Coronavirus testing is not done at the surgery; click here for self referral information
The Surgery will be CLOSED on Mon 25 May; please ring 111 if you need medical advice
A message to all our patients at Harston Surgery from Megan
In light of the recent pandemic we wanted to inform you all of any recent updates we have. Firstly I would like to thank all of our patients for being so understanding whilst we re-evaluate how our surgery operates in order to maintain the safety for our staff and our patients.
The safety and wellbeing of our patients is at the heart of Harston Surgery and any changes we have made are to protect all of us.
The Dispensary
The dispensary will now be open from 9.30am - 12pm & 3-5pm Monday through to Friday.
This is to try to allow the staff in dispensary to get caught up with the prescription requests. In order to do this, our staff have begun working night shifts. Our night shifts begin at 5pm every week day. To ensure we have enough time to clean the surgery between shifts; we have to close our doors at 5pm promptly. Please make sure you get here in good time as we must close our doors at 5pm.
Since the government issued the lock down our medication requests have tripled. Obviously, it is our duty to supply our patients with their medication as fast and efficiently as we can and we are doing our upmost to fulfil our patient’s needs, but please, try to be patient with us and only order your repeat medication when you have one weeks supply left.
If you are in desperate need of a medication and it is unavailable, you can ask for a paper prescription and collect it at a near by pharmacy, or a doctor may be able to offer you an alternative medication.
We can only issue one month’s supply of any medication as per the governments’ advisement.
Please order medication one week in advance only.
The Surgery
Currently the surgery doors are open from 9.30am – 12pm & 3 - 5pm Monday to Friday.
Our phone lines are open as usual from 8.30am - 1pm & 2 - 6.00pm.
We are no longer doing face-to-face appointments with our doctors. You can book a telephone appointment, or if you have a smart phone, we can do a video-call consultation. If the doctor feels that they really need to see you in the surgery they can do so, but this is only at the doctor’s request.
We are booking essential appointments only with our nurses. This includes; INR blood tests, baby immunisations, essential dressings etc. If you are unsure if your appointment is essential please do give us a call.
Thank you for all our lovely messages and many sweet treats – it is truly appreciated and really does keep us going!
We know that this is a difficult time for all of us but especially our most vulnerable. This can be a time for great anxiety and loneliness for many and so we ask all of our patients to band together, to help each other out and to offer kindness to one another; after all, we are all in this together.
Wishing all of our patients health and happiness.
Kind regards,
Megan and the team at Harston Surgery
April 2020 at Harston Surgery...
Unfortunately we know that Coronavirus is affecting our locality and (like many practices) we have cases and fatalities as a result. Please do stay safe and observe the government's advice.
Dispensary 09:30-12:00, 15:00-17:00
Doors 09:30-11:45, 15:00-16:45
Phones 08:30-13:00, 14:00-18:00
ALL appointments are by phone triage initially.
DO NOT come to the surgery building if you have any symptoms of coronavirus.
Our dispensers are working evenings and weekends to try and keep up with a huge increase in requests yet stay safe at work. Please be patient and only request NECESSARY medication. If there is a queue to collect medication then you must (please!) stay 2m apart and well away from anyone who needs to access the surgery for medical care.
Do please email simple medication or clinical queries to admin.harston@nhs.net and we will do our best to respond. Pictures can say 1000 words... (file size 1Mb or less ideally). The more and clearer the information you provide, the easier it is to respond quickly. Make sure you confirm your name and date of birth and give a mobile number if possible.
'SHIELDING' letters
For those considered at VERY high risk if infected by coronavirus the NHS advice is to SHIELD for 12 weeks. This goes a little further than the strict precautions of self isolation that anyone with an increased risk (those who usually qualify for a NHS flu jab) should undertake.
Letters advising SHIELDING are mainly coordinated by the government and the process is still being finalised. If you think you should be in this group and have not yet had a letter then please let us know (preferably by email). Equally if you have had a letter and do not understand why then please ask us- the data used clearly has some inaccuracies and we are not the only GP surgery struggling to see why some patients have been identified.
