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COVID-19 is more serious in older people and in people with certain underlying health conditions. For these reasons, people aged 75 years and over, those in care homes, and those aged 5 years and over with a weakened immune system are being offered a spring booster of COVID-19 vaccine.You should be offered an appointment between April and June, with those at highest risk being called in first. You will be invited to have your booster around 6 months from your last dose but you can have it from 3 months.If you are turning 75 years of age between April and June, you will be called for vaccination during the campaign; you do not have to wait for your birthday.If you have not yet had either of your first 2 doses of the vaccine (or a third dose for those with a weakened immune system) you should have them as soon as possible.If you are eligible and you have missed an earlier booster, you should have a dose this spring to catch up. You will not need another dose during the summer.Vaccination in care homes and for eligible housebound people will be provided by our practice team.Invitations and booking: The NHS will invite and vaccinate those eligible for a spring booster in time for completion by the 30 June via a combination of local and national invites. The National Booking System will open on Wednesday 5 April to book in at one of the local vaccination centres.

People aged 75 years and older, residents in care homes for older people, and those aged 5 years and over with a weakened immune system will be offered a booster of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine this spring.

News

Vaccination information

COVID-19 spring booster

We have been sending out messages to patients whose records show that we do not have a recent blood pressure (BP) readings for them. Maintaining healthy BP reduces your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.(<a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/risk-factors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/risk-factors</a>).We have added a Home Blood Pressure (BP) Readings form in the Downloads section that you can use for the required information. If you have received a message from us or would like to provide us with your Blood Pressure readings then please read the information and use the form.If you are unable to print the form, you can collect one from our reception desk or please arrange a BP check at your local pharmacy within the next THREE weeks. Lowdham Pharmacy would be happy to help you, please check this link for further information: <a href="https://lowdhampharmacy.co.uk/free-blood-pressure-monitoring/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Free Blood Pressure Monitoring - Lowdham Pharmacy</a>

<h3>Why get your blood pressure checked?</h3> <ul><li>High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a condition which can be controlled to reduce your risk of a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease.</li><li>In the UK there are about five million adults (one in every nine) who have high blood pressure without even knowing it, since high blood pressure itself rarely causes symptoms.</li><li>The British Heart Foundation estimates that high blood pressure causes over 50% of heart attacks and strokes.</li><li> </li></ul>Please share this information with your family and friends.

Patient Services

BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING

Dear Patients,&nbsp;&nbsp;As we move closer to the heart of winter, we are all working hard here at the practice to ensure we address the challenges caused by Strep A and Covid as well as looking after our patients with longer term health conditions.&nbsp;We understand the challenges patients have experienced with access and this is a common theme across the NHS both locally and nationally.&nbsp;&nbsp;We have benefited from some amazing support by our PPG and our patients, thank you.&nbsp;&nbsp;With that said over the past 3 weeks our reception staff have faced significant hostile conversations which we understand are based on worries patients are feeling but these do fit with zero tolerance events and aggression or intimidation in some cases.&nbsp;&nbsp;One of our Advanced Clinical Practitioners visited a patient at home and was confronted by an aggressive and hostile family member facing language such as “you’re going to get it” delivered in a threatening and aggressive manner. I can’t let staff be at risk when carrying out their jobs. Our ACP advised she may have to leave without seeing the patient if she is threatened in this way. Thankfully things deescalated and the patient could be treated.&nbsp;&nbsp;The reason to highlight this now is that our staff must be able to practice safely and have the conditions to do their job the best they can. We understand patients may be frustrated and anxious or worried about loved ones, but we once again ask for your help to ensure that your engagements with the practice team are as you would do with your friends and family. This helps us help you.&nbsp;&nbsp;A significant amount of the challenges with accessing primary care are caused by things that are out of our control. This includes the lack of support to GP practices over many years, the recent negative press which means staff are leaving and recruitment is harder and the effect of austerity on resources. These are issues for the wider system and our elected representatives and not solvable by me or my front-line staff. For example, we have been recruiting for another GP for over 2-3 years without success. All this impacts on workload for those of us that are left and the reduced capacity we have to provide to patients.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you feel passionately that NHS primary care services need to be resourced and better supported to meet your access requirements and needs, then could I ask that you write to your Member of Parliament and elected representatives who are in a place to make the decisions needed to support the NHS and your practice. This way your feedback may reach those that can make a difference.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We are always and will always be here for you as your medical team. I would be grateful for your support in treating our staff professionally so we avoid losing them and can preserve the services we provide despite the wider issues that remain out of our control.&nbsp;&nbsp;May I take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and new year.&nbsp;Yours Sincerely,&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr Panesar and Team Ivy.&nbsp;

Dr Panesar's update on winter pressures, zero tolerance and unreasonable behaviours.

Practice Update

Dr Panesar's update on winter pressures, zero tolerance and unreasonable behaviours.

Symptoms of a strep A infection that you should look out for include: - Flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, swollen glands or an aching body - sore throat (strep throat or tonsillitis) - a rash that feels rough, like sandpaper (scarlet fever) - scabs and sores (impetigo) - pain and swelling (cellulitis) - severe muscle aches - nausea and vomiting.Most strep A infections are not serious and can be treated with antibiotics. But rarely, the infection can cause serious problems. This is called invasive group A strep (iGAS).You should get an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if: - your child is unwell and is getting worse - your child is feeding or eating much less than normal - your child has fewer wet nappies than usual or is peeing less than usual, or shows other signs of dehydration - your baby is under 3 months and has a temperature of 38C, or is 3 to 6 months and has a temperature of 39C or higher - your child is very tired or irritable. It is important to trust your instincts if your child is unwell. Get medical help if you think you need it. <a href="https://111.nhs.uk/triage/check-your-symptoms" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Check symptoms on 111 online</a> (for children aged 5 and over) or call 111 (for children under 5)You should call 999 or go to A&amp;E if:<ul><li>your child is having difficulty breathing – you may notice grunting noises or their tummy sucking under their ribs</li><li>there are pauses when your child breathes</li><li>your child’s skin<a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nhs.uk%2Fconditions%2Fblue-skin-or-lips-cyanosis%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CAnthony.White%40ukhsa.gov.uk%7C1f9a593c6c4f43e05e8408dad4598d6f%7Cee4e14994a354b2ead475f3cf9de8666%7C0%7C0%7C638055778334425225%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=sKef600WPZSZjEFdrOrVWU1PEKhPwcxR7Oz0ddcwPRE%3D&amp;reserved=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">, tongue or lips are blue</a></li><li>your child is floppy and will not wake up or stay awake.</li></ul>You can find your nearest A&amp;E <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Accident-and-emergency-services/LocationSearch/428" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.

We know that parents may be concerned regarding Group A streptococcus (Step A). It is always concerning when a child is unwell. Strep A infections cause various symptoms such as sore throat, fever, chills, and muscle aches. More information can be found on the NHS website here - <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/strep-a/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Strep A - NHS (www.nhs.uk)</a>

Health Advice

Strep A infection

Dear Patients,On the 17th of October we wrote to update everyone on the need to move our services from our Lowdham premises to Burton Joyce on a temporary basis. This was after the CQC raised safety concerns with the building. Before making this decision, we worked tirelessly with the other parties involved with the Lowdham building but were unable to secure agreement for improvements that would make our patients safe. This included agreement by the landlord for structural improvements to utilities needed for safety. This meant we had to make a very difficult decision to relocate our services temporarily, a decision we did not make lightly. Having been a GP in this area and looking after the patients of Lowdham for over 16 years it was difficult.Since then, we have continued discussions with the Landlord but achieved no solutions that would make the building safe. It is with deep sadness that as such we must confirm we will be permanently moving out of the Lowdham building in order to make sure we are providing a safe environment for our patients and our staff. I cannot in good conscious do any different and we do not feel the building is currently safe. Our last day in the building will be the 16th of November 2022 although we have moved all our services to alternative solutions already.We have shared our plans with the Care Quality Commission (our regulator) and the Integrated Commissioning Board (our contract provider) and all parties are happy and are supportive of our plan. Although we are having to move out of the current building, I must stress we are not leaving Lowdham or our Lowdham patients. My team and I care passionately about our entire practice list including patients affected by this difficult situation in Lowdham. As such we have been meeting with our Integrated Commissioning Board teams to ensure we can explore ways to support our patients which includes using other sites in Lowdham for our clinics, making use of medical vans used in the pandemic vaccination campaign to deliver services including our dispensing closer to patients. We have also received assurances from our accountable officer, Amanda Sullivan, that our larger premises plans will be looked at as soon as possible to deliver the premises solution our patients and our staff deserve.We appreciate this is a worrying time. We would like to reassure our Lowdham patients that we will continue to provide all primary care services to our patients affected by this change. We have prepared a frequently asked question sheet to answer questions that our patients will inevitably have. With regards to pop up services and clinics in other locations in Lowdham as well as mobile services we will keep all our patients up to date with updates soon. To book, change or confirm an appointment please call our reception team on 0115 931 2500. When making a new appointment, you will be advised as to which one of the two Burton Joyce locations you will need to attend. If you need help with travelling to the practices, there are some local options. These include:·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nandscvs.org/our-work/door-to-door-service/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nandscvs.org/our-work/door-to-door-service/</a> or call 01636 311 220 between 10am – 2pm Monday – Friday. Outside of these hours please leave a message on the answer machine and they will get back to you. ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://rushcliffecvs.org.uk/voluntary-transport/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://rushcliffecvs.org.uk/voluntary-transport/</a> or call 0115 969 9060 then press 1 for transport – Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm.For patients that are more house bound we have planned for increased home visits to cases that are clinically needed so services are universally provided to all. Please contact us if you need a review and are worried about accessing our Burton Joyce buildings.We continue to be committed to looking after Lowdham patients and our priority, as always, is patient care. Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries or concerns.Yours sincerely,Dr Panesar and your team at Ivy Medical Group.

Updated information on the future of our services in our Lowdham Premises building.

