Practice News
Spring Boosters for Covid
Our Primary Care Network (PCN) will be offering covid boosters this Spring for eligible adults.
The groups that the government has identified for boosters are:
- Anyone over 75
- Anyone resident in a care home for the elderly
- People with a weakened immune system
We cannot offer vaccine to anyone outside these groups so please do not ask us to.
There will be three Saturday clinics running at the Health Centre in late April and early May. Booking will start on the 9th April and the PCN will be contacting all those eligible.
If you are housebound and fit within the above groups we will be offering a vaccine at home. In the winter the visiting team had real issues when patients who had said they were housebound were out when they arrived. If you go out to shop or to the hairdressers please book an appointment to come to the vaccine centre.
Popplewell Springs will be visited by the vaccine team on 23rd April.
If you do not want a covid booster please let us know and we will let the PCN team know.
The phone lines will be open from 9th April Monday to Friday, if the line is engaged please call back.
The number to book is 01937 222082 this phone number is not located at the Medical Centre.
New Pharmacy Contraception Service
Our nurses continue to offer contraception advice but we are aware that for some patients coming to the practice can be inconvenient.
As this is an issaue for patients nationally NHS England has set up a service for contraception to be available via a pharmacy without a prescription. This is NOT available at all pharmacy sites so please use the link below to check where would be convenient for you to attend.
The most local chemist is Day Lewis in Wetherby but there are multiple sites in Leeds and York.
Important information for patients currently on hospital waiting lists
The NHS has been working hard to address the backlogs built up during the COVID pandemic. As part of these plans, the NHS will be proactively contacting patients who have been waiting a long time for NHS funded treatment to remind them of their right to request to move to an alternative hospital where they may be seen quicker.
From Tuesday 31st October new digital portal called the Patient Initiated Digital Mutual Aid System (PIDMAS) will be introduced. Patients who have been waiting 40 weeks or more can use this portal to request an alternative choice of hospital.
Any patient who is eligible will receive either a SMS text message or a letter from their current hospital explaining how to request to choose a different hospital.
Please do not contact the practice regarding this process as we have no information regarding individual patients.
The hospital will contact you if you are eligible. Please do not contact them either.
Further information about alternative choice is available on hospital websites.
NHS APP
Did you know that you can use the NHS App for more than viewing your medical record?
- You can send an online consultation to the practice using the 'Ask your GP for advice' option (during normal operating times of our triage service).
- You can request your repeat medication quickly and easily.
- If you switch on notifications you can receive letters and messages from the practice direct to the app rather than via SMS or email.
Why not download it and see?
HRT Prepayment Certificate - NEW 1.4.2023
If you pay for NHS prescribed HRT medicine 3 or more times in 12 months, an HRT PPC could save you money.
Each item on an NHS prescription usually costs £9.65. You can buy an HRT PPC for a one-off payment of £19.30 (the cost of two single items).
The HRT PPC covers an unlimited number of certain HRT medicines for 12 months, regardless of why they are prescribed.
The HRT PPC does not cover all HRT medicines. Please check using the link below if yours is covered before buying a pre payment certificate.
We do not have the certificates at the practice, you can buy online via the link below:
NHS Talking Therapies
Talking therapies can help you with feelings of stress, low mood and worry.
Your local IAPT team offers talking therapies, they are there to help you lift your mood.
We encourage anyone who is finding lifes daily demands difficult to reach out, When you get in touch there may be a waiting list. The IAPT team will let you know if this is the case and what to expect.
You can find out more and refer yourself via the IAPT website Home - York and Selby IAPT .
Polio
You may have seen on the news that there are concerns that polio may be spreading in the community in London for the first time in decades.
Locally vaccine uptake in children is very good which is reassuring for us all.
The normal vaccine course is three doses at 8, 12 and 16 weeks then a dose in the pre school boosters at 3.5-4 and in the teenage boosters at school in year 9. A course of five vaccines gives good long term protection.
If you are concerned that you have not had five doses please contact the reception team at the surgery or check via your online records access (if you have it).