Coronavirus medication remote delivery update
CLICK HERE
Sick notes/ medical certificates for infection, self or family isolation are NOT provided by GP surgeries. Advice on what to do is given directly by the Government and employers and employees should follow this.
We are very concerned that unless we all act together the NHS will have too much to do in too little time. Which will increase harm.
So as a practice - and in line with NHS/Public Health advice please bear with us and we will do our best to look after you.
Changes to usual practice;
1) anyone with a cough or fever must NOT ATTEND the practice FOR ANY REASON; current advice is FOR THAT PERSON AND THEIR WHOLE HOUSEHOLD to self isolate for 14 days.
'Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or a hospital. You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you're staying at home.'
If concerned check 111 online or phone 111 if unwell.
2) from Monday 16 March all appointment requests are being triaged - please bear with us as this new way of working evolves.
3) anyone with a booked appointment MUST consider whether it is urgent or not, and whether we can safely deal with the matter on the phone. Emailing us relevant information in advance would be helpful. (admin.harston@nhs.net)
4) routine medication reviews or checks for all patients ARE SUSPENDED; phone calls in case of urgent queries are fine.
5) we need to minimise ALL attendance at the surgery for the near future and will use text messages, email and video consultations wherever possible. For video you will receive a link to click on which works best in chrome browser but uses 'whereby' so may also suggest downloading the free whereby app (no need to make an account). IOS ANDROID
6) please update your email address and mobile phone numbers by using the links at the bottom of the page or our email address (see the Contact us link above left).
7) we will be reviewing all future booked consultations and will almost certainly need to contact you. Mobile reception is sometimes difficult so if you have internet access too then it may be possible to video call; we are still learning this new technology solution so please bear with us.
8) COVID19 mostly results in a mild flu like illness and self isolation and management at home is important. For those with a more unpleasant flu like illness there is still no current cure and limiting the possible spread of the virus is key. There is no availability of widespread testing to see whether you have the virus- it will not change management advice. If you become particularly unwell with difficulty in breathing then you may need hospital assessment. The 111 phone service is appropriate for severe symptoms; for others it is best to check advice online.
9) PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND THE SURGERY WITHOUT CONTACTING US IN ADVANCE unless you are well and simply dealing with the dispensary.
Coronavirus: Why We Must Act Now
Click the link to understand the challenge we are facing.
Yes it's American, but is applicable here.
Here's the next installment. UK graph is sobering.
Social Distancing
There is one very simple thing that we can do and that works: social distancing.
If you go back to Wuhan, as soon as there was a lockdown, cases went down. That’s because people didn’t interact with each other, and the virus didn’t spread.
The current scientific consensus is that this virus can be spread within 2 meters (6 feet) if somebody coughs. Otherwise, the droplets fall to the ground and don’t infect you.
The worst infection then becomes through surfaces: The virus survives for hours or days on different surfaces. If it behaves like the flu, it can survive for weeks on metal, ceramics and plastics. That means things like doorknobs, tables, or elevator buttons can be terrible infection vectors.
The only way to truly reduce that is with social distancing: Keeping people home as much as possible, for as long as possible until this recedes.
March 2020 Flowchart advice
Current gov.uk advice to help health professionals and patients
PLEASE NOTE ONLINE ACCESS TO APPOINTMENT BOOKING HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED DUE TO THE CURRENT CORONAVIRUS SITUATION
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause - you can still order your repeat medication and access your coded record.
PARKING
The proprietors of the Queen's Head pub have kindly agreed that patients may use their car park when visiting the surgery before 12:00 midday and 3:00 to 5.30pm. Busier surgery consultation periods fit nicely around their needs for customers to be able to park for lunch and in the evenings.
Please make sure you don’t leave cars in the pub car park at lunch time (12-3pm).
We appreciate their offer and understand it would have been even more convenient for patients if staff had been able to park in the pub - but leaving staff cars there all day would not work for the pub!
