Please note that we are open for business even if our doors are shut. For urgent enquiries, please ring our surgeries at Holbrook or Shotley. For non-urgent issues, please use eConsult above.

BLOOD TESTS

Dear Patients

Disruption to Blood Tests

Problems with an NHS supplier, Roche, has led to a temporary shortage in some chemicals used to process blood tests. This is a national problem and Roche is working hard to resolve this.

 We are doing everything we can locally to reduce the impact on you, but unfortunately, we are going to have to postpone some tests. We appreciate how frustrating this is for those of you affected and are doing everything we can to ensure these are rebooked as soon as we know we have sufficient supply. 

 As a result, we are unable to take certain non-urgent blood tests at this time.

 Unfortunately, we are also unable to guarantee processing non-urgent tests sent to us if you have had a blood test done elsewhere.

 If you are worried and you have been told your blood test is urgent, please contact the person who referred you who should be able to help you.

 We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. We hope to be able to resume a normal service as soon as possible. 

 This is a national issue that is beyond our control.  We have a team of leaders locally who are liaising with regional and national colleagues.

 Please see below our advice for you:

 If you have been told your blood test is urgent, please attend your booked appointment without delay

• If you have been told your blood test is not urgent, please try and re-book in around two weeks’ time.
• If you are not sure whether your test is urgent or not, please get in touch with the GP or consultant who asked you to have the test
• We appreciate this is frustrating for patients and we’re grateful for everyone’s patience while we work hard to resolve this issue. We will keep everyone updated.
• We understand this may cause some concern and worry – if you would like to talk to someone, we would encourage you to get in contact directly with your referrer.

 Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG

We have a known issue with incoming calls from the EE mobile network which is being investigated by our telephony providers. 

Practice update from 1^st September 2020

We are delighted to announce that Dr Felicity Bezant will become a GP partner at the practice from 1^st October 2020. Dr Bezant has been with the practice for a year and we have enjoyed working with her as an employed GP but she will now take on some of the business responsibilities as well.

We will continue to deal with your enquiries by using telephone triage, video consultations and electronic consultations as far as possible. We will only bring patients into practice if absolutely necessary.

Demand is continuing to increase with Mondays being exceptionally busy, Fridays are also busy and should be for urgent queries only that cannot wait over the weekend. If you can ring Tuesday to Thursday then this would help to spread the workload.

The following is our plan through September, though may be subject to change as the Government issues more guidance.