If your child has missed any of the doses please book with the nurse, the polio vaccine is given as part of a vaccine giving protection against multiple diseases, the link below may be useful.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/
Sleepstation (an online insomnia service)
Patients who are registered with the practice can now access free online support with insomnia from Sleepstation https://www.sleepstation.org.uk/.
You can be referred by one of the clinical team or you can self-refer via the link below. There are no waiting lists for this service but you must have internet access.
https://www.sleepstation.org.uk/start-now/
New Adult (19+) Mental Health Support Service
Qwell is a free, safe and anonymous mental health and wellbeing service. There are no waiting lists, no referrals and no thresholds required to access the service, which is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and delivered by Kooth plc, the UK’s largest digital mental health provider.
The service encourages peer-to-peer support via moderated discussion forums and self-help through reading or submitting content. However, Qwell also gives people the opportunity to access online counselling from qualified counsellors who are available from noon to 10pm every weekday and from 6pm to 10pm at weekends. People can drop in for one-to-one instant text-based chats or book a session in advance.
www.qwell.io
Online Carers Assessment
https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/carer-assessment
This is for any carer and will help you think about your role, how it impacts your life and what support you may need.
You complete the assessment online and NYCC will be in touch if they need more information and to discuss support available.
Health Walks
https://www.walkingforhealth.org.uk/
Why not join the Tadcaster walk on the 4th Friday of the month?
This scheme is national and is designed to encourage people to start being active, the walks are short and over easy terrain.
Start point for the Tadcaster walk is the bus station at 10 am, the route is approximately two kilometers. Please arrive 15 minutes early to register.
The website does not have the Tadcaster walk on the calendar but we have leaflets available from reception if you are interested.
Covid Certification - UPDATED 13.4.23
The NHS App shows Covid-19 vaccine status if you received your vaccine in England. You can download the app from whichever app store you use. You will need to prove your identity to register by sending a photo of your current driving licence, passport or other official photo identification.
If you cannot use the App you can call 119 and ask for a letter to be posted to you. You can request this letter 5 days or more after your second dose. It will take around 5 days for the letter to be sent to you. Please be aware that vaccine requirements for travel vary and you may need to have had a booster to be considered fully vaccinated for arrival abroad.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstrating-your-covid-19-vaccination-status-when-travelling-abroad
Your GP Surgery cannot issue letters proving Covid-19 vaccination status.
If your vaccine record in the app is not complete and you had your vaccine in England please call the VDRS (Vaccine Data Resolution Service) on 0300 561 0017. If you had your vaccine at the Health Centre we can update your records but we cannot add vaccines given elsewhere.
If you have had your vaccine outside of England (this includes Scotland and Wales) the process to have them added is detailed on the website below. There is no longer any need to attend a site with evidence.
Tell the NHS about COVID-19 vaccinations you've had outside England - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Thank you
New Roles In Our Team - UPDATED MAY 2022
Mental Health Practitioner
We now have access to a number of appointments each weekday with a Mental Health Practitioner called Tracey Webb linked to our PCN. We understand that this may not be a familiar job to you and you may wonder why you are offered an appointment with her rather than a GP. The link below explains the role and how it can help you.
www.valeofyorkccg.nhs.uk/mentalhealthpractitioner
There is also a short video from Ben who works in Selby Town: https://youtu.be/2yzkhLZ-828
Health & Wellbeing Coach
Beatrice and Sarah are our Health and Wellbeing Coaches (Beatrice features in the video on the website below).
You may be offered a referral to them when you are seen in the surgery.
www.valeofyorkccg.nhs.uk/healthandwellbeingcoaches
NEW GROUP HEALTH COACHING SESSIONS
In a small group setting these groups cover topics including Diabetes Prevention, Eating Well, Hypertension and Menopause. Click on the link for dates and times.
My Planned Care
This site has been set up by NHS England to allow patients and their families to see average wait times by department if they have been referred for a hospital outpatient appointment.
The hospital teams are working with significant backlogs and the website will soon have information about managing your symptoms whilst waiting to be seen.
https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/
If you contact the hospital you have been referred to and ask for an earlier appointment they may ask for a letter from your GP to expedite the process. There is no guarantee that a letter will mean an earlier appointment but if you are asked for one please contact the surgery and give us details of how your condition has changed since you were referred. Without this information no letter can be written.