Face Coverings 

We continue to ask that you wear face coverings 

Please help protect Staff and all Patients when attending the Practice

Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme

• Invitations for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme are being sent via SMS message, email and letter.  Patients who receive SMS messages can click onto the link and book their own appointment remotely on the day and time which is convenient for them.  
• If you would like to receive SMS invitations in the future, please ensure you have updated your mobile phone number on your record and given permission to receive SMS messages.
• Cohort aged 65 years old and over have been invited first and we have had a great response. 
• Cohort 18 - 64 years old with Chronic Disease will start to be invited during week beginning 27th September 2021.

Our Covid-19 Vaccination Programme 

• The Covid Booster vaccination programme is now administering vaccinations to the over 50 year olds.  If you want to book you appointment call 119 or visit www.gov.uk website.

STAFF NEWS

27th September 2021

Welcome

• We would like to welcome our new Health Care Assistant - Amanda Baldwin to our nursing team.  She comes to us with 20 years of experience.  She is also a Dispenser so you may see her in different areas of the practice

Farewell

• We would like to wish Practice Nurse Mary Brown good luck in her new role as School Nurse at the Royal Hospital School
• We would like to wish Practice Nurse Corrine Clifford good luck for the future

Please DO NOT call the surgery to ask when you will be able to receive your vaccination

Please note - For urgent enquiries, please ring our surgeries at Holbrook or Shotley.

For non-urgent issues, please use eConsult above

eConsult is only available during surgery hours.

We are now booking a small number of face to face appointments on a daily basis as well as continuing to deal with your enquiries by using telephone triage, video consultations and electronic consultations as far as possible. If you have a telephone consultation the doctor may offer you a face to face appointment if required.

Demand for appointments continues to increase with Mondays being exceptionally busy. Fridays are also busy and should be for urgent queries only, that cannot wait over the weekend.

To help with the demand for appointments we would appreciate it if you can ring Tuesday to Thursday to help spread the workload.

• Please continue to contact the practice by telephone or eConsult in the first instance
• Appointments with your GP continue to be booked on the day.  We are now offering a small amount of face to face appointments as well as continuing to offer telephone and video consultations.  
• Appointments with the nurse will be face to face.  You can now book your nurses appointments three and seven working days in advance
• Attending Appointments - Only the patient should come into the waiting room.  Children may be accompanied by one parent.  Elderly or infirm patients needing help should have one person to assist them.
• Blood Tests - The demand for blood tests are increasing as we start to invite you for your annual health checks.  You can now book your blood tests more than two working days in advance
• eConsult - we recommend the use  of 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 GP's and staff.  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 (Asthma, Diabetes, Thyroid, COPD, Hypertension, Contraceptive pill and medication review).  Complete the form as fully as possible and we will contact you if necessary once we have received it.  We may still ask you to attend an appointment but the information on the form will help to reduce the appointment time
• Medication Review - If you have a medication review with our pharmacist, you will still need to order your repeat medication as normal
• Repeat Medication can be ordered on line 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
• Medication collections - Please collect your medication during opening times.  Please observe social distancing if there is a queue
• PPE - Our clinical staff will continue to wear appropriate PPE during consultations.  This may include face mask, gloves, apron and visor depending on your appointment type
• Coronavirus Symptoms - If you are symptomatic we can still offer you a telephone or video appointment to discuss your symptoms
• 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.