A special message from Modality Partnership to all patients re COVID-19 https://youtu.be/DRdFMafgQpI

Returning to school

When should you check whether your child’s cold is COVID-19?

As children start heading back to school, it’s the time of year when they start to get lots of colds, as they mix with all of their friends in the classroom after the summer break. Of course this year it’s been a much longer break with the recent COVID 19 infection. It is highly likely that quite a lot of children will end up with coughs and sniffles and it’s going to be difficult for people to decide how worrying this should be.

Colds are extremely common in young children and usually present with symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing and sometimes a fruity-sounding cough. Some children will be asthmatic or get a wheeze with viruses too. Most children will not be particularly unwell with these illnesses.

But when should you check whether your child’s cold is COVID-19? There are several symptoms that you need to look out for which mean that you should isolate your child and the rest of the family.  Some evidence from King’s College in London suggests the five most common symptoms reported in under 18s related to COVID-19are headache, fatigue, fever, sore throat and skipping meals. If you child is feverish, has a new continuous cough (so not their “usual” wheezy cough) or loses their sense of taste or smell, then you should follow the Government guidance.  This means you and the family will need to self-isolate for at least 10 days, and book online for a swab test for coronavirus.

We understand that this may be very difficult for you and your family, but this advice is extremely important to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are protected. This vulnerable group may include those dear to you, so it is essential that this advice is followed.

Further information on what to do with minor illness in children and when to worry is available here:

 http://www.whenshouldiworry.com/resources/When%20should%20I%20worry-Booklet_England-with%20111%20service_2016.pdf

EPS - Electronic prescribing - From the 7th September 2020 most prescriptions will now be signed , sent and processed electronically.

Please inform reception if there is a particular pharmacy you would like your prescriptions to go to.

Please follow the link below for more information;

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/pharmacies/electronic-prescription-service/

FLU Vaccinations

Our flu vaccination clinics are now open , we will be contacting eligible patients to invite them to book an appointment .

We are currently not offering flu vaccinations to the 50 - 64 year age group unless they are in an eligible group. We await further government guidance on vaccinating this group of patients but this will be subject to vaccine supply .

Coronavirus Information

When should you check whether your child’s cold is COVID-19? please click link for further information

School advice

Masks or face coverings

The surgery is unable to provide face masks for any face to face appointments that you may have ; however if you have your own we would encourage you to wear them whilst attending the surgery .

Letter of exemption from wearing face masks - GP's will not be able to provide patients with a letter for exemption from wearing a face mask, however you can visit one of the following websites where you can print out a letter for yourself explaining your exemption.

https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/face-coverings#on-this-page-2

https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/coronavirus/what-should-people-with-a-lung-condition-do-now/face-coverings

https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/triggers/coronavirus-covid-19/what-should-people-with-asthma-do-now/#Facemask

Join a COVID-19 clinical trial

The PRINCIPLE trial aims to find treatments that reduce hospital admission and improve symptoms for people with COVID-19. You could be eligible to join if

You have had these symptoms for fewer than 15 days:

a continuous new or worsening cough
a high temperature

You are aged 50 to 64 with a pre-existing illness
You are aged 65 and above

Find out more about Covid -19 trial www.principletrial.org

Your East Grinstead GP is still open for business. Please do not neglect your important health needs and concerns during the current COVID-19 situation.

Patients will be offered a phone or video consultation initially. Should you need to attend your GP Practice we are taking care to make your visit as risk free as possible with stringent infection control procedures including waiting in your car if you arrive by car, prior to your assessment. As there are fewer ‘face-to-face’ appointments we are able to maintain social distancing within the waiting areas. Please contact your GP Practice by telephone. Please make use of 111 and your local pharmacy for simple illnesses of which hay fever is increasingly common at this time of year.

Important message for parents

“At this challenging time, it is extremely important for you to know that COVID-19 is unlikely to make your child unwell, but they like everyone else might be infectious so staying at home when well remains the message. However, all the ‘normal’ illnesses that can make children severely unwell still remain and there is a major risk that parents may delay bringing their child to the attention of a healthcare professionals even if they are unwell because of concerns about COVID-19. GPs and hospitals are still providing the same safe care that they have always done for children. If you are not sure if your child is unwell and whether they need to be seen, click here https://www.what0-18.nhs.uk/national ,call 111 or contact your GP. If your child appears severely unwell and advice is not quickly available call 999 or take them to ED as you would in other times.”

Changes to Appointments at the Practice

In line with national advice, we are trying to reduce footfall in the practice this helps prevent the spread of the virus. This benefits staff and patients. The following changes have been implemented to keep our patients safe.

All GP appointments will be converted to telephone triage calls; please do not attend the practice if you have a pre-booked appointment. The clinician will call you and if you need to be seen they will arrange a time and place for you to attend.
Nursing appointments will be changing, we will be ceasing the following procedures for the time being; spirometry, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
Nursing appointments will continue at this time for; all wound management, stitch removal, INR clinics, vitamin B12 injections, zoladex injections, densoumab injections, child immunisations, baby checks, cervical screening and clinically indicated urgent blood tests for those undergoing treatment for serious conditions.
Asthma, Diabetes and COPD reviews will be conducted over the telephone with patients.

Further advice and guidance is available on the NHS website here:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Please be patient with us during this very difficult period, by working together and following the available guidance we will get through this.