Premises Updates

Announcement on the future of our Lowdham Building

What is happening to the Ivy Medical Group?&nbsp;Your GP registration will remain at the Ivy Medical Group, and rather than accessing face to face services at the current Lowdham building our Burton Joyce buildings will be available for your appointments and use. We may also have temporary sites that will be available to patients to access in time in the Lowdham village.&nbsp;&nbsp;Why are these changes happening?&nbsp;Due to the condition of the building and safety concerns, the Ivy Medical Group have decided that it is in the best interests of their patients to withdraw from the Lowdham Practice site and provide services from the Apple Tree Medical Practice and The Lambley Lane Surgery in Burton Joyce.&nbsp;Will there be any changes to the Burton Joyce practice opening hours?&nbsp;No, at present, the opening hours of the surgeries will remain the same:&nbsp;&nbsp;Apple Tree Medical Practice, 08:15 – 18:30 Monday to Friday.&nbsp;Lambley Lane Surgery, 8.15 – 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:30 except Thursday afternoons where the site is closed after 13:00.&nbsp;Will I still see the same doctors/nurses/dispensers/practice receptionists?&nbsp;Yes, you will still see the same practice staff that you currently do, but you will also meet members of the team that work at the Burton Joyce sites.&nbsp;&nbsp;Will the contact number be the same after the change takes place?&nbsp;Yes, we have one access number for the practice, and this will not change, 0115 9312500.&nbsp;Do I need to re-register with the Burton Joyce practices?&nbsp;No, there are no changes to registrations and no interruption in your care.&nbsp;I had an appointment with my doctor/nurse at the Lowdham practice and was told to come back in six months for a check-up. What should I do?&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have been advised that you need a check-up appointment, please call the practice team who will make that appointment for you.&nbsp;&nbsp;What should I do if I have a routine appointment booked with a GP, Nurse or other healthcare professional?&nbsp;You do not need to do anything. If you have an appointment booked at the Lowdham site, the practice team will contact you.&nbsp;&nbsp;What should I do if I need an urgent on-the-day appointment or home visit?&nbsp;Please call the practice in the normal way (0115 9312500) to book an appointment or request a visit.&nbsp;What should I do if I need a repeat prescription?&nbsp;If you have a repeat prescription that you usually request at your GP practice, this will not change, and you can use our buildings in Burton Joyce in the normal way. You can also make your request online if this is easier or you may able to do this via the NHS App if you are setup with the NHS App. If you need assistance setting up online services please do contact our reception team.&nbsp;&nbsp;What should I do if I cannot order my prescription online?&nbsp;If you cannot order your prescription online then you should call your practice. If you already have a nominated pharmacy that collects your prescription from the Lowdham site, this will continue with no changes.&nbsp;&nbsp;How will I collect my dispensed medication by the practice?&nbsp;If you currently collect your dispensed medication from the current Lowdham building, it will now be available for collection at the Apple Tree Surgery. Patients affected by this change should have been contacted directly already by our team. If you need any further information in this regard please do speak with our dispensary team.&nbsp;Our dispenser Carol is now working with Lesley at our Apple Tree building to continue to provide our dispensing services to our patients&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have any problems collecting or requesting your dispensed medication, please call our reception team on 0115 9312500 as we could arrange for it to be delivered to you&nbsp;&nbsp;For patients who collect their dispensed medication from Lambley garage, this service remains in place&nbsp;For the near future we are working with the local NHS teams to develop a mobile dispensing service using pandemic vaccination vans to help our patients access the service.&nbsp;What should I do if I currently collect my prescription from the Lowdham site?&nbsp;If you currently collect your prescription from the Lowdham site these will now be available for collection at the Apple Tree Medical Practice, Wheatsheaf Court, Burton Joyce, NG14 5EA, however, if you would like to nominate a pharmacy to collect your prescription, please let the reception team know.&nbsp;What should I do if I currently deliver my medication request slip to the Lowdham site?&nbsp;If you currently deliver your medication request slip to the Lowdham site either into the post box or hand it into the receptionist, unfortunately this service has had to be changed. Please deliver your request slip to the Apple Tree Medical Practice, Wheatsheaf Court, Burton Joyce, NG14 5EA. You can post it into the prescription box located on the front gate of the practice which is accessible at all times even when the practice is closed.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have any problems collecting or requesting your prescription, please call our reception team on 0115 931 2500 who will be able to help.&nbsp;&nbsp;What will happen to my medical records?&nbsp;Your medical records will remain with the Ivy Medical Group to support your ongoing healthcare.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I want to register at a different GP practice, am I able to do this?&nbsp;Yes, if you would prefer to register with an alternative practice you will be able to do this, so long as the practice covers the area where you live. Details of practices near you can be found on NHS Choices at www.nhs.uk.&nbsp;To register, please put in your postcode for a list of your nearest GP practices and contact your chosen practice to ask to register with them. Please wait until after 1 December 2022 before registering with a different GP practice, to allow for the transition process to be completed.&nbsp;I have a question or concern that isn’t covered by the information above. What should I do?&nbsp;For any general enquiries or help with registering, please contact the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Patient Experience Team on 0115 8839570 during office hours (between 9am to 5pm) or email nnicb-nn.patientexperience@nhs.net&nbsp;Who should I contact for my Covid-19 vaccination? – latest advice&nbsp;There are plenty of sites offering vaccinations at pharmacies, some GP practices and larger vaccination centres. If you are eligible for an Autumn Booster vaccination, you can book an appointment at the most convenient site for you via 119 or on the NHS website. Walk in venues can be found here.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those who are eligible for an Autumn Booster jab include over 50s, carers, pregnant women, frontline health and social care workers and people who are clinically at risk.&nbsp;&nbsp;Who should I contact for my Flu jab?&nbsp;Please call the Ivy Medical Group on 0115 931 2500 to make an appointment at either Apple Tree or Lambley Lane. You may receive a text message regarding your flu jab, which you can reply to, to book your flu jab.&nbsp;

Frequently Asked Questions on the future of Services in the Lowdham Building.

Premesis Update

FAQ on the future of services in the Lowdham Building

We held a really positive workshop in September for PPG members and potential members. Our first revamped meeting is on 24 November when we will share the outputs from the workshop. We will be taking forward the actions and have an exciting future plan. This will ensure our PPG members can support our GP and the team and help delivery of high quality services. Please note the PPG cannot address individual concerns or complaints. If you want to attend please email <a href="mailto:Tracy.madge@nhs.net%20or" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tracy.madge@nhs.net </a>More information on the PPG&nbsp;can be found on our notice boards, our website and on the village Facebook page.&nbsp;

Ivy Medical Group - Patient Participation Group Meeting: 24 November 6pm to 7.30pmCarnarvon Rooms (opposite the Co-op car park in Burton Joyce) Postcode: NG145DP

Ivy Medical Group - Patient Participation Group - Next meeting date

Ivy Medical Group - Patient Participation Group 

Dear Patients,&nbsp;Following our last bulletin with regards to our Lowdham building, we wanted to write today with a further update. Over the past week we have been working with everyone involved to try and find a successful way to accomplish the repairs the CQC required and to secure a path to the desperately necessary improvements in the building to address safety and making the building fit for purpose.&nbsp;We shared our action plan with the CQC aimed at providing a way forward by today, the 17th of October 2022. We are sad to say that even through our best efforts we have not been able to secure agreement with other parties’ on the steps required to make the building safe and bring it up to minimum standards.&nbsp;With proposals failing to progress we have unfortunately had to take the decision to temporarily move our services from the current Lowdham building to our other sites in Burton Joyce (The Apple Tree Medical Practice and the Lambley Lane Surgery).&nbsp;&nbsp;We do not feel the current building is fit for purpose to safely deliver health services and we are now working with the Nottingham NHS team to seek alternative options such as working from alternate sites in the Lowdham village or the use of temporary accommodation in the village until we can move forward with our main premises plan.&nbsp;&nbsp;We would like to reassure all our Lowdham patients that we are committed to providing continuity of care and ongoing support to the area. We will continue to work with our Nottingham NHS team to find solutions to continue to base services in Lowdham.&nbsp;Until we have a clear plan, we are working hard to:&nbsp; <ul><li>use our Burton Joyce buildings to their full capacity,&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>put in place a new delivery service for medications to Lowdham if eligible via our dispensary,&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>put in place solutions for home visiting where access is more tricky&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>To support volunteer transport options for patients needing to attend our Burton Joyce sites.&nbsp;</li><li>have electronic prescribing for our none dispensing patients.&nbsp;</li><li>work with Girsh at Lowdham pharmacy on minor alignments.&nbsp;</li></ul> Patients do not need to do anything and will be contacted by the practice if there are any changes to appointments. When making a new appointment, patients may need to travel to the Burton Joyce locations.&nbsp;&nbsp; For patients that may need help with travelling to the practices there are some local options. These include:&nbsp;https://www.nandscvs.org/our-work/door-to-door-service/&nbsp;&nbsp;Telephone: 01636 611220 10am – 12 noon Monday – Friday. Outside of		these hours please leave a message on the answer machine, and they will get back to you.&nbsp;https://rushcliffecvs.org.uk/voluntary-transport/&nbsp;&nbsp;To find out more, call on 0115 969 9060, then press 1 for transport - Monday to Friday 9am 	- 4pm.&nbsp;&nbsp; We will update everyone after meeting with the Nottingham NHS team on alternative locations and temporary accommodation with our next steps.&nbsp;&nbsp;Having been a GP in our patch for over 16 years I would like to reassure everyone that we do not take these steps lightly and would like to reassure you our decisions are based on safety for our patients and staff. We remain grateful for the support of our Nottingham NHS team, our staff and patients during this time.&nbsp;With Best Wishes,&nbsp; Dr Panesar and your team at Ivy.&nbsp; NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board&nbsp;https://notts.icb.nhs.uk/&nbsp;&nbsp;0115 845 4545&nbsp;Care Quality Commission.&nbsp;&nbsp;https://www.cqc.org.uk/contact-us&nbsp;&nbsp;03000 616161

Update on our progress with the Lowdham Building and work with the CQC.

Practice Premises

17th October Lowdham Building Update

Dear Patients.We wanted to write with an update with regards to our Lowdham building. We have been working&nbsp;hard over the years to find solutions to improving facilities for staff and patients in the building. We&nbsp;agree with our patients that the Lowdham building needs to be improved and updated to enable us&nbsp;to offer the quality of service that we want to provide to you now and for the future.Although we have explored lots of different ways to make improvements, we have unfortunately&nbsp;faced some blocks to moving it forward. As we share the site with another practice, we have also&nbsp;had our options limited in some ways and we’ve not been able to move as quickly with solutions. With managing the pandemic, we have had to focus on lots of different priorities including patient&nbsp;care and workforce which you may have seen in the press. We have focused over the past 12&nbsp;months more so on our buildings. In November 2021 we put in a proposal to start a plan for the&nbsp;buildings we need for the future. We recognise that our patients would like to be available in one&nbsp;place rather than using lots of sites. We have a vision for providing more services locally including&nbsp;more access to community teams that can work with us. Our current buildings are not ideal to&nbsp;deliver that vision.Whilst we have been working on this project, about a month ago we were notified about some&nbsp;repairs which are now required at the Lowdham building. Over the past 4 weeks we have been&nbsp;working tirelessly to find a solution to those. Unfortunately, there have been barriers to finding a&nbsp;way forward so quickly.&nbsp;The Care Quality Commission (CQC) are our regulators that look after the services in the NHS. The&nbsp;CQC have recently inspected Jubilee Park and during that inspection they have noted the quality of&nbsp;the building and asked for these repairs to be in place. We have worked with everyone to try and&nbsp;meet this request to the very best of our abilities but at the moment we don’t have a clear solution.&nbsp;We have shared our plans which we are working on and have been over the past 4 weeks with the&nbsp;CQC. At the moment they are looking at those plans to see if they would ask the practice to take any&nbsp;further steps to resolve the issues. One of the possible outcomes would be if they wanted the&nbsp;practices to use other premises rather than the Lowdham building to provide services. We would&nbsp;agree with our CQC colleagues raising these concerns and will support them in any requests to&nbsp;improve our sites and ensure they are fit for staff and patients.&nbsp;We wanted to write to reassure our patients that if the CQC does ask both practices to work out of&nbsp;other premises temporarily we have requested and met with the Nottinghamshire NHS estates and&nbsp;quality teams today. We have let them know that we are committed to looking after our Lowdham&nbsp;patients and will be working with them to seek temporary buildings in Lowdham until we can&nbsp;progress our main premises plan. We have contacted Amanda Sullivan the CEO for our health&nbsp;community to help support us through this process.We have worked together as a team at Ivy to have plans in place to manage any change and ensure&nbsp;we are able to continue to help our patients and provide care to them. This plan includes using our&nbsp;other buildings in the best way possible, to put in place a new delivery service for medications to&nbsp;Lowdham if eligible via our dispensary, to put in place solutions for home visiting where access is&nbsp;more tricky and to have electronic prescribing for our none dispensing patients.We strongly wanted to reassure you all, we have always worked hard to try and resolve the issues&nbsp;that have been beyond our sole control. We understand that this period may be a worrying time for&nbsp;some of our patients, but we are here for you. Our priority is patient care and myself and my team&nbsp;will always make the right decisions to look after the care of our patients. We are waiting for the CQC to update us, and we will then make a further announcement on the&nbsp;plan.&nbsp;I am eternally grateful for the support of my staff, patients and the Nottingham NHS team who are&nbsp;very thankful for our service during the pandemic and stand ready to support us.&nbsp;We will shortly create a frequently asked questions summary to help address the questions patients&nbsp;may have if we do have to make changes quickly. Our CQC team and the Nottingham NHS team are&nbsp;also contactable below for any further information.Be assured that we will always work in the interest of best care for our patients, and we will have an&nbsp;update for you as soon as we know.Best wishes,Dr Panesar and your Team.NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Boardhttps://notts.icb.nhs.uk/0115 845 4545Care Quality Commission.https://www.cqc.org.uk/contact-us03000 616161

We would like to provide an update to our patients about recent developments which relate to our Lowdham building.

Update on our Lowdham Building

After a few days of vaccinating our housebound patients, we have some Covid booster vaccines left that can be given to you at Apple Tree Surgery up to 5.30pm today (Monday 10th October).Please call in if you would like to have a Covid booster vaccine and are eligible to receive one.

Are you eligible for an Autumn Covid booster vaccine?

