The NHS and Public Health England (PHE) are extremely well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. The NHS has put in place measures to ensure the safety of all patients and NHS staff while also ensuring services are available to the public as normal.
Stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms
Stay at home if you have either:
- a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
- a new, continuous cough – this means you've started coughing repeatedly
Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you're staying at home.
Testing for coronavirus is not needed if you're staying at home.
Read the NHS advice about staying home, including how long to isolate for.
Use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if:
- you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home
- your condition gets worse
- your symptoms do not get better after 7 days
Use the 111 coronavirus service
Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.
For region specific information and advice in:
Self Care
Self Care focuses on embedding support for self care across communities, families and generations.
People who should have a flu vaccine
The injected flu vaccine is offered free of charge on the NHS to people who are at risk. This is to help protect them against catching flu and developing serious complications.
You should have the flu vaccine if you:
- are 65 years old or over
- are pregnant
- have certain serious long-term medical conditions, including:
- chronic (long-term) respiratory diseases, such as asthma (which requires an inhaled or tablet steroid treatment, or has led to hospital admission in the past), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
- chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
- chronic kidney disease
- chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
- chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), learning disability or cerebral palsy
- diabetes
- problems with your spleen – for example, sickle cell disease or if you have had your spleen removed
- a weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medication such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
- being seriously overweight (BMI of 40 or above)
- are living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility
- receive a carer's allowance, or you are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill
Prescription fee increase to £9.20 from 1st April 2020
IMPORTANT Information for patients prescribed Gabapentin or Pregabalin medication.
From 1st April 2019 both Gabapentin and Pregabalin will be classed as Class C, schedule 3 controlled drugs.
This means that with effect from the 1st April 2019, these medications can only be issued on paper prescription. They cannot be electronically (EPS) sent to pharmacies or on Repeat Dispensing schemes.
Due to this change we kindly request that when requesting the medication, sufficient time is allowed for the request to be processed and then either collected from one of our dispensaries in person, or sent to the local pharmacy of your choice.
We require 2 full working days for the process of requesting to medication being ready to collect. Please bear this in mind when ordering any monthly medication.
Dispensing patients can continue to request and collect their medications, including Gabapentin & Pregabalin from our dispensaries at Roche, Bugle & St. Dennis. The prescriptions will be valid for 28 days from the date of issue in line with other Schedule 3 controlled drugs. Please contact the prescription teams available on all sites if you require any further information.
The Clays Practice has launched a Patient Participation Group (PPG)
The aim of the PPG is to bring a sense of partnership between the practice and its' patients by acting as representatives of the patient population and creating a better way of connecting general practice with the community it serves. They meet on a regular basis to have open and constructive discussions about the services available - always with a view to taking action to make real improvements for both patients and the Practice.
Benefits of PPG's for patients
PPG's are a grassroots way of affecting change, and involving patients in improving the health and well-being of the local community. They have an increasingly important role to play in helping to give patient an understanding of the way services are delivered to best meet their needs., and the needs of the local community.
PPG's are a good interface to identify essential improvements and it is hoped that forming the group will aid communication. The PPG will be tasked with collecting patient opinions and experiences in the form of a survey available from your local surgery. This will help the practice evaluate its services and the group will publish the results on a quarterly basis.