Comment: How medical practices in Leamington are continuning to work hard to make sure their patients are safe

Eight medical practices in Leamington have launched social media pages "at a time when their patients need them more than ever".

We reported in March about the new venture (see story here) - and we will continue to update people on what the pratices are doing to help people during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Leamington Spa Primary Care Network comprises of Clarendon Lodge Medical Centre, Croft Medical Centre, Cubbington Road Surgery, Sherbourne Medical Centre, Spa Medical Centre, Warwick Gates Family Health Centre, Waterside Medical Centre and Whitnash Medical Centre.

Here is their update this week.

In these challenging times we as your local GPs and associated healthcare professionals wanted to update you on how we are looking to support you in your health needs. We have all experienced huge changes in all aspects of our lives over the last few weeks. The coronavirus pandemic has forced us all to adapt.

Your local Leamington Practices are working together to deliver healthcare in a manner suited to the demands of the pandemic. It is important that we all minimise the chances of passing on infection to each other. It is vital that everyone adheres to the government’s advice on social distancing, hygiene / hand washing and self isolation if appropriate. There is good evidence that these measures are currently the best way for us all to reduce the spread of the virus and so save lives. The best way to stay up to date with advice around how you should respond to the coronavirus pandemic is through the NHS website at www.nhs.uk or through reports on reputable news services such as the BBC.

In order to reduce the chance of transmission of the virus between patients at healthcare facilities your local Practices have rapidly moved to deliver as much of their work as possible remotely, to reduce footfall into Practices. This reduces the chance of spreading infection to vulnerable patients and also to the healthcare team, who would then be unavailable to look after you. It also reduces the need for repeated decontamination of the surgery premises.

The Practices are now largely operating a system where appointments are booked on the day each day, primarily by telephoning the Practice or by booking online appointments for telephone triage. All appointments are then initially dealt with by a telephone call for advice, those issues that cannot be resolved over the phone potentially generating a face to face appointment. As Practices are working together patients may be invited to attend a different surgery from their usual registered Practice and this will be explained when the invitation to attend is made. Please do not come down to surgery premises unless invited to do so. Instead please access care and advice by telephone or through the online consultation service outlined below. This model may change over the coming weeks as the nature of the pandemic changes and the healthcare needs of the population change.

If booking a telephone appointment it is important that patients give as much initial information as they are asked for by the Practice receptionists - they are looking to direct queries and conditions to the most appropriate clinician. If requesting a call back from the surgery please try to be available to answer that call. You may be called back by a clinician working remotely away from the surgery, particularly if they have been unwell or are self isolating.

Phone lines and surgeries will unfortunately be busy so patients need to consider whether their query or condition is one that they can safely self manage or seek advice from elsewhere such as the NHS website or their local community pharmacist. Queries relating to coronavirus should be directed to NHS111 through their website or by telephone if unable to access the web. Patients must not attend a local pharmacy or other healthcare facility if they have a fever, new persistent cough or any suspicion that they may be suffering with coronavirus.

A new additional means of accessing advice from your surgery is through online consultation, called econsult. This can be accessed through your Practice website and is designed to deal with a variety of queries and issues remotely. Generally this service will aim to get a response back to you by the end of the next working day.

Regular medications should be requested in the usual way, ideally online rather than by telephone.

Supplies of medication will be issued for 28 days at a time. Please do not stockpile medication as this could potentially cause supply issues for your fellow patients. Please state the chemist you would like it issued to.

As a result of the pressures of the pandemic on the system some Practices’ services such as minor surgery and routine review of chronic conditions are not currently being prioritised so you will notice some changes to service provision for the time being.

There will be challenges over the coming weeks but we will do our very best to deal with your healthcare needs. It is vital however that you all do your very best to comply with government and NHS advice on steps you should take to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. We are all heartened by the stories of goodwill and support within our community. Tackling the pandemic will come at a cost to us all including potential impacts on our mental health as a result of social isolation and we must all pull together. Once again advice on maintaining good mental and physical health is readily available through the NHS website.

We will work together to provide the best possible care for you during this pandemic and we thank you for your understanding and support during this challenging time.

Please visit our Facebook page for local information: https://www.facebook.com/LeamingtonSpaPrimaryCareNetworkBest wishes from your local GPs and their Practice staff