Social Distancing advice 

follow link 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

Advice on self-isolation for patients and staff

 If you have a persistent cough and/or a fever or a loss/ change to smell or taste please follow the advice below, it’s the best way for us all to protect others especially those most at risk of serious illness. Please stay indoors, confined in your house. If possible, use a separate bathroom. If this is not possible, wipe down toilet and sink surfaces with an anti-bacterial spray after you have used it.

REMEMBER the advice regarding tissues

• Catch it, bin it, kill it

REMEMBER the advice on regular hand washing

• Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, as long as it takes to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice

• if you live alone and you have symptoms of coronavirus illness (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home for 7 days from when your symptoms started.

• if you live with others and you or one of them have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill

• it is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community

• for anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14-day isolation period.

• if you can, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period

• if you cannot move vulnerable people out of your home, stay away from them as much as possible

• if you have coronavirus symptoms:

• do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital

• you do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home

• testing for coronavirus is not needed if you’re staying at home

• plan ahead and ask others for help to ensure that you can successfully stay at home and consider what can be done for vulnerable people in the household

• ask your employer, friends and family to help you to get the things you need to stay at home

• wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, each time using soap and water, or use hand sanitiser

• if you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home, or your condition gets worse, or your symptoms do not get better after 7 days, then use the NHS 111 onlinecoronavirus service. If you do not have internet access, call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999

• COVID info for patients with underlying medical conditions

  Please follow link below for condition / disease specific advice for eg asthma, diabetes ,anxiety , pregnancy , cancer, inflammatory  bowel disease amongst others.

  Links Patient information Coronavirus

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  COVID19 Diabetes information link, including sick day rules advice

  https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/coronavirus

  Diabetes and COVID-19

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  Letters to High Risk Patients
  Patients considered to be very high risk  for COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions will have  received a letter from NHS Business
  Services or from their hospital specialist department advising them to shield ( stay at home at all times and avoid any face
  to face  contact  for at least  twelve weeks)
  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/advice-for-people-at-high-risk/
  
  General practice has now  identified other potentially high risk patients and has written to those patients

Fit Notes 

• Patients do not need their GP to verify they need to self-isolate, NHS 111 have system to deliver digital verification. Please visit https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/ to get an isolation note or alternatively  please click on the following for a letter from Judges Close Surgery that you can give  to your employer 

Letter from Judges Close Surgery re fit notes for Covid- 19

COVID-19 Holiday cancellation letters

We would politely ask patients not to request  their GP to write letters in order for people to cancel holidays due to COVID -19

The Royal College of General Practice supports this request
"Insurers and travel companies should be basing their decisions to offer refunds on advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Public Health England, not letters from GPs"

"Patients will undoubtedly have good and sensible reasons for not wanting to travel to certain places because of Covid-19, but this is not the same as being unable to travel due to existing illness, and it should not become the GP's responsibility to give patients advice about where not to travel."

Unfortunately writing such letters takes the GP away from caring for our patients at what will undoubtedly be a very busy time. We thank you for your understanding in this matter.