Dear All

Thank you for your patience, I am sure you are all aware that the current situation regarding Coranavirus is having a huge impact on how the practice will function moving forward.

Firstly I would like to inform you that we are working with the other practices within the PCN and if need be will be providing face to face services from two locations across the patch, however in the first instance we will continue to provide a service from both surgeries.

The big change is that we are moving over to a Dr First Triage service which means that all patients who feel that they need to be seen by a clinician will be added to a triage list and a clinician will ring them back and offer them a face to face appointment if they feel it is clinically appropriate to do so.

Access to the building will change, the front doors will be locked and access for most appointments will be through the side door, now Entrance 1. We have an intercom service at this door and patients will be screened to confirm that they have no coronavirus symptoms and that they have an appointment. No one will be allowed to enter the building who does not have an appointment.

We will also have an Entrance 2 which is the exit from the waiting room, again entry will only be for pre booked appointments and patients will be screened as per Entrance 1. Initially this will be for urgent blood appointments and access will be via a bell.

Medication collection will be via a window near the front door.

PLEASE NOTE - All appointment booking and medication queries etc will be via the telephone, there will be no face to face service.

There will be lots of notices displayed to direct patients but the key message is that no one will be allowed to enter the building without an appointment and they will be screened again before entry.

The intention is to shut the front door from Monday but if we can get all the changes in place prior to this then we will do so.

As you would expect all the staff are working extremely hard to get these changes in place and I am extremely proud of how professional they all have been, where we can, moving forward we will have staff working from home as it is equally important to look after their welfare as it is our patients.

On another note we will have to put the CPR training on hold and pick up at a later date.

Kind regards

Jane

Jane Wallace

Business Manager

Wickham Market Medical Centre

Tel 01728 747101