OUR WEBSITE WILL BE CHANGING!
As part of a pilot project being run by NHS England, Neetside Surgery has been chosen to offer its patients the new GP Practice Standardised Website.
Our current website, familiar to many of you, has served us well over many years, however it does now need a substantial upgrade to accommodate the increasing amount of information required to be on it and the volume of activity now having to be run from it—TOTAL TRIAGE, for example.
Our new website migration is being managed by Spindogs (a UK website provider and digital transformation specialist) with work being carried out in the background throughout October and November. This part of the process will not affect our patients in any way. Once the new website is ready and working correctly, the old website will be retired and the new one will replace it. The proposed date for this to happen is now Thursday 12th December (and not 21st November as originally planned).
FLU & COVID VACCINATION CLINICS are now complete
Our annual flu and Covid booster vaccination clinics have now been completed. For all other local options please use the National Booking Service or call 119 to find your appointment options
RSV - RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of coughs and colds. It usually gets better by itself, but it can be serious for some babies and older adults, occasionally causing bronchiolitis in young children and pneumonia. From September 2024 we are now able to offer vaccinations to those who are at highest risk of serious illness from RSV infection.
We are currently inviting people in the 75 to 79 year-old age range - 75 on or after 1st September 2024 - to attend for vaccination.
Pregnant women who are 28 weeks gestation or over will also be offered the vaccine. If you fall into this category, please speak to your midwife.
If you wish to know more about RSV and the vaccination click HERE
NEW TOTAL TRIAGE APPOINTMENT BOOKING NOW LIVE!
Our new TOTAL TRIAGE system went live on 8th October 2024. We are now using this way of working for all GP and Emergency Care Appointments. Practice Nurse, Healthcare Assistant and Phlebotomy appointments remain unchanged. To find out more please read our September newsletter. We are delighted to say that patient feedback has been very positive so far.
Our team will be ready to guide you through the new way of booking in and will try to make it as easy as possible. Although it will feel unfamiliar at first, we are confident that this new system will better serve the healthcare needs of all our Neetside Surgery patients. Thank you for your continued co-operation and kindness.
PRIMARY CARE HUB AT STRATTON HOSPITAL
A Primary Care Hub has now been set up at Stratton Hospital to enable you to see a health professional more quickly. It will be available on some Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Although the Hub started as a pilot project through May and June 2024, this has now been extended through to the end of March 2025. We are delighted to say it has proved very popular and feedback overwhelmingly positive.
The hubs are offering additional appointments for people with minor illness symptoms, and the staff who work in them will be local Advanced Practitioners and GPs.
You can access the hub only through your own GP practice who will advise if the hub is appropriate for you, using a number of eligibility criteria, some of which are:
- You are aged between 2 and 70
- You have a single minor ailment: urinary tract infection, a simple skin infection, an acute Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) condition, for example
- You do not have any pre-existing chronic conditions
- You require a face-to-face consultation for medical reasons
- You are registered at any of the practices within the Coast & Country Primary Care Network (Bradworthy, Holsworthy, Hatherleigh, Neetside and Stratton Medical Centres)
- You are able to get to Stratton Hospital
We hope patients will find this a useful addition to services already being offered by the network practices. It does not replace existing services, so patients who are not eligible to attend by age or medical condition, may continue to use their own practice services as directed.
READ OUR OCTOBER & NOVEMBER VACCINATION NEWSLETTER
We are delighted to have a monthly newsletter, keeping our patients as up to date as possible with national and local healthcare initiatives and services.
For our latest newsletter please click OCTOBER/NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
USE NHS 111
Did you know you know you can get help and advice by calling 111 or go online at 111.nhs.uk? You may not need to go and wait in the busy emergency departments and could be directed to a minor injury unit which will be quicker and closer to home.
Only dial 999 for an ambulance in a genuine, life-threatening emergency, for example:
- Chest pain / breathing difficulties / heart attack
- Stroke
- Severe bleeding
- Severe allergic reactions
- Severe burns or scalds
- Serious head injuries
- Major trauma such as a road traffic accident or a fall from height
If you have called for an ambulance, please do not ring again asking for a time of arrival. Only call again if:
- The patient’s condition worsens
- You no longer need our help
The call handlers must prioritise speaking to the most seriously injured and unwell patients.