Available vaccines today - Monday 10th October

Covid booster vaccinations

Please call the practice on 0115 931 2500 to book in.We will send regular text messages to patients who have consented to receive sms messages from us to invite you to book into one of our flu clinics if you are eligible to receive a flu vaccine.Patients who are eligible to receive a flu vaccine are:<ul><li class="ql-indent-1">all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2022</li><li class="ql-indent-1">all primary school aged children (from reception to Year 6) - these are given in school settings</li><li class="ql-indent-1">those aged 6 months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups</li><li class="ql-indent-1">pregnant women</li><li class="ql-indent-1">those aged 65 years and over</li><li class="ql-indent-1">those in long-stay residential care homes</li><li class="ql-indent-1">carers</li><li class="ql-indent-1">close contacts of immunocompromised individuals</li><li class="ql-indent-1">frontline staff employed by the following types of social care providers without employer led occupational health schemes:</li><li class="ql-indent-1">a registered residential care or nursing home</li><li class="ql-indent-1">registered domiciliary care provider</li><li class="ql-indent-1">a voluntary managed hospice provider</li></ul> Please note: Starting from mid-October,&nbsp;people aged 50 years old or over&nbsp;(including those who will be 50 years old by 31 March 2023) can have a free NHS flu vaccine. This is so at-risk groups can be offered vaccination first.

We have flu vaccine appointments available on the following dates:-Thursday 6th October at Lambley Lane Surgery for 18 years and overSaturday 8th October at Lambley Lane Surgery for 18 years and overThursday 13th October at Lowdham Medical Centre for Children's flu vaccines plus 18 years and overThursday 20th October at Lambley Lane Surgery for 18 years and overMore dates will be added as soon as possible.

Flu vaccination Programme 2022

Flu vaccination appointments

We are looking for 12 people who are registered with Ivy Medical Group to be Patient Partners and members on our Patient Participation Group. These roles are voluntary and will you will be supported by the practice team.To find out more about this exciting role we are holding a drop-in session on:Thursday 29 Sept. 2022, 6.00pm – 7.00 pm at St Helen’s Church, Burton Joyce More information on the role can be found at our surgeries, on our notice boards, our website and on the village Facebook page.&nbsp;

Patient Partners needed! We need Patient Partners to help us deliver our strategy 

Invitation to join our revamped - Patient Participation Group

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/facts-about-queen-elizabeth-ii-b2163054.html

<h2>Along with the rest of the world, we at The Ivy Medical Group are saddened to hear of the recent passing of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.</h2> <h2>Monday 19th September has been confirmed as a Bank Holiday to mark the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Our practice will be closed and will reopen as normal at 8.15 AM on Tuesday 20th September.</h2>

Monday 19th September 2022 - Bank Holiday confirmed

We are holding these meetings so we can look at our future strategy, working with you, your family and carers. These meetings cannot address any personal issues you have, these must be directed to the practice.I am sure some of you are aware that the practice has faced many challenges over the last few years. These include the pandemic and prior to that the merger of Lambley Lane and Apple Tree, including staff changes and shortages.&nbsp;Our dedicated, staff work tirelessly within the NHS to provide the best patient services we can, despite the many challenges we face. Nationally there is a workforce shortage, and we are doing our best to secure staff as well as striving to improve access to all our services. I have heard from staff and patients about the challenges, and I want to make sure we take positive steps forward to address these, in order to continue providing the highest quality of care for patients.I have been able to secure the voluntary support and experience of Tracy Madge, a recently retired, qualified senior nurse and Project Manager to support our development and to help prepare a forward plan. Tracy is registered with our practice and has signed a confidentiality agreement to undertake this work.&nbsp;Tracy will be working with Melanie Maddock, my Practice Manager over the next 12 months with the aim of producing a five-year strategy by January 2023.Tracy is undertaking a confidential listening exercise with current staff, some former staff, patients and key other colleagues. This will capture, for example, what works well now and what you think should happen in the future. She is currently holding one to one interviews with some staff and starts the patient/public focus groups this week. This will enable us to gain as much insight as possible into our collective views. The outcome will be a report that will be shared widely. This will give us a clear way forward as to what actions we should take.The dates of the first meetings are:Wednesday 24 August 2022, 12.30 – 13.30 pm at St Helen’s Church, Burton JoyceThursday 1 Sept. 2022, 1.30 – 2.30 pm, at Lowdham PracticeThursday 8 Sept. 2022, 1.30 – 2.30 pm, at Lowdham PracticePlease note we will be seeking out the views of specific groups such as older people, learning disability and young people. We will also be arranging an evening meeting shortly and we will inform you via our notice boards, website and Facebook page. Letters and questionnaires will be offered to our patients visiting the practice or can be collected for those patients who cannot access the internet. Texts will be issued as appropriate and when our technical issues are resolved.A copy of the questionnaire is in the downloads for those unable to attend a meeting. These will also be available at the practice’s receptions.These meetings are being held in a spirit of mutual respect and we would ask that attendees come with constructive feedback about the future of the service so we can have a plan built with your input.For your information I have attached Tracy’s biography.We are very much looking forward to working with the local population to make sure we have a future service that is sustainable and high quality.Yours sincerelyDr Paramjit Singh PanesarGP Principal&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ivymedicalgroup.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Ivy Medical Group, Nottingham</a> Tracy Madge, MSc, RGN, RMNI initially retired from the NHS in June 2018 after 37 years working in the NHS and social care sector, mainly in Nottinghamshire.&nbsp;I returned in March 2020 and worked as the Associate Chief Nurse for Nottinghamshire. My main role was as the Programme Director for the Covid Vaccination Programme. I retired again in March 2021.Over my career I have always put the needs of the patient first and foremost with the aim of ensuring the highest quality care is delivered. I have held a range of provider and commissioning, clinical and managerial roles working at to Director level.&nbsp;As Director of Primary Care for the former Gedling Primary Care Trust I managed the GP contract and provider services for the locality. This experience proved invaluable in my leadership as Assistant Director of Clinical Strategy with NHS England. I secured £5.2 million funding for General Practice development across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and was the lead for the two county Primary Care Strategy.I have delivered on small and large system changes including implementing the primary care contracts, the GP out of hours service, reconfiguring the Accident and Emergency Department at Newark Hospital and closing two Walk in Centres to recommission improved quality services.&nbsp;I have previously managed all adult community services across Nottinghamshire including the community hospitals as a General Manager and Clinical Director.I was the clinical project lead for opening the new Emergency Floor at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2018. I have up to date validation with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Registered General Nurse and Registered Mental Health Nurse.&nbsp;I have worked at national level to support the development of the NHS Commissioning Board organisational structure, working closely with the national Medical Director’s team.&nbsp;As Associate Director for Public Health for Nottinghamshire I led the transfer of the function from the NHS to the Local Authority including developing new quality processes.I retired as a Trustee for Nottinghamshire Hospice in 2021 having been the chair of the Quality and Safety Committee. This important role was focussed on maintaining the quality of care for patients at the end of their life and it was a privilege to work for such an inspirational charity.I have lived in Nottinghamshire all my life and in Burton Joyce for 15 years. I enjoy an active retirement including travelling extensively with my husband.&nbsp;We have four children and two grandchildren whom we enjoy spending time with.I still feel I have more to give so have offered my time voluntarily to my local GP to support the development of forward plan. It is a part time offer and will definitely not affect my travel plans!&nbsp;&nbsp;

In response to your feedback Ivy Medical Group are holding an evening meeting to tell you where we are now and to hear your views.&nbsp;Please come and join us so we can work together to make our local health services the best they can be!Thursday 15 September 2022, 6.30pm – 7.30 pm at St Helen’s Church, Burton Joyce Please find below a letter explaining the background.If you can’t join us we have a questionnaire you can complete. Copies are available at our surgery receptions and on our website.

Practice Development

Future Proofing our Local Health Service

The flu vaccine&nbsp;is a safe and effective vaccine. It's offered every year on the NHS to help protect&nbsp;people&nbsp;at risk of getting seriously ill from flu.The best time to have the flu vaccine is in the autumn or early winter before flu starts spreading. But you can get the vaccine later.Flu vaccination is important because:<ul><li>more people are likely to get flu this winter as fewer people will have built up natural immunity to it during the COVID-19 pandemic</li><li>if you get flu and COVID-19 at the same time, research shows you're more likely to be seriously ill</li><li>getting vaccinated against flu and COVID-19 will provide protection for you and those around you for both these serious illnesses</li></ul>If you've had COVID-19, it's safe to have the flu vaccine. It will still be effective at helping to prevent flu. COVID-19 booster vaccineSome people may be eligible for both the flu and the COVID-19 booster vaccines.If you are offered both vaccines, it's safe to have them at the same time.<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination-old/coronavirus-booster-vaccine/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Find out more about the COVID-19 booster vaccine and who can get it</a><h2>Who can have the flu vaccine?</h2>The flu vaccine is given free on the NHS to people who:<ul><li>are 50 and over (including those who'll be 50 by 31 March 2022)</li><li>have certain health conditions</li><li>are pregnant</li><li>are in long-stay residential care</li><li>receive a carer's allowance, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if you get sick</li><li>live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis)</li><li>frontline health or social care workers</li></ul> We are scheduled our delivery of flu vaccinations during the last week of September and clinics will start immediately after our delivery.In the meantime, we will be setting up our flu clinics to enable you to book into. We will be holding clinics on Saturdays, late evenings on some Monday's and also at various times during the week.Our housebound and care home patients will be contacted by our team to arrange a visit to receive their flu and covid booster vaccine, please do wait to be contacted, our reception team are unable to book those visits in.Appointments will be available to book into this year via an online booking system which will be sent to you via a text message with a link to directly book into. You can also book appointments by calling the practice during the afternoons or at our reception desks.We will contact all patients that are eligible for a flu vaccine to invite you to book in via a text message if you have consented to receive sms messages or by letter.We will update our website regularly with the dates of our flu clinics and when they are available to book into.

We will be starting our influenza immunisation programme at the practice from September 2022.

Flu vaccinations

The NHS influenza immunisation programme 2022 to 2023

Dear PatientPlease allow me to apologise for the technical issues that prevented us from issuing this letter about the dates of our first public meetings. We have put them on our Facebook page to ensure the dates were advertised. This letter provides the background.We are holding these meetings so we can look at our future strategy, working with you, your family and carers. These meetings cannot address any personal issues you have, these must be directed to the practice.I am sure some of you are aware that the practice has faced many challenges over the last few years. These include the pandemic and prior to that the merger of Lambley Lane and Apple Tree, including staff changes and shortages.&nbsp;Our dedicated, staff work tirelessly within the NHS to provide the best patient services we can, despite the many challenges we face. Nationally there is a workforce shortage, and we are doing our best to secure staff as well as striving to improve access to all our services. I have heard from staff and patients about the challenges, and I want to make sure we take positive steps forward to address these, in order to continue providing the highest quality of care for patients.I have been able to secure the voluntary support and experience of Tracy Madge, a recently retired, qualified senior nurse and Project Manager to support our development and to help prepare a forward plan. Tracy is registered with our practice and has signed a confidentiality agreement to undertake this work.&nbsp;Tracy will be working with Melanie Maddock, my Practice Manager over the next 12 months with the aim of producing a five-year strategy by January 2023.Tracy is undertaking a confidential listening exercise with current staff, some former staff, patients and key other colleagues. This will capture, for example, what works well now and what you think should happen in the future. She is currently holding one to one interviews with some staff and starts the patient/public focus groups this week. This will enable us to gain as much insight as possible into our collective views. The outcome will be a report that will be shared widely. This will give us a clear way forward as to what actions we should take.The dates of the first meetings are:Wednesday 24 August 2022, 12.30 – 13.30 pm at St Helen’s Church, Burton Joyce Thursday 1 Sept. 2022, 1.30 – 2.30 pm, at Lowdham PracticeThursday 8 Sept. 2022, 1.30 – 2.30 pm, at Lowdham PracticePlease note we will be seeking out the views of specific groups such as older people, learning disability and young people. We will also be arranging an evening meeting shortly and we will inform you via our notice boards, website and Facebook page. Letters and questionnaires will be offered to our patients visiting the practice or can be collected for those patients who cannot access the internet. Texts will be issued as appropriate and when our technical issues are resolved.A copy of the questionnaire is in the downloads for those unable to attend a meeting. These will also be available at the practice’s receptions.These meetings are being held in a spirit of mutual respect and we would ask that attendees come with constructive feedback about the future of the service so we can have a plan built with your input.For your information I have attached Tracy’s biography.We are very much looking forward to working with the local population to make sure we have a future service that is sustainable and high quality.Yours sincerely&nbsp;Dr Paramjit Singh Panesar&nbsp;GP Principal&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ivymedicalgroup.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Ivy Medical Group, Nottingham</a> Tracy Madge, MSc, RGN, RMN&nbsp;I initially retired from the NHS in June 2018 after 37 years working in the NHS and social care sector, mainly in Nottinghamshire.&nbsp;I returned in March 2020 and worked as the Associate Chief Nurse for Nottinghamshire. My main role was as the Programme Director for the Covid Vaccination Programme. I retired again in March 2021.Over my career I have always put the needs of the patient first and foremost with the aim of ensuring the highest quality care is delivered. I have held a range of provider and commissioning, clinical and managerial roles working at to Director level.&nbsp;As Director of Primary Care for the former Gedling Primary Care Trust I managed the GP contract and provider services for the locality. This experience proved invaluable in my leadership as Assistant Director of Clinical Strategy with NHS England. I secured £5.2 million funding for General Practice development across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and was the lead for the two county Primary Care Strategy.I have delivered on small and large system changes including implementing the primary care contracts, the GP out of hours service, reconfiguring the Accident and Emergency Department at Newark Hospital and closing two Walk in Centres to recommission improved quality services.&nbsp;I have previously managed all adult community services across Nottinghamshire including the community hospitals as a General Manager and Clinical Director.I was the clinical project lead for opening the new Emergency Floor at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2018. I have up to date validation with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Registered General Nurse and Registered Mental Health Nurse.&nbsp;I have worked at national level to support the development of the NHS Commissioning Board organisational structure, working closely with the national Medical Director’s team.&nbsp;As Associate Director for Public Health for Nottinghamshire I led the transfer of the function from the NHS to the Local Authority including developing new quality processes.I retired as a Trustee for Nottinghamshire Hospice in 2021 having been the chair of the Quality and Safety Committee. This important role was focussed on maintaining the quality of care for patients at the end of their life and it was a privilege to work for such an inspirational charity.I have lived in Nottinghamshire all my life and in Burton Joyce for 15 years. I enjoy an active retirement including travelling extensively with my husband.&nbsp;We have four children and two grandchildren whom we enjoy spending time with.I still feel I have more to give so have offered my time voluntarily to my local GP to support the development of forward plan. It is a part time offer and will definitely not affect my travel plans!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