• All contact with the practice should be by telephone or eConsult in the first instance .
• Where possible, please do not attend the surgery with queries as it is difficult to communicate through masks and screens without compromising confidentiality. Please give our receptionists a call and they will be pleased to help by telephone.
• Any patient who feels they need to see a doctor must book a telephone appointment and be triaged. The telephone call may be with a doctor, a clinical care practitioner, a pharmacist or a nurse. If a face to face appointment is deemed necessary then they will advise this and give clear instructions on how, where and when to attend
• Appointments with the nurse will continue be face to face but we may ring you ahead of your appointment to get background information in order to reduce face to face time
• If you receive a text reminder for an appointment but you were not expecting this, please assume that this is an error unless you have been specifically advised that you have a face to face appointment
• Both sites are ‘open’ normal hours for patients who have booked appointments or wish to collect medication from dispensary
• We are unable to book appointments more than 48 hours ahead due to the fact that we need to check everyone is symptom free and also to save us having to cancel huge numbers of appointments if our staff are off sick
•  Flu clinics – our flu clinics will start in early September with set appointment times. We will be prioritising our oldest and most vulnerable patients first. We will be sending letters with very specific instructions and will have to be very strict about attendance as we have several thousand patients to vaccinate. Please attend at your appointment time only. Unfortunately, we will not have time to chat this year as we will need to get one patient vaccinated every minute!
• Blood tests – demand is increasing for these as we start to return to normal in terms of annual checks and hospitals starting to see patients. Please ring us one to two working days before you need your appointment. We will have more blood test appointments at Holbrook from September as staff continue to extend working across both sites.
• eConsult – we recommend patients use eConsult for non-urgent queries including repeat Fit For Work Note/Sick Certificate requests, medication queries, referral to hospital which will send details to our GPs and staff and we can respond via a one way message. Visit https://holbrookandshotleysurgery.webgp.com/
• Some annual checks can be done partially or fully on eConsult. Go to https://holbrookandshotleysurgery.webgp.com/reviews and click on your condition. There are templates for Asthma, Diabetes, Thyroid, COPD, Hypertension, Contraceptive pill and also for a medication review. Complete the information as fully as possible and we will contact you if necessary once we receive this.  You may still be asked to come in but this will reduce the time of your appointment as we can gather information before you attend. 
• Medication reviews: if you have a medication review with our pharmacist, you will still need to order your repeat medication as normal.
• Face masks and coverings: all patients entering the surgery will be expected to wear a mask. If you believe you are exempt, please note that we are not able to issue exemption letters for patients and these are not required by law. Please visit the government website for further guidance on this.
• Doors are open: our doors will re-open with our normal opening times. You should continue to maintain a 2m distance at all times for staff safety and yours. Spaces are clearly marked inside and outside.
• Medication collections: please attend during opening hours and maintain correct distancing.
• Higher risk patients: shielding has ceased but we still need to keep our staff and patients safe. We will continue to see those who are at higher risk at Holbrook and others at Shotley. Higher risk will include those who previously had shielding letters, over 70s and pregnant ladies.
• Patients attending appointments: only the actual patient should come into waiting room. Children may be accompanied by only one parent. Elderly or infirm patients needing help should only have one person assisting them.
• PPE: if you are being seen for appointment, our clinical staff will wear appropriate PPE. This may include a face mask, gloves, apron and visor depending on your appointment type. Additional time has been allowed to clean rooms between each patient and change PPE. Some of our non-clinical staff may wearing hospital type scrubs whilst working in the practice. 
• Coronavirus symptoms: when you telephone the practice or visit in person, you will be asked if you have a temperature, a new continuous cough and/or loss of/change in taste or smell. If you are symptomatic we can still offer you a telephone or video appointment to discuss your symptoms.
• Repeat medication can be ordered online via eConsult, the NHS App or SystmOnline. If you have no online access, you can drop your repeat slip through the letterbox at either site.
• Coronavirus testing is available for patients with symptoms via the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test website or ring 119 if no internet access.
• Antibody testing is still not available to the general public.
• A lip speaker is available for those who are hard of hearing. Contact Natalie Farrugia at nfbslpro@gmail.com or on 07860 373317. Natalie has kindly offered to help but is not employed by the practice. By contacting Natalie directly you understand the confidentiality issues.
• Childhood immunisations and baby checks – the midwife and health visitor are contacting patients and giving advice over the phone or organising for patients to come in when necessary. Parents should still bring their children for their immunisations and baby checks.
• Postnatal checks: our usual 6 week postnatal check will now be combined with the 8 week immunisations so you only need to attend once and will see both the nurse and doctor. This will be at our Holbrook site.
• Cervical screening – please phone us to book these as normal
• For mental health issues due to coronavirus visit https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/

Our hope is that from October we can return to some sort of normal and continue to open up our services as and when it is safe to do so. We will follow Government guidance in this respect. In the meantime, please keep our staff and patients safe by following the guidelines and social distancing. 

Opening Times (please ring wherever possible)

Prescription collection times

Welcome to Holbrook and Shotley Surgery

There are two main Surgeries, in Holbrook and Shotley. Both surgeries have dispensaries which will issue prescribed drugs to eligible patients (if you live within one mile of an independent Pharmacy we are not permitted to dispense to you.).

Both surgeries are well equipped, purpose designed buildings and are conveniently situated in the centres of their villages on bus routes.

Wheelchair access, disabled toilets and baby changing facilities are provided at both premises. In addition to the main surgeries, there is a surgery held at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, for pupils only.

We are confident that our website will provide clear and concise help and give our patients the information they require in an easy and convenient format. It has been designed with the patient’s needs at the forefront of everything, from checking surgery times to letting us know what you think of us.

Serving You

Our dedicated team are here to treat those minor ailments that occur as well as providing specialist management of long-term conditions and clinics covering a wide range of healthcare issues. The technology also means you can now do a lot of things from the comfort of your home such as order a repeat prescription or cancel an appointment.

Partners in Care

Once registered, patients and healthcare professionals work together to ensure the most appropriate care is provided. This partnership philosophy extends even further and our active patient group exists to make sure that patient needs and the practice offering are always heading in the same direction.

Our organisation is part of the My Care Record approach which is supporting the work of health and care organisations across the East of England as they respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For example, we are working to make sure doctors, nurses and co-ordination staff at places you may receive advice or treatment can see important information from your patient record. This could include NHS  treatment centres such as the London NHS Nightingale Hospital. This will make it easier and faster for them to deliver effective care.

Exercising guidelines for patients with a diagnosis of dementia, learning disabilities or autism, or who has significant mental health needs.

Click here for more information.

Suffolk Wellbeing Service

Click here for more Information.