Changes to our Website

We will be updating our website from the beginning of March. All of the current information will be transferred across to the new site but it will look and feel quite differently as you can see from the picture below.

The new site will improve accessibility with the ability to change size, contrast and even language. The new site will also work more effectively on tablets and smartphones. The site will transfer on the 24th February.

Covid Vaccinations Update 17th February

NHS England have announced to us today that they would prefer all group 5 patients ie patients between 65 and 70 to be vaccinated in the mass vaccination sites. Everyone in this group will be receiving a letter in the coming days inviting them to book their appointment at one of these sites. We appreciate that for our patients this is inconvenient as some of the centres are some distance away in Eastbourne and Brighton, however, there are some slots nearer to us like the pharmacy in Ticehurst. However if you feel you are unable to travel to one of these sites you are still elligible to have your vaccine at Etchingham but there may be some delay before we can book you in. We would ask you to notify us by email that you would like to have your vaccination done at Etchingham and we will contact you in due course to book your appointment. We would also ask everyone that if you do make an appointment to have the vaccine elsewhere it would be helpful if you could email us to inform us as we can amend your records accordingly. Thank you all for your help with this

We will also be starting to contact the patients in group 6 to arrange their appointments at Etchingham

We have made excellent progress in our vaccination clinics and home visits:

patients over 85 - 96% vaccinated
patients 80-85 yrs - 96% vaccinated
patients 75-80 yrs - 92% vaccinated
patients 70-75 yrs - 91% vaccinated

If you are over 70, have not yet had a covid vaccination and would like one, you can book an appointment at the larger vaccination centres via the NHS website, or by calling 119 if you are unable to get online.

Covid Scams - Please Be Aware

There have been a number of Covid Scams reported with contact either by text, email or letter.

The surgery will contact you via telephone to book appointments at Etchingham Village Hall.

We will only use text messages for appointment confirmation.
We will NEVER use email
We will NEVER ask you to press a button on your keypad or send a text asking you to confirm you want the vaccine.
We will NEVER ask for payment for the vaccine or for your bank details

You may receive a letter from NHS England asking you to call or go online for an appointment (see below).

Remember, the COVID vaccination can only be given by the NHS and the vaccination is free.

If you have any further concerns about something you have received please contact the Sussex COVID-19 vaccination programme team on sxccg.vaccineenquiries@nhs.net

Wheelchairs - do you need one?

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.

Why did we use Etchingham?

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.

Larger NHS Sussex Vaccination Centres

In addition to the invitations coming from the surgery NHS England is also sending out letters inviting patients to attend the large county vaccination centres like the Brighton Centre. These letters are not coming from the surgery and there may be an overlap between these letters and the calls from the surgery. If you receive these letters you are very welcome to book an appointment on the link from the letter but please be assured you will also be contacted by the surgery offering you an apointment at Etchingham so there is no need to travel to Brighton or Folkestone if you do not want to.
More informatin is given in this leaflet - click here

Vaccination groups

Group 1: residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
Group 2: all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
Group 3: all those 75 years of age and over
Group 4: all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
Group 5: all those 65 years of age and over
Group 6:all individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
Group 7:all those 60 years of age and over
Group 8: all those 55 years of age and over
Group 9: all those 50 years of age and over

For more information on the Covid Vaccination please click here

Good News – Vaccines Arriving - Do you need transport?

As you may have already seen, some of us will be contacted soon with an offer of an appointment to go to Etchingham for our first dose of the vaccine. This will come as a wonderful escape from the anxiety that many of us will have been experiencing. However, some of us might be worried as to how we are going to undertake the journey to Etchingham.

We understand that there is an offer from the Rye and District Community Transport service that can be available to take a limited number of people. If you would like to explore that, the number to call is 01797 227722 – and be prepared to leave a message with your contact details, address and phone number, and the date/time of your appointment.

If that is not available or suitable for you, and you would like to explore alternatives, please do give us a call (again with your phone number) and we will do our best to help you. Phone 07522 473173

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.

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.