We are holding these meetings so we can look at our future strategy, working with you, your family and carers.

Dear Patients,&nbsp;We have all weathered difficult times over the past two years and although we are hoping things may improve the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over. There has been a troubling degree of misinformation on social media and our classical media which has led to unnecessary stress for our patients.&nbsp;Contrary to some narratives, we would like to reassure you that your practice has continued to consult using telephone triage, video consultations and face to face consultations as well as home visits throughout the pandemic. All these methods of consulting are needed in order to be able to look after the number of contacts we are currently being asked to respond to. Our clinical team are now consulting record numbers of patients every day, far more than our consultations rates in previous years. Our on-call team is consulting with record numbers of emergency calls every day, again far more than previous years.&nbsp;As we come out of the pandemic there is a significant amount of work to do to look after patients who have not been able to consult during the very highest times of covid-19 risk. Our clinicians will always choose the best way to consult in order to provide the very best safe care and we ask for your co-operation in navigating these changes and using our system.&nbsp;The NHS continues to require all staff to wear protective equipment and visitors to our surgeries to wear face masks. This is vital to protect our vulnerable patients and to ensure our staff do not contract covid requiring absences from work and reduced service to our patients. The UK continues to see over 250,000 people testing positive per week and just under 2000 deaths per week from Covid-19. Admissions to hospital remain at over 15,000 per week. Although Covid-19 may be less prevalent in the news it remains a risk that we must be mindful of with our vulnerable loved ones.&nbsp;Not all problems need a GP review. We have now had our first contact physiotherapists and our clinical pharmacists working with us and their support has been greatly valued by our patients. Consulting for medication or muscular problems is now easier and more comprehensive and we would encourage our patients to use the full suite of facilities we are able to provide.&nbsp;We are building links with our community pharmacies in our villages to be able to better work together with minor ailments to allow patients to receive timely management of common conditions.&nbsp;As with all areas of the NHS our practice continues to struggle with colleagues who have needed to be off work with Covid-19 isolation requirements and due to ill health. This is on top of a vacant GP position for which we have not received any applications when advertising for over 12 months. We understand the frustrations patients experience when navigating through primary care and as staff we feel them too. Our priority is to provide the very best care, but we are doing so in an environment which makes that aim ever so much more challenging. We would ask you to bear this in mind when using the practice.&nbsp;It is with great sadness having been a GP in our beautiful area for over fifteen years that I have to tell you all that over the past week we have had to complete responses to four zero tolerance episodes where our staff have faced aggression both verbal and physical. Although we do everything we can to help our patients this is completely unacceptable, and no one should have to face this level of threat. It is our responsibility to keep our staff safe and as such we would ask for your help in working with our team to better help you with an approach you would want returned. The practice is applying for funding for security equipment, and we would remind our callers that all calls are recorded and any further episodes of zero tolerance will be met with the full sanctions available to us which includes warnings or removal from our list. The vast majority of patients use our service appropriately and we hope this need not apply.&nbsp;We will shortly be working through home visits for Covid-19 spring boosters and calling our patients in for long term conditions reviews to address unmet need caused by the pandemic. We are using a new approach whereby invitations will more commonly fall on birthday months. We are also helping our local hospital management patients in the community who face long waiting lists. We are also helping our emergency departments cope with their unprecedented demands. Please help our practice to help you. Together we shall get through.&nbsp;Yours Sincerely,&nbsp;Dr Panesar and your Practice Team.&nbsp;

Update letter from Dr Panesar and important information about the practice Zero Tolerance policy after recent unacceptable incidents.

Dr Panesar's Update and Zero Tolerance Policy

People in England who have satisfied vaccine requirements against COVID-19 can use the NHS COVID Pass to demonstrate their COVID-19 status.If you’re aged 18 or over, you can get an NHS COVID Pass for domestic use where certain venues and events in England choose to use COVID-19 certification.If you’re aged 12 or over you can get an NHS COVID Pass for travel abroad but you should follow the entry requirements of the country you are travelling to. See the GOV.UK website for more information about the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-covid-pass#children" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS COVID Pass for children</a>.A full course is currently two doses of the Moderna, AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine, or one dose of the Janssen single-dose vaccine. Vaccine status will be available through the NHS COVID Pass service from:&nbsp;<ul><li>the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/online-services/nhs-app/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS App</a>&nbsp;which you can download from app stores&nbsp;</li><li>the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/vaccination-status-for-travelling-abroad/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS website</a>&nbsp;</li><li>119 - by requesting a paper letter</li></ul>You will need to register to use the&nbsp;online services, if you have not already. It may take more than a week for your identity to be checked and verified.If you cannot access the online services, and you have had both doses of the vaccine, you can&nbsp;request a paper letter from the NHS by calling 119. Only call 119 if you are due to travel outside the UK in the near future and have had your second dose (or one dose of the Janssen single-dose vaccine) more than 5 working days ago. It may take up to 7 working days for the letter to arrive.This practice is not able to provide you with a letter that shows your COVID-19 vaccination status. Please do not contact the practice about this matter.When you're planning your travel, you should check the latest information on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-abroad-from-england-during-coronavirus-covid-19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">demonstrating your COVID-19 status when travelling abroad</a>&nbsp;on the gov.uk website. Make sure there is enough time to get proof of&nbsp;your COVID-19 vaccination status before you are due to travel.

Information on how to get a COVID pass if your travelling.

COVID-19

Covid Pass

<h2>What is Long COVID?</h2>Most infections with COVID resolve within the first 4 weeks. “Long COVID” is an informal term that is commonly used to describe signs and symptoms that continue or develop after an acute infection of COVID. Depending on how long you have ongoing symptoms for, it can be called one of 2 things:<ul><li>Ongoing symptomatic COVID</li><li>This is where your symptoms continue for more than 4 weeks. If your symptoms last for longer than 12 weeks, it will then be called;</li><li>Post-COVID Syndrome</li><li>This is where your ongoing symptoms continue for longer than 12 weeks and cannot be explained by any other condition.</li></ul> Many symptoms that occur after COVID infections are similar to infections we have known about for many years (for example influenza/flu, pneumonia).Some people have problems during or after the initial infection that prolong their recovery, for example clots on the lung, strokes or heart attacks. Those who were most unwell (for example, requiring intensive care or machines to support their breathing) may also take longer to recover, and this is to be expected. However, there are also people who have ongoing symptoms after COVID even though they weren’t admitted to hospital. Whilst the evidence shows us that most people will have recovered by 12 weeks after their initial infection, there are some people who have on-going symptoms that can last for many months. These symptoms vary from person to person and can be distressing, especially if an individual does not receive support to manage any ongoing symptoms.If you are concerned about any of your symptoms and it has been four weeks or more since you became unwell with COVID, contact your GP and ask them about “long COVID”– they should offer you an initial consultation, provide access to any further assessments or care they determine that you need, and signpost you to sources of further support.<h2>For further information and support please find on the following website:</h2><a href="https://www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">COVID-19 support recovery service</a>

As you find yourself recovering from COVID-19 you may still be coming to terms with the impact the virus has had on both your body and mind.These changes should get better over time, some may take longer than others, but there are things you can do to help.Your COVID Recovery helps you to understand what has happened and what you might expect as part of your recovery.

Blog

Supporting your recovery after COVID-19

Your Covid Recovery

When will people be able to book their spring booster? JCVI’s advice is that people should wait until around six months since their last dose for maximum effectiveness, and people are asked to wait until they are invited by the NHS to book. People should wait to be contacted by the NHS. The NHS will begin inviting people from the week beginning 21st March and will offer a top-up dose to all who are eligible during Spring and early Summer.How do I get my booster dose of the COVID vaccine? For spring boosters, you should wait until the NHS contacts you. For an initial booster dose (the first dose following your primary course), you can visit www.nhs.uk/covid-booster https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/ to find your nearest walk-in option or book an appointment. You can also call 119 free of charge which also offers translators on request.I have recently recovered from COVID-19, do I still need to get vaccinated? Yes. You still need to get a booster dose of the vaccine for extra protection, even if you have recently recovered from COVID-19. If you have recently recovered from the virus, you will need to wait before getting any dose of the vaccine. People will need to wait: 4 weeks (28 days) if they are aged 18 years old or over, or aged 5 to 17 years old and at greater risk from COVID (as defined in UKHSA’s Green Book – see table 3 and table 4 here) 12 weeks (84 days) if they are aged 12 to 17 years old and not at greater risk from COVID (as defined in UKHSA’s Green Book – see table 3 and table 4 here)Can I still come forward for a first or second dose if I’ve not yet done so? It’s never too late to come forward for your first, second or (if you were immunosuppressed at the time of one of these) a third dose of the vaccine. You do not need to be registered with a GP and can find a walk-in option, book an appointment or more information at www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccine or by calling 119 (translators are available into different languages on request).Why are some people being invited for a spring booster? COVID-19 is more serious in older people and those with a weakened immune system. Protection from the vaccine may be lower and may decline more quickly in these people. For this reason, people aged 75 years and over, those in care homes and those aged 12 years and over with a weakened immune system are being offered the spring booster.Who is not eligible for a Spring Booster?Carers, partners and spouses are not eligible for another booster.Health and social care workers are not eligible for another booster.Individuals aged 12 and above who are in a risk group in table 3 or 4 other than immunosuppressed are not eligible for another booster, eg diabetes, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, autism, epilepsy, learning disability, etc.Household contacts of the immunosuppressed are not eligible for another booster.Residents living in other residential homes, eg for learning disabilities, are not eligible for another booster (unless they are 75yrs and over or immunosuppressed).Housebound individuals who are not 75 years and over or immunosuppressed are not eligible for another booster.What to do if you are Immunosuppressed?You will be able to book an appointment or go to a walk in vaccination site and self declare .Some individuals may think they are immunosuppressed or eligible and attend for a 2nd booster. You may have met earlier criteria for a third dose but are no longer currently immunosuppressed.In all circumstances it is the registered healthcare professional assessor who will determine whether you are eligible. This will usually need to be supported at assessment with reference to a patient’s clinical record. At Vaccination Centre's there will be no access to your GP or clinical records, so supporting evidence of your CURRENT condition or treatment will need to be provided , eg prescription, NHS app, letter from consultant etc.

