COVID-19
For information about COVID-19 (including the vaccination) please use the links below:
For more information go to www.gov.uk/coronavirus or www.nhs.uk/coronavirus
Covid Vaccination Programme
Finally we are able to share some news with you! The communications given out around the vaccine programme are tightly controlled by NHS England, and up until this week we have been asked to simply say “you will be contacted when a vaccine is available for you”. Thankfully that has now changed
Locally the Pfizer vaccine began to be delivered at the end of December by local hospital hubs. Due to the complexity of the Pfizer vaccine, its cold-chain requirements and very short shelf-life, sites have to be able to give 1,000 doses within 3 days to the eligible cohorts. This is clearly very challenging, especially for small rural GP surgeries such as ours.
At the current time it is not possible for individual GP practices to deliver either the Pfizer or Astra Zeneca vaccine from their own premises to their own patients. This is a nation-wide directive. Instead, GP practices are working together as groupings (otherwise known as Primary Care Networks) of 45-50,000 patients to deliver the vaccine from one single site within that grouping, for all patients of the group of practices. We are pleased to announce our local vaccination hub will be in Doddington.
The Doddington site will become operational from Monday 18th January, but we still await confirmation regarding when our vaccine delivery will be. We will be notified at least 3 days before our vaccine is due to arrive, only then can we start to book patients in.
The vaccine priority groups (ie who gets called for a vaccine when) have been decided centrally by NHS England. We have absolutely no ability to alter to this or make exceptions. The first groups to be vaccinated are care home residents and staff, health and social care workers and social care workers, and the over 80s. As each cohort is completed, we can then begin calling those in the next priority group.
We are not allowed to offer a choice of vaccine. Again, this is a national mandate. Our priority has to be to ensure that no vaccine is wasted, and that every dose is given to an eligible patient.
We do know that automated booking systems will be used to help deal with the huge administrative burden of booking hundreds of vaccine appointments in an extremely tight timescale. Those with mobile phone numbers on their records will be contacted by text initially, therefore if we do not have a record of your current mobile number, please ensure you update us with your mobile number. As soon as we are able to book appointments for those in the first priority group, you will be contacted. Please DO NOT contact Reception about this until you are invited to do so.
For those patients without mobile numbers – please don’t worry. Our colleagues in West Cambs Federation are supporting us to contact patients, and they will be calling you via your landline number and inviting you for the vaccination on our behalf.
We encourage patients to organise their own transport to attend the vaccination hub where possible and we encourage family and friends to support anyone who needs help safely accessing their vital vaccination appointment.
However, if you need help with transport, Cambs County Council are centrally gathering information of DBS checked volunteer drivers county wide and patients can call Cambridgeshire Covid Hub: 0345 045 5219 to book (possibly free transport) once you have an appointment.
In addition there is:
Community Care Scheme Fenland – 07944 814156 (small fee to cover fuel)
FACT – 01354 661234 – specialist adapted vehicles (cost involved)
We know that this has been a very frustrating time for you all, and the lack of information has been questioned by some. As we are sure you can imagine, we are desperate to get going with this work. This will inevitably have an impact on staffing levels at the Surgery over the next months, as clinicians and admin staff are needed to staff the vaccine centre whenever we are in receipt of vaccine delivery. We will do our very best to ensure that we strike a balance between continuing to provide care from our Surgery, and playing our part in the vital national vaccination effort.
Thank you very much.
Dr Ben Curtis
GP Partner, Ramsey Health Centre
Clinical Director, Fenland PCN
Update 10th December 2020
COVID-19 Vaccination programme
Patients are asked not to contact the surgery regarding COVID-19 Vaccinations.
The NHS will be starting to vaccinate the most at-risk priority groups, including over-80s and social care workers in local hospital hubs. The NHS will be starting to call people who fall into these priority groups over the coming weeks to book appointments for them.
You may have been called by Addenbrooke’s or Peterborough City Hospital to attend one of the first clinics at the hospital sites. You can choose to accept this appointment or wait until more clinics and locations are available in the community.
When more vaccines become available, the vaccines will be offered to other people at risk as soon as possible. Please don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine before then.
If you have not yet been approached about having the Covid-19 vaccine, please read the information: why you are being asked to wait.
Please continue to abide by all the social distancing, wearing of face masks and hand hygiene guidance, which will still save lives.
Update 8th December 2020
Accessing GP Services during Coronavirus
For straightforward advice on different ways you can access GP services during the current pandemic, please take a moment to watch this video. It will explain the different ways patients can ensure that they receive care as safely as possible.
Update 25th November 2020 -Flu Vaccination
Patients over the age of 50 will be entitled to a free flu vaccination from 1st December 2020. We are co-ordinating this next phase of flu clinics and will be in contact with all eligible patients to book an appointment. Alternatively, you can book an appointment with a local Pharmacy from 1st December onwards.
Headlines last week spoke of “Covid vaccine by Xmas from GPs”. What does this mean for me?
