Covid Vaccinations Update 18th January

We are very happy to announce that Covid vaccinations will start at Etchingham village hall on Wednesday 20th January. We realise it has been a long wait but we have a number of vaccination deliveries due this week so we will be able to vaccinate large numbers of the over 80 group in the coming days. We are then expecting further supplies the following week which hopefully will mean that everyone over 80 will be vaccinated very shortly.
We will be contacting people in the comiing days by phone to offer them an appointment.
When everyone over 80 has received their appointments we will then start vaccinating the age group between 75 and 79..
At the current time there is no facility to vaccinate patients in their homes, therefore we would strongy encourage everyone to accept their appointment at Etchingham. We realise that getting to Etchingham will be a struggle for some people but it is going to be the best way of guaranteeing you receive your vaccine as soon as possible. The surgery has a limited number of wheelchairs and we are happy to loan those to patients who have problems with mobility. Please only ask to use these if it is absolutely necessary and obvioulsy can you return them as soon as you have been for your appointment so they can be used for other people. Please ask the surgery when you have your appointment to enquire about using a wheelchair.
People in residential homes for the elderly and nursing homes are in priority group 1 and we are very happy to report that all residents in these facilities throughout Rother with be vaccinated this week.
We realise that some couples are in different age groups. For people aged over 80 if their partner is over 70 they will be able attend for their vaccine at the same time.
We have had a large number of questions about why the vaccines can't be done at Northiam. The regulations from NHS England state that all Covid vaccinations must be given in a locality based vaccination centre which for us is Rother, which stretches from Burwash to Rye. People may have seen vaccines being given from GP surgeries on the news these tend to be larger GP practices which will be acting as the vaccination centre for their locality. We are still hoping the regulations will change to allow the vaccine to be given at individual general practice level but there is no certainty that this will happen and we would therefore strongly encourage everyone to attend Etchingham if they are offered an appointment there.
The vaccination groups are listed below.

Vaccination groups

residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
all those 75 years of age and over
all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
all those 65 years of age and over
all individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
all those 60 years of age and over
all those 55 years of age and over
all those 50 years of age and over

Covid vaccinations scams.

We have been advised that some patients have been receiving scam texts and emails about the Covid vaccine. Please click on this link for more information. Covid scam

Covid Testing - If you have one of these symptoms book a test

With the easing of lockdown it is very important that any new cases are picked up early so that the individual can self isolate and their contacts contacted by the NHS Track & Trace service.

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these symptoms. Therefore if you develop any of these symptoms please arrange a test as soon as possible. Click here BOOK COVID TEST
More information is available on the NHS website.

Should your child be going to school?

If you have concerns about your child's health and are concerned about sending them to school this simple flowchart may help in making a decision.

Medication Reviews - A red sticker on your prescription

We are going to restart Medication Reviews for patients from Monday 13^th July Therefore if you have a red sticker put on your repeat prescription slip please make an appointment to see your doctor. Some patients will also be due a blood test and if you usually have a blood test before your review please arrange to have that first and then see the doctor about one week later.

Some patients will see that their review date has been altered to later this year or next year. The doctors have looked at all the patients who were overdue their medication reviews and have changed the date where it was felt that a review date could be safely altered. However if you feel that you need to see a doctor please phone the surgery.

Surgery Appointments - Continuing initial telephone triage

For non-medication review appointments, we will continue to triage these by phone to decide who needs to be seen and who we can manage over the phone. The reason that we need to do this is that we need to limit the numbers in the waiting room to allow safe social distancing in the building.

Medication - still a 5 day turnaround

Due to the need for social distancing our capacity in the dispensary is still reduced so we will continue to operate a five working day turnaround for repeat prescriptions. We are trying to increase our capacity and aim to return to a three day turnaround in the future.

Community Help and Support - do you need help?

We are aware that some people are having trouble collecting their medicines or going to the shops. There are a number of voluntary organisations that are helping people collect medicines, run errands or contacting people on their own.

If you need help with collecting your medicines in Northiam Northiam Together operate 'Helping Hands' service staffed by volunteer. Please call 07522 473173 to request assistance.

Northiam Talking: This is a service for people who are feeling isolated at the moment while stuck at home. It can put people in touch with others in a similar situation by phone, email, Facetime or Skype. For more details email northiamtalking@gmail.com

For the villages of Beckley, Peasmarsh, Udimore, Broad Oak and Brede please contact Rye Mutual Staplecross & Ewhurst Green Chatburn8@icloud.com

If you have any questions about your prescriptions or medication then please still contact the surgery.

Northiam Surgery Main Street Northiam Rye East Sussex TN31 6ND 01797 252140	Broad Oak Surgery 6 Reedswood Road Broad Oak Brede East Sussex TN31 6DH 01424 882394

Northiam Surgery Opening Hours Monday to Thursday 8.30 - 6.30 Friday 8.30 - 5.00 Saturday 9 - 10.00	Broad Oak Opening Times Monday 8.30 - 1.00 Tuesday 8.30 - 1.00 Wednesday 8.30 - 12 & 1.30 - 6.30 Thursday 8.30 - 1.00 Friday 8.30 - 11.00

We are a rural practice centred in Northiam and with a satellite surgery at Broad Oak, Brede. We cover the villages of Beckley, Bodiam, Broad Oak, Ewhurst Green, Newenden, Northiam, Sandhurst, Staplecross and Udimore.

Due to our rural location we have a philosophy of self-reliance and try to do all that is practical and safe for the patient within the location of our two surgeries. We aim to deliver high standard, good quality care and to champion the needs of our patients.

One of the strengths of good general practice is working as part of a team. We have an excellent range of staff at our surgery. We believe patients to be equal partners and that close co-operation is vital in maximising care. Personal lists help us to achieve this and also provide clarity about responsibility for patient care.

The aim of the website is to provide as much information as possible about the practice, in order for you to get the best out of the services we provide. It also provides links to other websites to obtain medical information.

To enter our online services please click on the Patient Access icon below.