Queens Road Surgery : 01207 585890

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Queens RoadNews
General Sam Gledhill

NHS Covid Pass

UK residents vaccinated abroad or in Northern Ireland can now use England's NHS Covid Pass if they have received two doses of an approved jab.

It means those eligible will also be able to arrange a booster in England.

Previously only those who had the jab in England, Scotland, Wales or the Isle of Man could use the pass to prove their vaccination status.

From Wednesday people in England will need to use the pass to gain entry to nightclubs and other large venues.

The four jabs approved by the UK's medicines regulator are AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Janssen and Moderna.

Changes to who can use the NHS Covid Pass were introduced on Thursday, a day after the prime minister announced it would become mandatory for some venues in England.

To register an overseas vaccination, people must book an appointment at a selected list of vaccination centres in England.

Details will then be recorded in the National Immunisation Management System.

International Covid certification accepted at the UK border is also accepted at events and venues in England, the government said.

General Sam Gledhill

NHS DIGITAL WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

Obesity is a serious health concern that increases the risk of many other health conditions, including Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems, mental health problems, and some cancers. There is also evidence to suggest that people living with obesity are at higher risk of the more severe outcomes associated with COVID-19.

Welcome to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme

The programme offers free, online access to weight management services for those who have a BMI greater than 30 and who also have diabetes or high blood pressure, or both. The BMI threshold will be lower at 27.5 for people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, as we know people from these ethnic backgrounds are at an increased risk of conditions such as Type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI. The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme is an accessible and convenient way to help you develop healthier eating habits, be more active and lose weight. You will only be able to access this programme if you have a smartphone or computer with internet access.

How long is the programme? The programme takes 12 weeks to complete. What does the programme involve? The programme will support you to develop healthier eating habits, be more active and lose weight, with lots of structured support available on your smartphone, tablet or computer. How much does it cost? The programme is free. What happens next? Step 1: After you have been referred to the programme by your general practice, you will be contacted via text message or email within 2 working days. This message, from ‘NHS WMP’, will contain a link to a website from which you can access the list of available programmes. If you are unable to receive text messages or access the internet, you will instead receive a phone call directly to your landline or mobile. You will also receive a phone call directly to your landline or mobile if you need alternative language options. Step 2: From the website, you will be asked to confirm your date of birth and ethnicity to get started. You will also be asked for some information to help us find a list of programmes that are suitable for you.

Step 3: You can read about the different 12-week weight management programmes on offer to help you make positive changes to your health. You can choose the service provider who you think will work best for you. Step 4: Once you have chosen your provider, the information you provide will be passed on to them, and there’s nothing more you need to do until the provider contacts you, which should be within 10 days. You can then begin your 12-week weight management programme. It can be tough to make changes but with our digital support you can take control of your weight and significantly reduce further health risks, all in your own time, at your own pace.
You can find more information about the programme on the NHS website: www.england.nhs.uk/digital-weight-management

General Sam Gledhill

Flu Vaccination Clinics

We are holding our flu vaccination clinics on:

Saturday 11th September

Saturday 18th September

Saturday 9th October

These clinics are by appointment time frame only. Please call the surgery on 01207 585890 after 1pm each day to make an appointment.

Please note calls before 1pm will be asked to call back.

General Sam Gledhill

COVID-19 vaccine Oxford-AstraZeneca and blood clotting

Recently there have been reports of an extremely rare but serious condition involving blood clots and unusual bleeding after AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccination.  The national committee which recommends on vaccines has therefore recommended that patients under 40 years are no longer offered this vaccine for their first dose. If you have already had a first dose of AZ vaccine without suffering this rare side effect you should still complete the course with the AZ vaccine for your second dose, even if you are under 40.  For more information please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting

General Sam Gledhill

Data Sharing

Data Sharing

For more information about this visit NHS Digital

As of 1st July 2021 your data will be shared with NHS Digital to help improve health, care and services

Patient data from GP medical records kept by GP practices in England is used every day to improve health, care and services through planning and research, helping to find better treatments and improve patient care. The NHS is introducing an improved way to share this information – called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection.

NHS Digital will collect, analyse, publish and share this patient data to improve health and care services for everyone. This includes:

  • informing and developing health and social care policy
  • planning and commissioning health and care services
  • taking steps to protect public health (including managing and monitoring the coronavirus pandemic)
  • in exceptional circumstances, providing you with individual care
  • enabling healthcare and scientific research

Any data that NHS Digital collects will only be used for health and care purposes. It is never shared with marketing or insurance companies.

READ MORE HERE 

Opt out diagram

NHS Digital will not collect any patient data for patients who have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out in line with current policy. If this changes patients who have registered a Type 1 Opt-out will be informed.

If you do not want your patient data shared with NHS Digital, you can register a Type 1 Opt-out with us. You can register a Type 1 Opt-out at any time. You can also change your mind at any time and withdraw a Type 1 Opt-out.

Data sharing with NHS Digital will start on 1st July 2021.

If you have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice your data will not be shared with NHS Digital.

If you wish to register a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice before data sharing starts with NHS Digital, this should be done by returning this form to us by 23 June 2021 to allow time for processing it. If you have previously registered a Type 1 Opt-out and you would like to withdraw this, you can also use the form to do this. You can send the form by post or e-mail.