The spring booster programme opens on 21 March and offers the most vulnerable members of the community a chance to top up their immunity because Covid-19 is more serious for older people and those with a weakened immune system.The NHS will contact those who are eligible to make a spring booster appointment. The NHS will prioritise those whose clinical need is greatest, as it has throughout, starting with those who have had a bigger gap since their last dose, then working through the cohort to invite others who have waited less time. Everyone who is eligible will be offered a top up over the Spring and early Summer.The public will be able to book an appointment at more than 50 sites across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire including pharmacies, Vaccination Centres and GP practices.

Adults aged 75 and over, residents in care homes for older people and those age 12 and over with a severely weakened immune system are being urged to book a spring booster vaccine

Spring Covid-19 booster vaccines

In line with the Government’s announcement, the NHS is aiming to offer every adult the chance to book a COVID-19 booster vaccine by the end of the year.If you are eligible for your booster vaccination, please do not contact the practice as we need to keep our phone lines free for those who are trying to book GP appointments. We will contact you about your booster jab or alternatively you can visit nhs.uk/covid-vaccine or call 119 to arrange your appointment. There is lots of demand for appointments so if you can’t find a slot at suitable clinic, please keep checking back as appointments are updated regularly.If you need to register yourself or someone you care for as housebound to make sure they receive their booster jab, please do contact your GP practice.If you have Covid-19 symptoms and want to book in for a test, please visit: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test</a>. Thank you for your understanding.Together we shall get through.

An updated on the Accelerated COVID19 Booster Programme

Accelerated COVID19 Booster Programme

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:people aged 40 and overpeople who live and work in care homesfrontline health and social care workerspeople aged 16 and over with a health condition that puts them at high risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19carers aged 16 and overpeople aged 16 and over who live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis) How to get a booster:There are a number of sites across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire delivering the booster jab. You can book an appointment on the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/or by calling 119.GP Practices are also able to provide your Covid booster vaccine at planned clinics run by the GP Practice staff.We are pleased to advise you that Ivy Medical Group will be holding regular Covid booster clinics during the coming weeks, you will receive an invite by text message or by telephone from the practice to book in when eligible.

Booster vaccine doses are available on the NHS for people most at risk from COVID-19 who have already had 2 doses of a vaccine. You are eligible for a booster dose after 6 months after you had your 2nd dose.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Anyone who needs a test for urgent health problems will still get one, but where your clinician recommends that it’s safe to do so, then you may be asked to come back for a test at a later date, or your appointment may be rescheduled.&nbsp;Given the nature of the shortage, we cannot give an exact date for&nbsp;when the test will be rescheduled, but please be assured that if your condition or symptoms require it, then you will get a test, and we will be re-booking your test when supplies become more easily available.If your condition or symptoms change or get worse, please contact the NHS as you would normally.

A supplier to the NHS has advised us of a global shortage of some equipment used for taking blood tests.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Practice Updates

Global shortage of equipment used for taking blood tests

The practice is now commencing its 2021 Flu vaccination campaign. With Coronavirus it is very important to be protected from influenza again this year so if you are eligible for the Flu vaccination please book in with our team.It’s that time of year again when we are pleased to invite our eligible patients to book into our flu clinics for their free flu vaccination.&nbsp;Our clinics are being held at our Burton Joyce and Lowdham surgeries for your convenience, and we are also now pleased to be able to offer our patients an appointment starting on Saturday 2nd October in Lowdham and Saturday 9th October in Burton Joyce, with more clinics to be added as we receive further supplies of the flu vaccine.&nbsp;As you can imagine we are anticipating a larger number of patients to have their flu jab this year, and with the Government announcing their extension of the flu programme to include household family members of those patients classified as clinically vulnerable and the age group 50 – 64 year olds, we are stepping up our clinic capacity to match the demand, and sincerely hope you choose us for your flu protection.&nbsp;You will find further details of the groups now eligible for their flu vaccination by checking this link&nbsp;<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005123/PHE_12053_flu_vaccination_2021_2022_leaflet.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005123/PHE_12053_flu_vaccination_2021_2022_leaflet.pdf</a>&nbsp;We wish to reassure you that every effort is being made to plan your flu appointment so this is as safe as it can be.&nbsp;Our aim is to operate a one patient in, one patient out system, so we would ask you to assist us by dressing according to the weather, and wherever possible walking to our surgery to help minimise vehicle congestion.&nbsp;Finally, we will be sending out a reminder to patients by text to book their flu jab and the team at Ivy eagerly await your calls on 0115 931 2500…..so get booking.&nbsp;You can call any of our surgeries to book your appointment, however if you wish us to book an appointment for you, we can do so by replying to your text with “BOOK”.&nbsp;We will automatically generate an appointment for you and send you a text message confirming this.&nbsp;If this appointment is not convenient, please telephone in the afternoon so our reception team can rearrange this for you.&nbsp;Many thanks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dr Panesar and the Team at The Ivy Medical Group.

Book in now for your free Flu vaccination to be protected against flu this winter

Flu Season 2021

Flu Vaccination appointments now available for bookings

Dear Patients,As you may be aware the NHS has made fantastic progress vaccinating our communities against Covid-19 and the government has now released information regarding changes that will be effective from the 19th of July onwards. This includes easing in restrictions designed to limit the spread of Covid-19.We welcome this positive step but at the same time we would like to offer some advice to our patients to keep themselves safe as there remains a road to travel before we are at the end of the pandemic. As well as the government’s announcement to ease restrictions the advice given by the health secretary includes aiming to meet people outdoors where possible and that it is “expected and recommended” that people should wear face coverings in crowded public settings such as public transport.We have been implementing these changes at the practice and from the 19th of July 2021 we will be changing to free footfall in our reception areas at the Lambley Lane and Apple Tree sites. We would continue to ask our patients to wear face coverings when attending their appointments and maintain social distancing indoors. Our staff will be continuing to wear PPE and maintaining social distancing. This is all in an effort to minimise the risk of an increase in spread of Covid-19. NHS premises are higher risk for Covid-19 compared to other venues as people attending a health centre are already unwell and the risk of meeting COVID-19 because of that is higher. We want to minimise that risk at all times.&nbsp;For those patient that are in the higher risk groups we would advise continuing to think particularly carefully about additional precautions that may help to reduce the risks of acquiring covid-19 such as maintaining social distancing, meeting people outdoors and considering the use of face coverings more broadly.We have a way to go to be out of this world wide pandemic but the progress on vaccinations and consequent easing of restrictions is one big step forward. We would like to once again thank our patients for their support in this most difficult time.Yours Sincerely,Dr Panesar and #teamIVY

The government has now released information regarding changes that will be effective from the 19th of July onwards with regards to Covid-19 restrictions designed to limit the spread of Covid-19. This update describes the changes for our practice.

Covid-19

Dr Panesar outlines some of the changes on the 19th of July

NHS Digital are launching a new data collection programme called General Practice Data for Planning and Research.&nbsp;You can find more information on this scheme on the NHS Digital website: <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research</a>&nbsp;If you wish to opt out of sharing your data, there are two ways you can do this.1. Fill in a Type 1 opt out form and bring/send it to your surgery by 23rd June 2021. You can download the form here: <a href="https://t.co/DqEzEoYLom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/GPDRPoptoutform</a>. This means that your data will not be shared with NHS Digital.2. Complete a National Data opt out form online: <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-data-opt-out" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-data-opt-out</a>&nbsp;This ensures that whilst your data may be shared with NHS Digital, it will not be shared beyond that.All opt outs need to be completed or with your surgery by 23rd June 2021 in order to take effect before the scheme begins.

Find out about the NHS Digital Data Collection program, General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR). Learn how to opt-out.

NHS Digital Data Collection

General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR)

Dear Patients,&nbsp;Over the past few weeks there have been some confusing media reports which have caused a lot of anxiety for our patients and staff. We feel this negative reporting has caused unnecessary concern and distress and we wanted to clarify for you that your practice has been fully open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We have never closed our practice and our opening times have never been reduced at any stage including our evening appointments until 8pm on Mondays. We have always been open and treating our patients. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that we have needed to work differently to ensure you are safe and our staff are safe. This has included thinking carefully about the patients we call in to the surgery to limit risk and altering our consulting methods in order to ensure the safest provision of care to our community. Attending a health centre is different to a shopping centre as people attending a health centre are already unwell and the risk of meeting COVID-19 because of that is higher. We want to minimise that risk at all times.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a clinical team we have been able to use telephone consultations, video consultations and imaging to consult safer during the pandemic. Our patients have been provided telephone triage as the first step with our most senior highly skilled clinicians for urgent problems. If a patient then needs a face-to-face review, they will always be booked from that triage call to a face-to-face slot safely. Routine telephone appointments have always been bookable in advance. Although our waiting rooms may appear quieter than they normally do, this is because we are working hard to deliver care in this safer way. We are ensuring social distancing in our buildings during the pandemic to reduce exposure risk to other patients and to our staff. Our appointments have also been more spaced out for this reason and to allow time for cleaning and changing PPE throughout the day.&nbsp;&nbsp;In some situations, the changes in consulting have been very positive for patients. Some patients have told us that they really value the remote consulting to be able to receive high quality health care with a more convenient format. Reviewing of photographs of rashes or skin lesions has also provided excellent reviews of skin problems by allowing images to be zoomed and examined carefully. These changes in consulting methods have also allowed us to consult more patients during a normal day. Our clinical teams are now consulting with far more patients on a daily basis than before the pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;The changes in the way we deliver care during the pandemic have been challenging for our clinical teams as well as for our patients. We all love seeing patients, consulting with patients is why we chose to be doctors and nurses and why we chose to work in Primary Care.&nbsp;We would like to reassure you that we will always book a face-to-face appointment to examine any patient when the clinical scenario deems that it is appropriate.&nbsp;I have been a GP in this area for over 15 years and I have never worked with a more dedicated and committed team through hopefully a once in a lifetime event. Please be assured your teams are here and are working harder than ever in stressful times. Please be kind when contacting the practice to help our reception team to help you. The reception team do a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances. By working together, we can get through this difficult time.&nbsp;&nbsp;We would all like to thank our patients for their understanding and support during this difficult time. We love working here and are passionate about improving the health of our communities and helping address all the health challenges caused by this difficult pandemic.&nbsp; Thanks,&nbsp;Dr Panesar and #teamIVY.&nbsp;

Our response to the recent confusing media coverage with regards to Covid-19 working and Primary Care to our patients.

Dr Panesar responds to recent confusing media reports. 

The practice has been established for over 16 years and for more than 10 of those years the practice has trained medical students from the university of Nottingham Medical school. Dr Panesar has completed the Post Graduate Certificate in Medical Education with Merit and has a keen interest in teaching. Over recent years the practice has moved towards developing a greater focus on research and teaching. This has been delayed somewhat by the focus on the Pandemic and the need to support the community.We are now delighted to confirm that the practice is in the early stages of registering as a training practice for GP trainees known as registrars. These trainee doctors are fully qualified having worked in hospital and will be available to provide care and learn the skills needed to be a mature GP. The practice is pround to be part of training the next generation.We are currently going through the process needed for registration as a GP training practice and we anticipate taking our first GP registrar in August of this year. For the first year the practice will aim to start with one GP registrar trainee and then in the second year will hope to increase that number to two. We look forward to keeping all of our patients up to date with these exciting developments,

Development of GP registrar training at the practice.

GP training

The Practice prepares to take on GP trainee registrars

Throughout the pandemic the practice has continued to deliver primary medical services along side managing the world wide covid-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic has resulted in the need to manage high numbers of unwell patients as well as to support our hospitals with patients discharged with covid-19 and support our community teams with covid-19 hub vaccinations, the practice has continue to work hard to ensure our patients receive the very best health care. Part of this includes work on prevention and screening.As we come towards the end of our Flu vaccination program for 2020-21 the practice has achieved remarkable vaccination rates for our patients. Compared to the 19 other practices in our CCG area, our teams have achieved the highest percentage of patients vaccinated compared with any other practice. We were number one in our area for achieving the highest percentage of patients vaccinated and the practice vaccinated over 2800 patients over a few months. This is an amazing boost to our teams and we thank our patients for engaging with the practice to ensure as many people as possible are protected.The practice has been eagerly awaiting authorisation from NHS England to deliver Covid-19 vaccinations to our patients from our own practice sites. We know this is important for our patients as it allows easier access with teams patients know well. To date, we have not been able to undertake Covid-19 vaccinations on our sites as we had not received authorisation from NHS England and we did not have vaccine supply. We are delighted to update our patients on the fact that we have now received authorisation to make a start and vaccine supply is anticipated to be available for the 18th of March 2021.As such, the practice is now contacting patients to book in those that are eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations for our clinics. We anticipate running ongoing clinics as long as the practice has vaccine supply. Please do not contact our reception teams about Covid-19 vaccination appointments in order to keep our lines free for medical care. Please be assured our administration teams will be in contact with you dependent on eligibility which is set by NHS England.Once again, we would like to say a big thank you to our patients for their support, engagement and understanding. Together we shall get through.

