What is COVID-19?
Vaccine Shortages
Currently the local surgeries are experiencing a shortage of supplies of vaccines for the covid spring booster and therefore we cannot plan future clinics with any certainty.
We will, when vaccines are received, organise clinics as soon and as efficiently as possible but for now the situation is out of our hands.
If you receive a letter from the government informing you that you are entitled to a spring booster and you are able to travel, we suggest you book with a national vaccination centre.
Otherwise please bear with us and we will get round to you once vaccines are supplied.
COVID boosters are now available to book at the surgery for ALL over 18’s! (who had their 2nd vaccine at least 3 months ago)
1st and 2nd doses are also still available for those who need them.
If we have your mobile number we will have sent a text message with a link to book your appointment.
Please only contact the surgery if you cannot access the booking system online or haven’t received a text message. (Please click on link to send a query to Reception rather than calling if possible.
COVID-19 vaccination third dose for immunosuppressed cohort
The government has identified a group of patients who should receive a third dose of vaccine as part of their initial vaccination programme. These are patients with severe immunosuppression around the time of their first or second COVID-19 vaccine doses. These patients are currently being identified by their GPs and hospital consultants and will be contacted shortly to come forward.
More information on the specific medical condition associated with immunosuppression can be found below:
Vaccinations for 12–15 year olds
You will have seen that as well as all adults, 12 year olds and older are now being offered the vaccination.
Healthy 12–15 year olds are being vaccinated through school immunisations team and this programme is subject to full consent protocol which is being managed by schools. Healthy 12 to 15 year olds will be offered one dose of the vaccination.
12 to 15 year olds with underlying health conditions have been offered vaccinations through their GP practice. This group of young people will be offered two doses of the vaccination.
16 and 17 year olds can now book through the national vaccination booking service or by visiting a drop in or walk in centre. This group will be offered one dose of the vaccination.
Are you recovering from COVID-19?
Support for your recovery from COVID-19
The COVID-19 virus can have a huge impact on our physical and mental health. People recover at different rates and experience different challenges during their recovery.
Your COVID Recovery from the NHS helps you to understand what has happened to you and what you might expect as part of your recovery.
The site features a wealth of information including:
COVID vaccine ‘passports’
From 17 May international travel will be permitted to a limited number of countries and in some cases proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required. The mechanism for proving your vaccine status is through the NHS app.
For those who cannot access the NHS app you can request written proof that you have received your COVID-19 vaccination by contacting the NHS on 119. Please do not contact your GP practice.
Planning to travel? The NHS app will be your COVID-19 vaccine ‘passport’.
Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and blood clotting
New guidance has been issued for the use of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
This follows further reviews by the independent regulator, the MHRA, and the Commission for Human Medicines, of a very small number of people in the UK who have developed a rare blood-clotting condition since having the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
The MHRA and Joint Committee for Vaccinations and Immunisations have emphasised that the risk of this condition is extremely small and that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for the vast majority of people. They have recommended that:
- Everyone who has had the AstraZeneca vaccine should still have a second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, irrespective of age, unless they suffered any serious side effects after their first vaccination.
- People aged 30 and over or who have a health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe Covid-19 disease should still be offered the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. The benefits in protecting them against the serious consequences of COVID-19 outweigh any risk of this rare condition.
- People aged 18–29 who do not have a health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe Covid-19 disease will be offered an alternative Covid-19 vaccine where available. (This has been recommended as a precaution as people under 30 are at less risk from Covid-19 and not because they are considered to be at particular risk of developing the rare blood clot.)
- People under 30 can still choose to have the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine if this will mean they can be protected more quickly and they have been made aware of the guidance.
Whitby, Coast and Moors Primary Care Network will be starting to use a web-based solution to help us manage our appointment system for the COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
We will be sending text messages to invite patients to book an appointment for their COVID-19 vaccine.
The message you receive will come from ‘accurx.thirdparty.nhs.uk’
We realise there are lots of scams out there at the moment and wanted to reassure you that if you receive a message from ‘accurx.thirdparty.nhs.uk’ inviting you to click on a link to book your appointment that it is a legitimate text message from your GP practice.
Once you click on the link in your text message you will be directed to our appointment system and be asked to choose an appointment time. You will also be asked for your date of birth. You will not be asked for any other personal information.
We understand that not everyone has a mobile phone or will be able to respond to a text message so we will continue to telephone those patients to invite them for their COVID-19 vaccination and book an appointment for them.
If you have any concerns please contact us.
You can watch a video with instructions for how to book a vaccination appointment:
A huge thank you to everyone involved with the COVID-19 vaccination programme
Local people most at risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 are now getting the protection they need. In the past three weeks over 2,500 people – those living in care homes, local residents aged 80 and over, and the frontline health and care staff needed to look after them – have received the first dose of a COVID vaccine. The NHS Local Vaccination Service, based at Whitby Pavilion/Spa, is run by the Whitby Coast and Moors Primary Care Network made up of all five GP practices in our area, supported by Scarborough Borough and North Yorkshire County Councils. As soon as more vaccine supplies arrive in Whitby we stand ready to call in the next groups of at-risk patients to receive their first doses.
But we couldn’t have achieved this so far – or continue to roll out the service to many more people over the coming weeks as well as providing the necessary second doses 12 weeks later – without amazing support from a host of other people.