If you register a Type 1 Opt-out after your patient data has already been shared with NHS Digital, no more of your data will be shared with NHS Digital. NHS Digital will however still hold the patient data which was shared with us before you registered the Type 1 Opt-out.

If you do not want NHS Digital to share your identifiable patient data with anyone else for purposes beyond your own care, then you can also register a National Data Opt-out (also known as Type 2 Opt out).

What do you need to do?

If you are happy for your data to be shared as above, and haven’t previously Opt’d out – you do not need to do anything.

Type 1 OPT-OUT – to stop sharing your details with NHS digital (or to opt back in, if you have previous opt’d out)

Complete this form OPT OUT FORM (or you can complete this to opt back in)

If you are not able to complete this form, call 01207 585890 a form to be posted to you or come into the practice and we can give you a copy to complete.

Then, either;

  • Hand the form into reception
  • post it to us to: Queens Road Surgery, 83 Queens Road, Shotley Bridge, Consett, County Durham, DH8 0BW

Type 2 OPT-OUT (Also known as National Data Opt-out) – If you do not want NHS Digital to share your identifiable patient data with anyone else for purposes beyond your own care, which has been already shared with them (or to opt back in, if you have previous opt’d out)

NOTE: You can only do this via the following ways – as a GP practice we cannot opt you out of Type 2 (National Data Opt-out)

You need to, either;

  • Call 01207 585890

or, complete the online form via YOUR NHS MATTERS

General Sam Gledhill

Response to COVID-19 Vaccine Oxford-AstraZeneca media reports

The UK Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe, have said that evidence DOES NOT suggest that the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is linked to blood clots.

People should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so.

Please read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-response-to-irish-authorities-action-to-temporarily-suspend-the-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine

General Sam Gledhill

Shielding in Tier 4

Please follow advice provided on GOV.UK and stay at home as much as possible. You should receive a letter shortly from the Department of Health and Social Care regarding what to do if you cannot work from home and copies of the letter can be found on the website above following this link.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/947153/201220_CEV_Letter_tier_4_v1.0_FINAL_with_signatures.pdf

General Sam Gledhill

Dr Beekman

Dr Beekman will be retiring as a GP on the 7th October 2020, after being with the Practice for 18 years.

We would like to wish him all the best for the future and thank him for all of his hard work and dedication over the past years.

General Sam Gledhill

GP Appointments

We know there’s been a lot of discussion in the news this week about GPs providing face-to face-appointments. We wanted to reassure patients that NHS Digital have confirmed that in July over 50% of the 22.8 million appointments carried out were in fact face to face. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-inf...al/appointments-in-general-practice/july-2020

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve remained open to patients. We’ve offered appointments using new ways of working and new technology. We’ve worked hard to make sure we’ve remained available to speak to, and to offer appointments to anyone who’s needed them.

We know that patients sometimes prefer to see a GP face to face, but there are reasons why we’ve offered additional online or telephone consultations, and government guidance has played a big part in this. It’s remained the case that if we’ve needed to see a patient face to face, or felt it was important for their care, we’ve asked those patients to come in to see us.

Offering new ways of working has helped some patients to access appointments who wouldn’t normally be able to due to other commitments, such as their work or caring responsibilities.

The cleaning required between patients during the pandemic means that if all patients were to come into the surgery, we wouldn’t be able to offer the same number of appointments because of the amount of time that cleaning between each patient takes. However, we’ll always see patients face to face who need to be seen face to face.

Changing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) between each patient adds additional time to the end of each appointment. The difficulty in obtaining PPE has also meant that we’ve needed to be more cautious than normal about the way we use scare resources. We continue to work hard daily to source the PPE we need.

We understand that some patients are reluctant to come and see us in the surgery as they’re worried. We’re making sure that social distancing is as good as it possibly can be and that we maintain a ‘COVID-secure’ environment. Some of the things we take into account when we’re considering this are: the number of people in the waiting room, the number of people who pass each other in the corridors, and the toilet facilities that are available.

Our staff are people too, and some may have health issues that make them more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. As caring employers, we need to ensure that we keep our staff safe as well. We take the necessary precautions to keep both our staff and our patients safe.

We have many elderly and vulnerable patients with health conditions that make them more vulnerable to coronavirus than most. We also know that there are young and healthy people who have been seriously affected by COVID-19, so it isn’t just the elderly or infirm we need to protect.

Increasing the number of patients in the surgery would mean that we’d increase the risk for everyone – particularly if some of those people had symptoms of COVID-19 and were unwell enough to need to be seen. For this reason, we’ll keep a balance of the types of appointments we have available.

There’s nothing we’d like to see more than a return to ‘normal’ life and the easy face-to-face care we’ve always provided, but at the moment offering fewer face-to-face appointments keeps patients safe and provides the maximum number of appointments we can.

We’re available to talk to, and we always want to hear from, patients who need us. While we understand patients’ frustrations with the current situation, we hope you’ll continue to help and support us, as you’ve always supported the NHS, so that we can go on providing you with care and support in the coming weeks and months.