Update to patients on the performance of the 2020-21 Flu vaccination campaign at the Ivy. Next steps for Covid-19 vaccinations.

Vaccination Programs 

Top marks for Flu vaccinations 2020-21 and looking forward to Covid-19 vaccinations

<h2>Information on how to book your COVID vaccination if you are over 80 years old.</h2>NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG are now asking all over 80s who have not yet booked their vaccination, to do so. To book either ring 0115 8834640 or book online at <a href="https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/nottinghamc19vpatient.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/nottinghamc19vpatient.php</a> This is to book into a Nottingham vaccine centre. Please note, we provide our vaccines in these centres and not at our practice. We are unable to book on your behalf so we kindly ask you not to call us to request this. Over 70's and clinically extremely vunerable - please do wait for your invite, you are unable to book until you do. For more information Coronavirus (COVID-19) - NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG (nottsccg.nhs.uk)

Information for our patients on how to book your COVID-19 vaccination if you are over the age of 80.

COVID19

How to book your COVID-19 Vaccination if you are over 80 years old

Information from our CCG:Across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire people over the age of 80 are being contacted to book their Covid-19 vaccination.In the next few weeks, over 80s will receive a letter from the NHS explaining how to book their appointment.Health bosses have asked the public to wait until they have received their letter before contacting the NHS, their GP or local hospital hub – the letter will have full details of how to make an appointment.&nbsp;Do not call your GP or turn up at A&amp;E or your doctor’s surgery – the only way to get an appointment and the jab is to follow the instructions in the letter.Amanda Sullivan, Accountable Officer at Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “This is the biggest vaccination programme the NHS has ever undertaken. It is a huge challenge and one that has been rolled out at great pace. Our teams are working really hard but it’s important to remember this is only the first stage of the programme so we are learning and improving as we go.“We understand many people are keen to see their family get the vaccine as soon as possible to protect them from getting seriously ill. Details of how people over the age of 80 make their&nbsp;vaccine&nbsp;appointment&nbsp;have been shared&nbsp;and used&nbsp;amongst other, less vulnerable&nbsp;groups. If you see a message directed at an 80 year old, or someone who is most at risk asking them to book&nbsp;to receive a vaccine, please don’t&nbsp;log on or&nbsp;pick up the phone unless you are calling on their behalf. We need to protect the&nbsp;appointments&nbsp;for those most in need.&nbsp;“In time, everyone will be vaccinated so for now we are urging the public to work with us and be patient so we can first vaccinate those who need it most.”The roll out of Covid-19 vaccines to people most in need began at the two hospital hubs, Queens Medical Centre and Kings Mill Hospital, in early December.Teams across the health and care system in Nottinghamshire are now preparing for a further roll out of the vaccine into the community for those over 80 years old. During January Local Vaccination Services at GP surgeries and other community sites will start to open across Nottinghamshire.Dr John Brewin, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare said: “The NHS is experienced in delivering millions of vaccines a year, and is moving quickly to roll out this vaccine to those who need it, it’s important that we remember this will be a marathon, not a sprint.“The recent rise in cases and emergence of a new variant of the virus also shows that we cannot let our guard down now. NHS staff are doing an incredible job to deliver what it is the largest vaccination programme in our history, at the same time as continuing to be there for everyone who needs care.”The public have an important part to play to help:• please don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine, we will contact you;• when we do contact you, please attend your booked appointments;• and please continue to follow all the guidance to control the virus and save lives.For more information about the Covid-19 vaccination,&nbsp;<a href="https://nottsccg.nhs.uk/covid-19/covid-19-vaccination-in-nottingham-and-nottinghamshire/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">please click here</a>.

Covid-19 Vaccinations in Nottinghamshire: Letters being sent to over 80s, look out for yours

COVID19 over 80s vaccinations

The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is safe and effective. It gives you the best protection against coronavirus.<h2>Who can get the COVID-19 vaccine</h2>The NHS is currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to people most at risk from coronavirus.The vaccine is being&nbsp;offered in some hospitals and, from this week, hundreds of local vaccination centres run by GPs.It's being given to:<ul><li>some people aged 80 and over who already have a hospital appointment in the next few weeks</li><li>people who live or work in care homes</li><li>health care workers at high risk</li></ul>The vaccine will be offered more widely, and at other locations, as soon as possible.The order in which people will be offered the vaccine is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-2-december-2020/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-2-december-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read the latest JCVI advice on priority groups for the COVID-19 vaccination on GOV.UK</a><h3>Wait to be contacted</h3>The NHS will let you know when it's your turn to have the vaccine. It's important not to contact the NHS for a vaccination before then.<h2>Advice if you're of childbearing age, pregnant or breastfeeding</h2>You should wait to have the COVID-19 vaccine:<ul><li>if you're pregnant – you should wait until you've had your baby</li><li>if you're breastfeeding – you should wait until you've stopped breastfeeding</li></ul>If you have the vaccine, you should not get pregnant for at least 2 months after having the 2nd dose.If you later find out you were pregnant when you had the COVID-19 vaccine, do not worry. The vaccine cannot give you or your baby COVID-19.There's no evidence it's unsafe if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. But more evidence is needed before you can be offered the vaccine.<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-women-of-childbearing-age-currently-pregnant-planning-a-pregnancy-or-breastfeeding/covid-19-vaccination-a-guide-for-women-of-childbearing-age-pregnant-planning-a-pregnancy-or-breastfeeding" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read the latest COVID-19 vaccine advice if you're pregnant, may get pregnant or are breastfeeding on GOV.UK</a><h2>How the COVID-19 vaccine is given</h2>The COVID-19 vaccine is given as an injection into your upper arm.It's given as 2 doses, at least 21 days apart.<h2>How safe is the COVID-19 vaccine?</h2>The vaccine approved for use in the UK was developed by Pfizer/BioNTech.It has met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).Any coronavirus vaccine that is approved must go through all the clinical trials and safety checks all other licensed medicines go through. The MHRA follows international standards of safety.Other vaccines are being developed. They will only be available on the NHS once they have been thoroughly tested to make sure they are safe and effective.So far, thousands of people have been given a COVID-19 vaccine and reports of serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, have been very rare. No long-term complications have been reported.<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-approval-of-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-for-covid-19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read about the approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 by MHRA on GOV.UK</a><h2>How effective is the COVID-19 vaccine?</h2>After having both doses of the vaccine most people will be protected against coronavirus.It takes a few weeks after getting the 2nd dose for it to work.There is a small chance you might still get coronavirus even if you have the vaccine.This means it is important to:<ul><li>continue to follow&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/social-distancing/what-you-need-to-do/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social distancing guidance</a></li><li>if you can, wear something that covers your nose and mouth in places where it's hard to stay away from other people</li></ul>Information:&nbsp;Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/why-vaccination-is-safe-and-important/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">why vaccines are safe and important</a>, including how they work and what they contain.<h2>COVID-19 vaccine side effects</h2>Most side effects are mild and should not last longer than a week, such as:<ul><li>a sore arm where the needle went in</li><li>feeling tired</li><li>a headache</li><li>feeling achy</li></ul>You can take painkillers, such as paracetamol, if you need to.If you have a high temperature you may have coronavirus or another infection.If your symptoms get worse or you are worried, call 111.<h3>Allergic reactions</h3>Tell staff before you are vaccinated if you have ever had a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).You should not have the vaccine if you've ever had a serious allergic reaction to medicines, vaccines or food.If you do have a reaction to the vaccine, it usually happens in minutes. Staff giving the vaccine are trained to deal with allergic reactions and treat them immediately.<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/confirmation-of-guidance-to-vaccination-centres-on-managing-allergic-reactions-following-covid-19-vaccination-with-the-pfizer-biontech-vaccine" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read the latest COVID-19 vaccine advice if you have a history of allergies by MHRA on GOV.UK</a><h2>COVID-19 vaccine ingredients</h2>The COVID-19 vaccine does not contain any animal products or egg.

Information from the NHS on the COVID-19 vaccine for December 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine

The practice has made excellent progress in reaching vaccination targets for children, over 65 year old patients and for patients with high risk conditions. In this unusual COVID19 year the NHS is undertaking an extended flu vaccination programme this winter to include patients over the age of 50. This is a free flu jab programme aimed at protecting a larger proportion of the population from flu when there is the risk from COVID19. COVID means getting a flu jab is more important than ever this year.The practice is now booking patients in for their flu jab for the 50-64 year age group with text invitations and by phone to ensure we are booking into clinics alongside vaccine deliveries. We are working efficiently to make sure everyone gets vaccinated as soon as possible. Look out for your invite in the next week or so.We look forward to providing care to our patients during this exceptionally challenging winter season. Please keep up to date with NHS guidance on controlling the spread of COVID19.

NHS extended vaccination programme for flu in ages 50-64 years.

Flu Vaccinations 2020

Flu vaccinations for 50-64 year old patients.

Working without PCN, Arrow Health, our practice are delighted to announce the availability of advanced services to our patients. We are happy to announce that our patients will be supported with medication management by our Clinical Pharmacists. Mr MIlan Patel is providing advanced medicines management services for our patients which includes review medications to ensure they are appropriate and safe as well as proactively monitoring patients on higher risk medications and on those with lots of medications. Milan will also be undertaking actions to adjust medications with the latest research and bulletins to ensure we keep our patients safe on their treatments. We would also like to welcome Briony Leighton who is a specialist Clinical Pharmacist for patients in care homes. Briony will be joining our clinicians in weekly reviews and ward rounds for our care homes to ensure our patients are safe and have the very best in medical care.Here is a message from Milan:<blockquote>"My name is Milan and I am the Primary Care Network (PCN) clinical pharmacist that will be working across IVY Medical Group and Plains View Surgery. I will be working as part of the multi-disciplinary team to meet the needs of patients and provide my expertise with any medicine related queries. I have over 15 years of experience as a practicing Pharmacist and last year I acquired my independent prescribing qualification.&nbsp;My role is to support patients and the practice by carrying out structured medication reviews for patients on long term conditions and the other areas set out by the NHS England. As part of my responsibilities I will also be supporting the practices to adopt a patient safety theme to promote safe prescribing. The purpose of having a clinical pharmacist in GP practice is to help with any medicines related queries, help with minor ailments, carry out reviews and practice audits and free up time for GPs to see patients that have complex issues or comorbidities. I am looking forward to helping the teams at Ivy and Plains and improve the patient experience by answering any medicines related queries or prescription queries."</blockquote>Milan will be with us at the practice on Tuesdays mainly and Briony will be with us on Tuesday afternoons to support our care home reviews.

The Ivy Medical Group is delighted to announce new services for our patients with the availability of Clinical Pharmacists.

Advanced Services

Clinical Pharmacists

Working with our PCN, Arrow Health, we are delighted to welcome Mr Gurpal Matharu to our team. Gurpal is a highly trained First Contact Physio and will be working with us on Mondays. He is directly bookable by our patients for musculoskeletal problems and will be able to provide one for the most comprehensive musculoskeletal assessments available.The role of First Contact Physiotherapists (FCPs) in Primary Care is to assess patients with soft tissue, muscle and joint pain and to decide on the most appropriate management pathway. FCPs are physiotherapists with expertise in the assessment and management of Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.&nbsp;Here is a message from Gurpal:<blockquote>"Hi, I’m the First Contact Physiotherapist (FCP). I have almost ten years of experience assessing and treating musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions across hospitals and clinics up and down the UK. I’m here for your MSK needs; whether it be a painful back/neck, a new injury or even something that has been bothering you for a while and starting to affect your day-to-day tasks. My role will be to expertly assess and refer you on to the service that suits you best. Or it might even be something which will clear up with a few simple exercises and time!"</blockquote>Gurpal will be available on Mondays to book appointments for patients with Musculoskeletal problems.

