COVID-19 & Practice updates

Covid vaccination status

Information regarding your COVID vaccination certification.

We are unable to issue this certificate at the practice.

Please see the Gov.uk website for further information.

Proof of your vaccination status will be available on the NHS app, which is also valuable for accessing your health records and ordering repeat prescriptions.

The NHS app can be downloaded from here for iPhone or here for android.

Alternatively, you can call the NHS helpline on 119 (from 17 May) and ask for a letter to be posted to you. This must be at least 5 days after you’ve completed your course of the vaccine, the letter may to take up to 5 days to reach you.

Kind regards Darwen Healthlink

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS

We have all heard the good news that the vast majority of restrictions are due to be lifted on July 19th, and this is great news for our local businesses and venues. We wish them all the success in getting back on their feet and back to normal.

But due to the high levels of Covid infections in our area, we as a Surgery will be maintaining our current processes.

This means that we ask if you could please continue to wear a face covering when attending the surgery (unless you are exempt). Practice staff will also continue to wear face coverings.

Appointments with GPs and ANP's will still be on a telephone triage basis before being allocated to a face to face appointment if this is needed.

We understand that this may be frustrating, but we are still seeing a high number of positive Covid cases every day and we need to carry on protecting or staff and patients whilst in our Practice environment.

We are hopeful that this will be a short term decision and we will keep you updated on any changes.

Finally, we would like to say a huge 'THANK YOU' to all of our patients and families for your continued support throughout this pandemic.

COVID UPDATE: Lancashire mass vaccination hub

Now that more doses of Covid-19 vaccines are available, the NHS is able to open more vaccination services in Lancashire and South Cumbria, including large Vaccination Centres and, in the near future, pharmacies.

People who are eligible, live near these new vaccination services and who haven’t already been vaccinated by their local GP led vaccination services or hospital hub, will receive letters from the NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service, telling them how they can book their appointment.

The NHS is rolling out additional services quickly, but it remains important that the public don’t try to book or go to these services before they receive their booking letter.

If you receive a letter from the national NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service and you book an appointment, please make sure you attend it. The sooner you get your vaccination, when eligible, the earlier you will be protected from Covid-19.

Vaccination centres offer an important additional option for people who are eligible, and we expect more sites to be available across Lancashire and South Cumbria in the coming days and weeks.

Please don’t delay having your vaccine, but if you can’t travel to a vaccination centre or you would rather wait for an appointment closer to home, you can choose to do that, and your local GP-led service will be in touch soon to offer an alternative.

In Lancashire and South Cumbria, we expect to put in place additional Vaccination Centres over the coming weeks in Central Lancashire, Fylde Coast, Morecambe Bay and Pennine Lancashire. As soon as these are ready and available they will appear on the national NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Booking Service.

We are continuing to vaccinate patients over the age of 80 years of age and are inviting people in according to the criteria and prioritisation set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Like the rest of the NHS we are working to offer vaccines to everyone in the top priority groups by the middle of February.

Please do not contact us if you haven’t received an invite yet. We are very busy at the moment and doing so could prevent a patient who needs our help from getting through. We will contact you when it is the right time for you to book your appointment.

Darwen Healthlink are pleased to announce that they will be taking part in one of the very first covid vaccination community clinics. We are working alongside Blackburn with Darwen to deliver this service to our patients so please don't telephone the practice to enquire about getting your vaccination if you think you are eligible. We will contact you with an invitation to book. Our telephone lines are extremely busy at present and we need to ensure that we are there for the patients who are acutely unwell.

Legal Duty to self-isolate after a positive COVID-19 Test

Legal duty to self-isolate - people in England will be required by law to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid-19 or are contacted by NHS Test and Trace. Fines will also be introduced from today for those breaching self-isolation rules, starting at £1,000, in line with the existing penalty for breaking quarantine after international travel. This could increase to up to £10,000 for repeat offences and the most serious breaches, including for those preventing others from self-isolating. Employers who force or allow staff to come to work when they should be selfisolating will also be liable for fines of up to £10,000.

Access to General Practice

Your GP Practice is still open

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, how you contact your GP surgery will be different at the moment. This is to limit face-face contact where possible and help stop the spread of coronavirus
Face-to-face appointments are available to all patients, but you may be asked to discuss your conditions over the phone or online first to assess what would be most appropriate for you.
In addition to face-to-face consultations, many GP practices are offering consultations online or over the phone. This can be a convenient and flexible way to receive healthcare but if you would prefer to see a GP or healthcare professional in person then this will be arranged for you.

Ways to seek healthcare advice from a GP

Call your surgery to discuss a face-to-face or virtual (telephone or video) appointment
Call NHS 111 or go online to seek advice https://111.nhs.uk/
Download the NHS App to order repeat prescriptions, book appointments and check your symptoms

Access to General Practice

What happens if I need an appointment?

Please do not attend to the surgery if at all possible to book an appointment.
You can contact us via telephone on 01254 226600 or use the MyGp App to book an available telephone slot.
When you contact the surgery for an appointment your receptionist will book you a telephone call slot.
The GP or Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) will then call you to discuss your problem.
If necessary the GP or ANP will invite you to the surgery to been seen face to face or alternatively manage your problem via the telephone or video call.
If you are asked to come into the surgery for a face to face appointment, please remember to wear a face covering.
Measures are in place to keep you safe from infection if you are invited to the surgery.

Wearing face masks

The government is advising that the public is to consider wearing face coverings in enclosed public spaces such as shops, when using public transport and visiting health settings including GP surgeries, to help reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Darwen Healthlink is therefore promoting the use of face mask if at all possible when you attend the practice. Further guidance on this can be found using the links below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-advised-to-cover-faces-in-enclosed-spaces

Guide on making your own face mask

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering