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Christmas and New Year 21/22

We would like to share with patients about the following information related to the festive period to assist with arrangements.

Over the Christmas period, the practice will close at 6pm on Friday 24th December and reopen again at 8am on Wednesday 29th December.

For the New Year holiday period, the practice will close at 6pm on Friday 31st December and reopen again at 8am on Wednesday 5th January.

It is predicted that there will be especially high demand for our services during the following periods:

  • Monday 20th to Thursday 23rd December
  • Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th December
  • Wednesday 5th January to Friday 7th January

To assist us during these busy times, we would appreciate patients taking the following steps:

  • Order medication well in advance of need as a more flexible approach to early ordering will generally be taken to allow for disruption to services over the festive season. Patients should note that the practice requires two working days to issue a paper prescription (where clinically safe to do so) and our community pharmacy partners request 7 days to dispense medication on receipt of the paper prescription.
  • Avoid calling the practice in the morning about routine matters such as routine appointment requests and requests for the results of investigations. Our telephone lines are quieter in the afternoon after 2pm.
  • Provide the reception staff with as much clinical information about your problem as you feel able to share. Be reassured that our reception team will respect the confidentiality of your personal information at all times in the same way as our clinicians. The information you give will help us prioritise requests for consultations according to clinical need and utilise the breadth of expertise within our team to allocate appointments to the most appropriate clinician.
  • Try to be available when we return calls to you to avoid the need for repeated attempts to make successful contact. Failed telephone call attempts make us less efficient.

In accordance with current national guidance, we continue to ensure that all patients entering the building have been assessed prior to coming in to the practice. To protect the safety of our staff, clinicians and patients all initial contacts will be by telephone. Face to face appointments at the practice will be made according to the assessment made during this initial call. This approach dramatically reduces our capacity along with the need for PPE and additional cleaning regimes.

Attendance at the practice is by prior arrangement only. We cannot allow unregulated access to the practice at the current time. Our team are here to help and we’ll do all we can to assist whilst complying with all relevant recommendations. Please be considerate and kind when contacting us as we are working under exceptionally difficult circumstances. Like every organisation, we are contending with unprecedented levels of Covid related absence due to illness and / or self-isolation requirements. Where possible, our team members may work from home but this isn’t always practical or productive. We fully appreciate that delays in accessing care across the NHS are frustrating, worrying and upsetting for patients so we will try to assist within the limits of our capacity.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our community all the best for a happy and healthy 2022.