The Ivy Medical Group is delighted to announce new services for our patients with the availability of a First Contact Physiotherapist.

First Contact Physiotherapists

Service Development

First Contact Physiotherapist joins the Ivy Medical Group Team

Clinical Pharmacists Join the Ivy Medical Group Team

<h2>How the NHS Test and Trace service works</h2><h3>For someone with symptoms of coronavirus</h3><ol><li>isolate: as soon as you experience coronavirus symptoms, medical advice is clear: you must self-isolate for at least 10 days. Anyone else in your household must self-isolate for 14 days from when you started having symptoms</li><li>test:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">get a free NHS test immediately to check if you have coronavirus</a>&nbsp;or call 119 if you have no internet access</li><li>results: if your test is positive, you must complete the remainder of your 10-day self-isolation. Anyone in your household must also complete self-isolation for 14 days from when you started having symptoms. If your test is negative, other household members no longer need to self-isolate. If you feel well and no longer have symptoms similar to coronavirus, you can stop self-isolating (unless you have been contacted separately by NHS Test and Trace as a contact of someone who has tested positive).</li><li>share contacts: if you test positive for coronavirus, the NHS Test and Trace service will send you a text or email alert or call you with instructions of how to share details of people with whom you have had close, recent contact and places you have visited. It is important that you respond as soon as possible so that we can give appropriate advice to those who need it. You will be told to do this online via a secure website or you will be called by one of our contract tracers. If NHS Test and Trace contact tracers are unable to contact you for 24 hours, they may pass your case to your local authority to follow up by phone or in person.</li></ol><h3>If you are contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service because you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus</h3><ol><li>alert: you will be alerted by the NHS Test and Trace service if you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. The alert will usually come by text, email or phone call. You should then log on to the NHS Test and Trace website, which is normally the easiest way for you and the service to communicate with each other – but, if not, a trained call handler will talk you through what you must do. Under-18s will get a phone call and a parent or guardian will be asked to give permission for the call to continue</li><li>isolate: you will be told to begin self-isolation for 14 days from your last contact with the person who has tested positive. It’s really important to do this even if you don’t feel unwell because, if you have been infected, you could become infectious to others at any point up to 14 days. Your household doesn’t need to self-isolate with you, if you do not have symptoms, but they must take extra care to follow the guidance on social distancing and handwashing and avoid contact with you at home</li><li>test if needed: if you develop symptoms of coronavirus, other members of your household must self-isolate immediately at home for 14 days and you must&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">get a test to check if you have coronavirus</a>&nbsp;or call 119 if you have no internet access. If your test is positive, you must continue to stay at home for at least 10 days and we will get in touch to ask about your contacts since they must self-isolate. If your test is negative, you must still complete your 14-day self-isolation period because the virus may not be detectable yet - this is crucial to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus.</li></ol>

Information on Covid-19 Test and Trace program

Covid-19 Test and Trace

<h3>Advice in your region</h3><a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">England&nbsp;</a>|<a href="https://www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Scotland&nbsp;</a>|<a href="https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/latest-information-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Wales&nbsp;</a>|<a href="https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/news/covid-19-coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Northern Ireland&nbsp;</a>|<a href="https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Ireland&nbsp;</a>Get the latest NHS information and advice about coronavirus (COVID-19).<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Check if you or your child has coronavirus symptoms</a>Find out about the main symptoms of coronavirus and what to do if you have them.<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Testing and tracing</a>Get a test to check if you have coronavirus, understand your test result and find out what to do if you're contacted by NHS Test and Trace.<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Self-isolation and treatment if you have coronavirus symptoms</a>Advice about staying at home (self-isolation) and treatment for you and anyone you live with.<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">People at high risk</a>Advice for people at higher risk from coronavirus, including older people, people with health conditions and pregnant women.<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/social-distancing/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Social distancing and changes to everyday life</a>Advice about avoiding close contact with other people (social distancing), looking after your wellbeing and using the NHS and other services.<a href="https://www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">COVID-19 support recovery service</a>'Your COVID Recovery' helps you to understand what has happened and what you might expect as part of your recovery.<a href="https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GOV.UK: coronavirus – guidance and support</a>Government information and advice.

General Update and links for Covid-19

General Update and links for Covid-19

Covid-19 Information Updates

<h1>Self Help</h1>We are keen to help patients improve on self help and hope that the following information will offer some insight into that.Take a look and see if you can improve your own understanding of your health and well-being! Please encourage others to look here too.Here is a list of ailments that can be safely self managed. You will see that you can take a look via the hyperlink at the other websites which can offer you further information about managing your condition. <h3>Common ailments that can be self managed :</h3><h4>Back pain</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/back-pain/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Cold sores</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cold-sore/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Common Cold</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cold-common/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Conjunctivitis</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/conjunctivitis-infective/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Constipation</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/constipation/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Cough</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cough/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Diarrhoea</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diarrhoea/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Dysmenorrhoea (painful periods)</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/periods-painful/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Earache</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/otitis-media/pages/symptoms.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Haemorrhoids</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/haemorrhoids/Pages/What-is-it-page.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<h4>Hayfever</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hay-fever/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Head lice</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Headache</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/headaches/Pages/headacheshome.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Heartburn &amp; Indigestion</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heartburn/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Influenza</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/flu/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Insect bites</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bites-insect/pages/introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Migraine</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/migraine/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Nasal congestion</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/catarrh/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Nappy rash</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nappy-rash/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Sore throat</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sore-throat/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Sinusitis</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Sinusitis/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Sprains and strains</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sprains/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Thrush</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/thrush/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a><h4>Warts and Verrucas</h4><a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/warts/Pages/Introduction.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS</a>

Some links and advice on Self Care.

Self Care

Some information on Self Help

In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;<ul><li>&nbsp;Get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital doctor (this is necessary to register the death)</li><li>&nbsp;Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.</li><li>&nbsp;Make the necessary funeral arrangements.</li></ul>Register the deathIf the death has been reported to the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) they must give permission before registering the death.You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.You can use the ‘<a href="https://www.gov.uk/register-a-death" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Register a Death</a>’ page on the gov.uk website that will guide you through the process. This will also explain the registration process for Scotland and Northern Ireland.Arrange the funeralThe funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.Funeral directorsChoose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the National Association of Funeral Directors, National Federation of Funeral Directors or the Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.These organisations have codes of practice - they must give you a price list when asked.Some local councils run their own&nbsp;<a href="http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/index.jsp?LGSL=671&amp;LGIL=8&amp;ServiceName=Find%20out%20about%20a%20council%20funeral" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">funeral services</a>, for example for non-religious burials. The&nbsp;<a href="http://humanism.org.uk/ceremonies/non-religious-funerals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">British Humanist Association</a>&nbsp;can also help with non-religious funerals.Arranging the funeral yourselfContact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.Funeral costsFuneral costs can include:<ul><li>funeral director fees</li><li>&nbsp;things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death</li><li>&nbsp;local authority burial or cremation fees</li></ul>Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.

Information for patients who are bereaved

Patient Information

In times of Bereavement

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/sc2.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">HMRC website</a>.<h3>Evidence that you are sick</h3>If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).Your employer can ask you to confirm that you've been ill.You can do this by filling in a form yourself when you return to work. This is called self-certification.If you're sick and off work for more than seven days, your employer will probably ask for proof of your illness. Most employers ask for a fit note from your GP.&nbsp;We can only provide medical certificates if you have been seen by a clinician at the Practice during your period of illness.However, this will also depend on your employer's company policy on sick leave (or sickness absence). This policy should tell you how many days you can be off sick before you need to provide proof of illness or a fit note.You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.<h3>Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'</h3>The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.For more information see the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_175850" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DirectGov&nbsp;website</a>&nbsp;(where this information was sourced)

Sickness Certificates

The Practice supports the Government's&nbsp;'Zero Tolerance'&nbsp;campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place.&nbsp;Our Practice staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time.&nbsp;The staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.In order for the Practice to maintain good relations with their patients the Practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:<ul><li class="ql-indent-1">Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Using bad language or swearing at Practice staff</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Causing damage/stealing from the Practice's premises, staff or patients</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently</li><li class="ql-indent-1">We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times</li></ul> Violence at workThe Practice acknowledges that there may be instances where violence and / or aggression forms part of a patient’s illness.&nbsp;In these circumstances, the issue will be discussed with the patient and form part of their care planning.This information will be recorded in the patient’s medical record and flagged to ensure that members of staff are aware. In addition, where deemed necessary, appropriate support will be put in place, e.g. staff members do not see the patient alone.Physical and verbal abuse includes:<ul><li>Unreasonable and / or offensive remarks or behaviour / rude gestures / innuendoes</li><li>Sexual and racial harassment</li><li>Threatening behaviour (with or without a weapon)</li><li>Actual physical assault (whether or not it results in actual injury) includes being pushed or shoved as well as being hit, punched or attacked with a weapon, or being intentionally struck with bodily fluids or excrement.</li><li>Attacks on partners, members of staff or the public</li><li>Discrimination of any kind</li><li>Damage to an employee's or employer's property</li></ul>&nbsp;Removal from the Practice listThe removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-Practice relationship. We value and respect good patient-doctor relationships based on mutual respect and trust. When trust has irretrievably broken down, the Practice will consider all factors before removing a patient from their list, and communicate to them that it is in the patient’s best interest that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is in the case of immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved. Removing other members of the householdBecause of the possible need to visit patients at home, it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household to ensure the safety of Practice staff.&nbsp;The prospect of visiting patients at the residence of a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice, or the risk of being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it difficult for the Practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is more likely where the removed patient has been violent or displayed threatening behaviour, and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.&nbsp;

Staff Safety

NHS Zero Tolerance

The Ivy Medical Group is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times and the safety of everyone is of paramount importanceSome examinations and treatments, in particular where they involve intimate body parts and states of undress, can make patients feel vulnerable and distressed.A chaperone is to protect both patients and staff from abuse or allegations of abuse and to assist patients to make an informed choice about their examinations and consultations.&nbsp;chaperone may assist in supporting and reassuring a patient during an examination or procedure.The healthcare professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations in accordance with the practice chaperones policy.What to expect?You can request a chaperone be present during any examination or procedure that you feel uncomfortable with. Expect the role of the chaperone to be clearly explained to you and the person introduced to you by the health care professional who is to undertake the examination or procedure.&nbsp;Who can be a chaperone?The practice will try to ensure your chaperone is a qualified nurse or health care assistant. In some circumstances a non-clinical member of staff may be asked to chaperone. All clinical and non-clinical staff have received chaperone training.Arranging a chaperoneIf you would like to arrange a chaperone in advance please inform the receptionist when you book your appointment so they can arrange for a nurse or health care assistant to be available. If during your consultation the clinician feels a chaperone is needed, they will attempt to arrange this, if possible during the consultation. In the unlikely event a chaperone cannot be arranged you may be asked to arrange another appointment. What is the chaperones responsibility?&nbsp;<ul><li>Ensure that their conduct is sensitive and respectful of your privacy and dignity</li><li>To reassure you if you are distressed or experiencing any discomfort and to communicate this, if appropriate, to the clinician</li><li>Ensure that they can communicate with you in a way that you can understand</li></ul> Can a family member act as a chaperone?<ul><li>Your family member cannot act as a formal chaperone. You can however request that a member of your family or a friend be present as an informal chaperone during the examination.</li></ul> Can I refuse a chaperone?<ul><li>You have the right to refuse a particular person as a chaperone; in this instance we will document the reasons for your refusal and an alternative chaperone will be arranged.</li></ul> Confidentiality<ul><li>All our staff and clinicians are trained to a high level on the laws and policies relating to data protection and confidentiality.&nbsp;Your chaperone will not disclose any information obtained during your examination or procedure.&nbsp;In all cases where the presence of a chaperone may intrude in a confidential clinician-patient discussion, their presence will be confined to the physical examination only. One-to-one communication with the clinician will continue once the chaperone has left.&nbsp;</li></ul>

Information on the Practice Chaperone Policy

Practice Policy

Chaperones

<h3>What is&nbsp;the NHS Health Check?</h3>The NHS Health Check is&nbsp;a&nbsp;sophisticated check of your&nbsp;heart health. Aimed&nbsp;at adults in England aged 40 to 74,&nbsp;it&nbsp;checks your&nbsp;vascular or circulatory&nbsp;health and&nbsp;works out your risk of developing some of the most disabling&nbsp;– but preventable&nbsp;– illnesses.&nbsp;Think of your NHS Health Check as being&nbsp;your&nbsp;"midlife MOT". It checks that some of your body's most important systems are all running smoothly. Among other things, your blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI will all be checked and your results&nbsp;given to you.&nbsp;Crucially, your NHS Health Check can detect potential problems before they do real damage. Everyone is at risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and some forms of dementia. The good news is that these conditions can often be prevented.Your NHS Health Check will assess your risk of developing these health problems and&nbsp;give you personalised advice on how to reduce it.It's&nbsp;free of charge, including any follow-up tests or appointments.<h3>Why&nbsp;the NHS Health Check&nbsp;is important</h3>Thousands of people have already had an NHS Health Check. They are&nbsp;now armed with information and support to reduce their risk of developing heart and vascular problems. Why not join them?Together, the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/nhs-health-check/Pages/Why-these-conditions.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">vascular conditions</a>&nbsp;identified by the NHS Health Check are the biggest cause of preventable deaths in the UK, affecting more than 4 million people.Every year, the NHS Health Check is expected to help:<ul><li>save 650 lives</li><li>prevent 1,600 heart attacks and strokes</li><li>prevent 4,000 people from developing diabetes</li><li>detect at least 20,000 cases of diabetes or kidney disease earlier</li></ul>If you want to avoid being a statistic, it's worth making an appointment for an NHS Health Check as soon as you get your invitation.Find out more about&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/nhs-health-check/Pages/Why-have-an-NHS-Health-Check.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">why you should have an NHS Health Check</a>.<h3>How to get an NHS Health Check</h3>You'll be invited by your GP for an NHS Health Check every five years if you are between 40 and 74 years old, as long as you don't have an existing vascular condition.