So a huge THANK YOU from us to everyone who has helped – those local doctors and nurses coming out of retirement to help so practices can continue to run safely at the same time; the volunteers who braved the elements to steward people from the car park to the centre; the wonderful team at the Pavilion who’ve made us so welcome; the local traffic wardens who helped keep the drop-off area flowing safely; the local businesses who provided delicious food for staff; the carers and family members who did everything they could to help people (some over 100 years old) to get to the centre for their vaccine; and last but by no means least – to the patients whose grit and determination to be there was matched by their kindness and uncomplaining patience. To all of you – thank you!
We hope you will continue to support the Local Vaccination Service. You can also help the NHS and save lives by simply observing the lockdown rules to reduce unnecessary social contacts – stay home as much as you can; wash your hands regularly, cover your face and keep 2m apart where possible from people you do not live with.
Information about coronavirus COVID-19
We would like to ask all patients to:
Follow the current government advice on self-isolation and social distancing. Advice is being kept under constant review and you can find the latest guidance at: www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.
Use NHS111 if the first instance if you have COVID-19 symptoms – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste – and would like medical advice. Please use NHS 111 online if you have access to the internet: https://111.nhs.uk. Phone NHS111 if you do not have online access.
You should arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19. Call 119 or go to the NHS website to book: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing
Do not come to any GP practice unless you have been specifically advised to do so after a phone/video consultation with a clinician at the practice.
Symptoms
Coronavirus symptoms:
- a high temperature
- a new, continuous cough
- a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste
Protecting you and those around you
Like the common cold, coronavirus infection usually occurs through close contact with a person with novel coronavirus via cough and sneezes or hand contact. A person can also catch the virus by touching contaminated surfaces if they do not wash their hands.
Everyone is being reminded to follow Public Health England advice to:
- wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel
- avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
For those over 70, have an underlying health condition or are pregnant, they are strongly advised against social contact and to significantly limit face-to-face interaction with friends and family if possible.
For those who remain well, are under 70 or do not have an underlying health condition, they are advised to limit their social contact where possible, including using less public transport, working at home and considering not going to pubs, restaurants, theatres and bars.
Face covering exemptions
Here you can find guidance on exemptions from wearing face coverings.
If you need medical help, the NHS is still here for you
If you need medical help from us, you can contact us online or by phone to be assessed.
If you need urgent medical help, use the NHS 111 online service. If you cannot get help online, call 111.
If it’s a serious or life-threatening emergency, call 999
If you are told to go to hospital it is important that you go to hospital.
You should continue to attend your appointments, unless you have been told not to attend.
GP services
We are currently suspending the booking of online appointments to support the NHS policy of reducing the spread of coronavirus. You are required to telephone the surgery for an appointment. The receptionist will take your details, the reason for the appointment and whether you have a persistent cough and/or a fever. You will then be contacted by a GP during the day to assess your requirements.
The NHS in England and Public Health England (PHE) are well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. The NHS has put in place measures to protect patients, our community and NHS staff while ensuring as many services as possible are available to the public.
Routine referrals
GP practices have been instructed not to send routine referrals to secondary care.
This includes:
- Non-urgent endoscopies which are now suspended.
- Non urgent imaging/diagnostics are also suspended.
- Referrals to the chronic pain service.
- Non-urgent referrals to MSK and direct access physiotherapy.
GPs will advise patients to continue to manage with advice given by primary care and re-present if symptoms persist once pandemic is over so an onward referral can be reconsidered. Patients will also be advised that should symptoms significantly deteriorate to contact their GP and case will be reviewed and advice then sort from secondary care.
Neither the hospital nor practices will therefore keep a list of pending referrals it will be down to the patient to re-contact their GP.
Proof of sickness
If you have COVID-19 or are advised to stay at home, you can get an ‘isolation note’ by visiting NHS 111 online, rather than visiting a doctor. For COVID-19 cases this replaces the usual need to provide a ‘fit note’ (sometimes called a ‘sick note’) after 7 days of sickness absence. Go to https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note
Inaccurate information – COVID-19
We have been made aware of some inaccurate information circulating regarding special ‘rescue packs’ for patients with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Please do not contact your GP practice for a rescue pack; you should continue to manage your condition in the usual way.
If you feel you have symptoms of COVID-19, go to the NHS 111 dedicated pages at https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 before doing anything else.
Mental health and wellbeing
The Retreat’s Primary Care Mental Health Support Service
We know many people are experiencing increased problems with their well-being in the current circumstances. It can be hard to access mental health services or to know what support is available.
We are offering free mental health support sessions to patients of your GP practice. These sessions will be with a qualified psychotherapist who will listen and explore what might help you, either on the phone or online video meeting. Individual sessions will be 30 minutes, and we also have support groups of 1 hour.
If you would like to access this support please call 01904 412551
For further details please visit the website for more information on all services.
Diabetes UK Befriending Circle
The befriending circle provides people with phone and email based peer support, matching people with trained volunteers based on their experience of diabetes. Anyone interested in accessing this peer support can self-refer. Please click here for more information and how you can contact the service.
The Go-To site for children and young people
A new website has been launched, dedicated to helping children and young people in North Yorkshire find mental health support.
The Go-To – www.thegoto.org.uk – is designed to be a portal or ‘single point of information’ showcasing the mental health support services offered by different agencies in the county.
With the majority of young people currently not in school and many in isolation as a result of the restrictions imposed on movement to deal with the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, health leaders believe online mental health support for young people has never been more important.