Whilst we certainly would want to be involved in any vaccination campaign, we don’t have any information ourselves yet and contrary to media reports no ‘deals’ have yet been done, but we expect more information soon..
Ramsey Health Centre Update - 7th October 2020
We would like to apologise to patients for any disruption in our service today. We are experiencing a recurrent loss of network IT Services. We understand that this is due to a region-wide problem with NHS Digital's Health and Social Care Network.
We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
UPDATE: As of approximately 14:00 hrs, these issues are now resolved. HSCN services are being closely monitored to ensure they are now stable, and the root cause investigated. Apologies for a disrupted morning.
Ramsey Health Centre Update - 27th Aug 2020
Flu Vaccination 2020
Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, we will be planning our winter flu vaccination schedule slightly differently than normal, to ensure that we minimise risk to patients and staff.
We will be publishing details of the flu clinic schedule shortly.
Ramsey Health Centre Update 26th Jun 2020
As the country eases out of lockdown, the restrictions put in place at the Practice unfortunately have to remain. As the wider population interact more, we must continue to work in a way that protects our team and patients to reduce the risk of a coronavirus infection, and ensure we can continue to provide a safe and sustainable service. To this end all patients will continue to be screened for covid symptoms and all initial appointments with a Clinician will be via telephone triage. We ask that patients do not visit the Practice opportunistically and only attend by invitation if requested to do so. If you are attending the Practice in person then please supply a face covering if you are able to.
We are beginning to review services previously put on hold and will be inviting patients to attend for appointments where we feel it is safe to do so.
The Government advice regarding shielded patients initially suggested that this group of patients isolate until the end of June. Throughout the pandemic guidance has been issued to GP Surgeries and the public simultaneously and we are not given prior notification of imminent changes. As and when new information is released we will implement the guidance as requested but we do not anticipate issuing any new letters to patients currently shielding. Patients and employers will be directed to the Government guidance should they have any queries regarding shielding and/or social distancing requirements as in most cases this advice will apply with few exceptions.
We would like to thank all of our patients for coping so well with the rapid pace of change to the way we care for you in recent months. We have all had to adapt and the Practice would have been unable to make this transition successfully without your support. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank those who have volunteered their services to help us meet the needs of the more vulnerable members of our community at this time. Please remember that we are still here to care for you if you become unwell and if you have any concerns then please do not hesitate to contact our Patient Services team to make an appointment for assessment and the necessary treatment.
As a team we pride ourselves in working to deliver a high standard of patient centred care and we aspire to continue to do so despite the challenges that the pandemic brings.
Julie White
Practice Manager
Ramsey Health Centre Update - 9 April 2020
IN LINE WITH GUIDANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT, NHS ENGLAND, AND THE BMA, WE HAVE MADE CHANGES TO THE WAY WE PROVIDE SERVICES, TO PROTECT PATIENTS AND STAFF.
The surgery is limiting all non-urgent patient contact but please rest assured, we are here if you need us.
We are asking all patients not to attend appointments at the practice without prior agreement from a member of our clinical team. Please note access to urgent care and essential routine care will continue.
Our Dispensary is still open. Please order your medications as usual. When the Dispensary have prepared your prescription we will contact you to say it is ready. You may then either collect the medication from the Practice or arrange for someone to collect on your behalf.
For Non-Dispensing patients, please order your medications as usual. When the doctor has signed your prescription it will be sent electronically to your nominated pharmacy. Whilst we will continue to process prescription requests within 3 working days in Practice, please bear in mind our colleagues in the community Pharmacy, who will also need opportunity to prepare your medication – please allow up to 4 working days from when you submit your prescription to us before collecting from the Pharmacy.
IF YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE COVID-19:
- Access 111 Coronavirus Service Online – 111.nhs.uk/covid-19
- Follow government guidance on how long to self-isolate
- If you feel your condition is getting worse, telephone the surgery.
IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER URGENT MEDICAL NEED:
-
Telephone the surgery
- Wait for a call back from a member of the clinical team where you will be given a telephone call or a video consultaion.
- A very small number of patients may need to be seen in the surgery – these patients will be given special instructions
ONLY COME TO THE SURGERY IF YOU ARE SPECIFICALLY INSTRUCTED TO DO SO
FIND A COVID-19 COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUP
If you are an individual or you know an individual who is in need of help, there are lots of organisations, charities and community groups reaching out to help people. Please have a look at the cambridgeshire.gov.uk directory to find an organisation near you who may be able to offer you support.
www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/coronavirus/covid-19-coordination-hub-your-community-needs-you#my-organisation-or-business-wants-to-help--covid-----14-0
19th March 2020
MEDICAL CERTIFICATION FOR ABSENCE FROM WORK FOR COVID-19 PANDEMIC
If you are absenting yourself from work for reasons relating to the Covid-19 pandemic (e.g. you are following Government Guidance and/or are in a high risk group) your employer should not require you to produce a sick note from your GP.