare during the pandemic. Healthwatch, an independent body, has created a survey for the people of Northwich to add their oppinions of their healthcare during Covid-19. Please follow the link and complete the survey, it should only take 5-10 minutes of your time.

Thank you

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DXMCRK9

Covid-19 Recovery Advice

Please see the information in the link below for advice on managing your recovery from Covid-19.

If you have concerns please contact the practice.

Look after your mental health during the pandemic

Local NHS Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership (CWP), has launched a new mental health helpline for residents of Cheshire West, Cheshire East and Wirral.
Open 24 hours a day, seven-days a week, it is open to people of all ages including children and young people who need urgent mental health support.
The helpline is part of the NHS Long Term Plan to improve access to mental health support. Originally due to go live next year, it has been fast-tracked to be available to support local people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

What to do if you need urgent mental health help:

• Please call 0300 303 3972 and our dedicated local NHS staff will support you to access the help you need;
  The helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is open to people of all ages – including children and young people;
  The helpline is now the first port of call for mental health help – it is operated by people in your local area who will know how best to support you. If you call NHS111 you may have to wait longer for help and will be re-directed to this local service – so call 0300 303 3972;
• Please note, A&E and 999 are not the best places to get help for the majority of mental health problems – call 0300 303 3972 to be directed to the best local service to support you;
• You should still call 999 or go to A&E if you have an immediate, life-threatening emergency requiring mental or physical health assistance;
• For non-urgent help and general wellbeing advice, the CWP website contains information and links to resources to support people with anxiety, low mood, and worries relating to the current Covid-19 pandemic www.cwp.nhs.uk 
  For children and young people there is also a dedicated website MyMind.org.uk

How your GP Practice can help

Some GP Practices across Northwich will be offering a counselling service over the telephone with Healthbox (please see their website for more information: https://www.healthboxcic.com/services/mental-health-services/adult-counselling/)

To ask about this service please contact your GP surgery either through e-consult or via telephone.

Self-referral may be possible in the near future, please check back for more information.

Coronavirus & Pharmacies

The local pharmacies are experiencing a huge demand in prescriptions at this time.

They are taking slightly longer to process prescriptions and it can be up to a week from when we issue the prescription to when they have it available.

They are also experiencing issues with staffing and therefore their phone lines are often busy.

Unfortunately we have no direct line to the local pharmacies and therefore cannot process queries on their behalf, nor can we pass messages on to them.  Please do not contact us about a pharmacy issue as we will also struggle to contact them.

What can I do?

• Please ensure you do not ‘panic’ order your medication – only order what you need when you need it.
• You can order up to 10 days early but no more – this is to reduce the demand on the pharmacies as well as the GPs.
• Ensure you have signed up for Electronic Prescribing and Online Ordering so that you can keep a track of your prescription yourself.  Most pharmacies are offering a text service or e-mail service where they will contact you when it is ready.
• Please do not request a delivery service if you do not normally use one.  The current guidance is still that you can move outside your home for medical needs, including collecting prescriptions.  If you are struggling to do this please ask a neighbour, friend or a local volunteer group to collect on your behalf.
• Please do not ask the surgery to take your request over the phone as guidelines are still to order online where you can, and our reception team can help you set this up, or you can order by using our post box; you do not need to come into the surgery to do this.  Alternatively a friend, neighbour or volunteer can do this on your behalf.