Information on the NHS Health Check

Health Screening

NHS Health Check

<h1>Summary Care Record</h1>There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.<h3>Why do I need a Summary Care Record?</h3>Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.<h3>Who can see it?</h3>Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.&nbsp;<h3>How do I know if I have one?</h3>Over half of the population of&nbsp;England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by looking at our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/ahp-informatics-network/news/summary-care-record-interactive-implementation-map" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">interactive map</a>&nbsp;or by asking your GP<h3>Do I have to have one?</h3>No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery. You can use the form at the foot of this page.COVID-19&nbsp;<a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/services/summary-care-records-scr/additional-information-in-scr?_cldee=bWFuaWsuYXJvcmFAbmhzLm5ldA%3d%3d&amp;recipientid=contact-b130bcda4f07df11a529001e0bcd44d6-ac3ad0ab44ad4b72ae02f25c62c358db&amp;esid=677ac883-5ab5-ea11-a812-002248007f84#resources" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Additional Information in SCR</a>This practice is supporting vital coronavirus (COVID-19) planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital.&nbsp;For more information about this see the&nbsp;<a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/coronavirus/gpes-data-for-pandemic-planning-and-research/general-practice-transparency-notice" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">General Practice Transparency Notice for GPES Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19).</a><h3>More Information</h3>For further information visit the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/records/healthrecords/Pages/servicedescription.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NHS Care records website</a>

Information about the Summary Care Patient Record

Summary Care Record

<h1>Pharmacy First</h1><h2>Pharmacy Services</h2>Your local pharmacy can also offer you advice and treatment if required for a range of minor ailments. Under the ‘Pharmacy First Scheme’ , if you are exempt from prescription charges, you will be able to get the same medicines the GP would have prescribed free of charge for the following ailments:<ul><li>Athlete's Foot</li><li>Conjunctivitis</li><li>Constipation</li><li>Coughs &amp; Colds</li><li>Diarrhoea</li><li>Earache</li><li>Haemorrhoids</li><li>Hay Fever</li><li>Head Lice</li><li>Insect Bites/Stings</li><li>Sore Throat</li><li>Teething pain</li><li>Thread Worm</li><li>Thrush</li><li>Toothache</li><li>Warts</li><li>Verrucae</li></ul>To access the service go to your local Pharmacy First pharmacist (look out for posters, leaflets and window stickers for your nearest one).

Pharmacy First

The Government has recently advised everyone to wear a face covering when out and about, therefore we are requesting that patients please wear a face covering before entering the practice.

Using a face covering when visiting the practice

Our flu clinics are now open for bookings.&nbsp;<h2>Children eligible for flu vaccine clinics</h2><ul><li>Thursday 29th October at Apple Tree Surgery - afternoon</li><li>Friday 6th November at Apple Tree Surgery - morning</li></ul><h2>Patients aged 65 and over</h2><ul><li>Patients aged 65 and over - Thursday 22nd October at Lambley Lane Surgery 14.30 - 17.45</li><li>Patients aged 65 and over - Thursday 22nd October at Apple Tree Surgery 14.30 - 17.45</li><li>Patients aged 65 and over - Monday 26th October at Lambley Lane Surgery 18.30 - 19.45</li></ul><h2>Patients aged 18-64</h2><ul><li>Patients aged 18-64 in an at risk category - Monday 26th October at Lambley Lane Surgery 18.30 - 19.45</li><li>Patients aged 18-64 in an at risk category - Monday 9th November at Lambley Lane Surgery 18.30 - 19.45</li><li>Patients aged 18-64 in an at risk category - Thursday 12th November at Apple Tree Surgery 14.30 - 17.45</li><li>Patients aged 18-64 in an at risk category - Thursday 12th November at Lowdham Surgery 14.30 - 17.45</li></ul>Please contact any of our surgeries to book in. We very much look forward to providing you with your flu protection.

We are pleased to inform you that we are now booking eligible patients into our flu clinics.

Flu Clinics

Flu appointments now available for booking

The Government has advised everyone to wear a face covering when out and about, therefore we are requesting that patients please wear a face covering before entering the practice.<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-advised-to-cover-faces-in-enclosed-spaces" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-advised-to-cover-faces-in-enclosed-spaces</a>The practice has a legal responsibility to protect staff and patients from risks associated with COVID-19 and wearing a face covering is an added precaution that may have some benefit in reducing the likelihood that a person with the infection passes it on.A medical grade clinical mask is not necessary, these need to be prioritised to clinical staff. Instead, for patients who are visiting healthcare sites, a face covering is sufficient and there is guidance for people to make these at home with items they may already own.Children under 2 are not required to wear face masks and children under 5 do not need to wear face coverings if they cannot use them without assistance.

Using a face covering when visiting the practice

Covid update

It’s that time of year again when we are pleased to invite our eligible patients to book into our flu clinics for their free flu vaccination.&nbsp;Our clinics are being held at our Burton Joyce and Lowdham surgeries for your convenience, and we are also now pleased to be able to offer our patients an appointment on a Saturday starting from Saturday 3 October, with more clinics to be added as we receive further supplies of the flu vaccine.&nbsp;As you can imagine we are anticipating a larger number of patients to have their flu jab this year, and with the Government announcing their extension of the flu programme to include household family members of those patients classified as clinically vulnerable, we are stepping up our clinic capacity to match the demand, and sincerely hope you choose us for your flu protection.&nbsp;You will find further details of the groups now eligible for their flu vaccination by checking our <a href="https://ivymedicalgroup.com/flu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">general flu information page</a> on the website, but in the meantime, we wish to reassure you that every effort is being made to plan your flu appointment so this is as safe as can be.&nbsp;Our aim is to operate a one patient in, one patient out system, so we would ask you to assist us by dressing according to the weather, and wherever possible walking to our surgery to help minimise vehicle congestion.&nbsp;To save time on the day of your appointment, look out for details appearing on our website during September of the vaccination itself, as we will try to minimise the need to hand leaflets out to patients on the day.Finally, we will be sending out a reminder to patients by text to book their flu jab and the team at Ivy eagerly await your calls…..so get booking.&nbsp;You can call any of our surgeries to book your appointment, however if you wish us to book an appointment for you, we can do so by replying to your text with “BOOK”.&nbsp;We will automatically generate an appointment for you and send you a text message confirming this.&nbsp;If this appointment is not convenient, please telephone in the afternoon so our reception team can rearrange this for you. Many thanks.&nbsp; Dr Panesar and the Team at The Ivy Medical Group.

The practice is now commencing its 2020 Flu vaccination campaign. With Coronavirus it is very important to be protected from influenza this year so if you are eligible for the Flu vaccination please book in with our team.

Flu Vaccination Program 2020

Book your Free Flu Jab

Our prescription collection service is available during surgery opening times at our Apple Tree and Lowdham sites.Please allow a minimum of 3 working days for us to process your request.You can nominate a pharmacy of your choice from the list below, if you would prefer your prescription sending directly to them. Please advise us by adding a note on your repeat request or by calling the surgery. The phone lines are particularly busy at this time so please bear with us to get through. <ul><li>Boots Pharmacy - Main Street, Burton Joyce.</li><li>Boots Pharmacy - Victoria Retail Park, Netherfield.</li><li>Medina Chemist - Victoria Road, Netherfield.</li><li>Lowdham Pharmacy - Main Street, Lowdham.</li></ul> Please note, all emergency prescription requests can only be collected after 4pm.

Our prescription collection service is available during surgery opening times at our Apple Tree and Lowdham sites.

Covid 19

Prescription Collection

The message says "You must follow government advice and stay at home. You may receive more detailed advice re your health condition".Only patients with an underlying health condition which puts them at a higher risk of complications will be contacted. Otherwise please follow the advice to stay at home and only leave home to undertake essential activities. You do not need to contact us.&nbsp;

NHS England have sent a text message to all patients to reiterate government advice to stay at home.

Coronavirus - NHS Text Message

NHS England have provided updated guidance in regards to coronavirus and is summarised as follows. 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:<ul><li>do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital</li><li>you do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home</li><li>testing for coronavirus is not needed if you’re staying at home</li><li>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</li><li>ask your employer, friends and family to help you to get the things you need to stay at home</li><li>wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, each time using soap and water, or use hand sanitiser</li><li>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 online coronavirus service. If you do not have internet access, call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999</li></ul>

Updated guidance for Coronavirus for 17th of March 2020

Updated Coronavirus Guidance

What to do if you have symptoms Stay at home for 7 days if you have either: <ul><li>a high temperature</li><li>a new continuous cough</li></ul> This will help to protect others in your community while you are infectious.Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.You do not need to contact NHS 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.We will not be testing people who are self-isolating with mild symptoms. Actions implemented across the primary care network and at our surgeryThe practice will contact patients with booked appointments with our practice nurses and HCA's and if patients have any temperature or cough they will be asked to stay at home and self isolate for 7 days. They will be asked not to attend the surgery. Urgent clinical issues will be managed by telephone.All GP appointments will now be telephone triaged to manage as much clinical care as we can at home. For those patients needing to be seen in person, appointments in the surgery will be made but that will be after excluding any risk of Coronavirus related symptoms.If patients have symptoms suggestive of Coronavirus the advice is they must ring 111 for review. There is a home management service being provided to look after patients with Coronavirus whilst reducing infection risk. Care will be undertaken by this service and not by primary care or the practice.Home visit requests are being triaged to ensure only those crucially needed are undertaken. More routine or less urgent visits will be deferred until after the Coronavirus crisis.We would like to thank you all for your support and understanding as we move in to this delay phase.National information can be found on the Public Health website.

The UK is now in the Delay Phase when trying to manage the Coronavirus and the national guidance has now changed

Coronavirus - UK now in Delay Phase

NHS 111 has an online coronavirus service that can tell you if you need medical help and advise you what to do. Use this service if: <ul><li>you think you might have coronavirus</li><li>in the last 14 days you've been to a country or area with a high risk of coronavirus</li><li>you've been in close contact with someone with coronavirus</li><li>Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. Stay indoors and avoid close contact with other people. Call 111 if you need to speak to someone.</li></ul> In Scotland call your GP or NHS 24 on 111 out of hours.In Wales call 111 (if available in your area) or 0845 46 47.In Northern Ireland call 111.For region specific information and advice in: <ul><li>England visit www.nhs.uk</li><li>Wales visit phw.nhs.wales</li><li>Scotland visit nhsinform.scot</li><li>Northern Ireland visit HSC</li><li>Ireland visit HSE</li></ul> Further information and details of how to self-isolate are available on www.nhs.uk.

The NHS and Public Health England (PHE) are extremely well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. The NHS has put in place measures to ensure the safety of all patients and NHS staff while also ensuring services are available to the public as normal.