For those on regular medication there are 13 x 28 day periods in a year, making it cheaper to purchase a pre-payment certificate than pay per item each month. A prepayment certificate covers any other medications you might need and we would encourage patients to use this wherever possible (unless entitled to maternity or other medical exemption)
Mental Health concerns?
2020 not quite shaping up how you'd like?
Do you have concerns about stress, anxiety (general, social, health), panic, depression or low mood, phobias, OCD, PTSD?
By all means come and discuss with your GP, but if you are over 17 feel free to self refer to this service for psychological support as it is the same one that we will direct you to and self referral is expected!
If you are acutely struggling and in crisis then 111 option 2 is a direct line to mental health support available 24 hours a day.
Emotional & Wellbeing Support for Children & Young People (Chums)
More information can be found on the Website including how to self refer: Chums
Other resources for this age group include Keep your head, and Kooth.
PATIENT ACCESS
Patient Access lets you use the online services of your local practice. These include, repeat medication, arranging appointments and updating your details. We are working towards the government mandated target of enabling most patients who wish it to have secure access to view their coded medical summary online.
If you wish to use Patient Access you will need to ask for a registration letter from reception. Please note we will require some valid photo ID in order to provide this. The Patient Access website can be found by clicking HERE.
Minor eye condition service
This is a free NHS service available from specially trained Optometrists in the Cambridge area. This is available for patients over 16 years of age with the following conditions:
* Red eyes, red lids
* Dry, gritty, uncomfortable eyes
* Irritated, inflamed eyes
* Sticky discharge, watering eyes
* Ingrown eyelashes
* Foreign bodies in the eye
* Some types of flashes/ floaters
* Recent and sudden loss of vision.
Where can I go?
* A & I Lask - 42 Chesterton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1EN 01223357303
* Anglia Ruskin University Eye Clinic - East Rd, Cambridge, CB1 1PT 01223698070
* Boots Opticians - 20-21 Lion Yd, Cambridge, CB2 3NA 01223360006
* D Murphy Optometrists, 34 Newmarket Road, Cambridge, CB5 8DT 01223351819
* Specsavers, 13-15 Fitzroy Street, Cambridge, CB1 1ER 01223305241
* Specsavers, 30 Lion Yd, Cambridge, CB2 3NA - 01223366805
If you require immediate onward referral for a serious eye condition this can be arranged DIRECTLY from the clinic without needing a GP referral.
A BIG THANK YOU!
Last year with the monies very generously donated to the surgery by our patients, we managed to purchase a new spirometer with software that is linked to the computers.
This year we are saving for a new ECG machine or/and some additional Blood Pressure machines that we can loan out to our patients.
Once again, we would like to say a big thank you from all of us, for your generosity and support.
PHARMACY 2U
Dear Patient
It has been pointed out to us that a company called Pharmacy 2u have been writing to our patients offering their dispensing services. You certainly have the choice of which provider you choose to dispense your prescriptions, but we are concerned that the letter seems to implicate that this company it is part of the NHS. It is not, it’s a private company that seeks to make money for profit.
One of the ways in which our practice can maintain income to sustain your services, is by supplying medication to our patients. Doing this helps make the practice financially sustainable during these very uncertain times of GP closures and amalgamations. Using other services will threaten this.
We really appreciate your support. Thank you.
Unfit? Overweight?
Not sure where to start? Worried about looking out of place? Got some medical issues that might hold you back?
The Active and Healthy 4 Life exercise referral scheme is a personalised 12 week fitness programme drawn up and supervised by qualified instructors, making it easy for you to take up regular exercise. Funding from the council helps keep costs low for participants.
It is for anyone with an existing condition such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, depression or anxiety, and some types of arthritis, who would gain health benefits from a more active lifestyle.
Ask at your GP or Practice Nurse appointment if you think you might benefit and they haven't suggested it first. If you brought along a copy of the referral form with your details already completed that would make things easier!
Carers
Are you a carer? Could you in fact be a carer and not
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE OUR 'FAMILY AND FRIENDS TEST' PLEASE CLICK ON THE PATIENT SURVEY BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
(Site updated 22/05/2020)