Our Primary Care Network (PCN) will be offering limited clinics for the covid boosters in October at the Health Centre. The sessions will run on the 5th, 12th, 19th  and 26th October and 2nd November. Booking via the PCN office or online will open on the 17th of September.

All housebound patients will be contacted by letter, please respond if you receive one to book your vaccine or decline.

The telephone number for those unable to book online is 01937 222082. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE PRACTICE

The team can only give vaccine to the groups approved by the NHS centrally.

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/02/whos-eligible-for-the-2024-covid-19-vaccine-or-autumn-booster/

We are expecting delivery of the inhaled flu vaccine late next week.

Your child is eligible if they were aged 2 or 3 on the 31st of August or if they are under 18 and have an underlying health condition which makes them more vulnerable to the virus if they catch it this winter.

We have appointments available from the 14th September onwards and eligible patients will have been sent a link. Either to their parents if they are under 16 or to them if they are 16 or 17.

We cannot vaccinate any other groups, school age children from Reception to Year 11 will be vaccinated by the Healthy Child Service at school. If your child is home schooled they will offer another way to access the service.

If you do not want your child to have the vaccine please let us know and we can log this in their record.

Thank you

Drs Reeves, Turton, Pitt, Langridge, Reynolds and Moss

As you will have seen on the news, GP teams accross England voted on taking collective action in protest at the contract that was imposed by NHS England this year. 98% of GP partners who voted supported taking action.

The Medical Centre is owned and run by us using funding from the NHS. This funding is for the building, its furnishings, upkeep etc. as well as all the people who work here (who are the most significant cost). Over time the budget we are allocated has not kept pace with the cost of running the service, we want the government to review this and put more money into GP practices.

The ballot allows GP teams to decide between 10 options for their action, some teams will choose to do all of them and others only one or two. We would like to reassure you that the actions we will be taking are purely administrative and the number of patient contacts we offer will not change.

As a team we want to do the best we can for our patients but need the budget to allow us to do this.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Drs Reeves, Turton, Pitt, Langridge, Reynolds and Moss

RSV is a new vaccine that will be offered to people as they turn 75 or reach 28 weeks of pregnancy from September 1st 2024. You may be more familiar with the term bronchiolitis when young children are unwell with this virus.

The government has asked us to run catch up clinics for anyone who is aged 75-79 on September 1st as a one off. Pregnant ladies will be offered the vaccine by their midwife or can book at the practice once they are 28 weeks pregnant.

If you missed the clinic on the 7th please call our reception team and we will book you an appointment with the nurse. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-rsv-vaccination-programme-announced

RSV causes around 9,000 admissions to hospital in patients aged over 75 each year as well as around 30,000 hospitalisations in those aged under 5.

The government has delayed the main rollout of the flu vaccines to October this year. We will be sending invitations to book for the 5th and 12th October over the next few weeks.

These clinics will be for anyone 65+ and anyone 18-64 who is in the at risk groups identified by the Department of Health. 

The clinics will be walk through, if you would find this a challenge or are bringing someone who would please call our reception team and speak to Chris who can book you in to a special clinic instead.

Once we have a date for delivery of childrens inhaled vaccines we will be in touch, these can be given in September along with flu vaccines for pregnant women.

We can only give the vaccine to people in the eligible groups, you can source a private flu vaccine at many chemists if you are not able to access one from the NHS.

https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/

You may have noticed that you are being offered appointments with a much wider variety of clinicians and other staff over the past year or so. For some problems the right person to see is not one of the GP team so you may be signposted to someone else by the doctor or by our reception staff after GP triage. The video below has been produced by the NHS nationally to explain some of these new roles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRlSUkGr4q8

In Tadcaster we have in person access to Paramedics, a Mental Health Practitioner, a Physiotherapist, a Social Prescriber and a Health and Wellbeing Coach as well as telephone access to a team of Pharmacists. They work closely with the team here and provide expert care and advice when needed. 

Life can be challenging. Family life, friends, school, work and many other things can leave you feeling stressed, sad, lonely or worried. The most important thing to remember is you’re not alone and looking for advice and support is exactly the right thing to do.

https://thegoto.org.uk/

The website has information and resources for young people and their parents/carers to help them manage their mental health.

Other resources can be found on the poster below.

Young-Persons-Digital-Resource-Poster.pdf

Last week the Medical Centre was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by the Town Council.

Dr Reeves collected it on behalf of the team who are all delighted to receive it.

Why not have a look for it in our reception area next time you visit.

Drs Reeves, Turton, Pitt, Langridge, Reynolds and Moss 

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.

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/pharmacies/find-a-pharmacy-offering-contraceptive-pill-without-prescription/

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 31^st 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. 

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?

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.

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/nhs-hormone-replacement-therapy-prescription-prepayment-certificate-hrt-ppc/medicines-covered-hrt-ppc

We do not have the certificates at the practice, you can buy online via the link below:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/nhs-hormone-replacement-therapy-prescription-prepayment-certificate-hrt-ppc

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 .

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/

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/

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

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.

https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/wellbeing-walks-groups/ramblers-wellbeing-walks-york-health-walks

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. If the Tadcaster walk isn't convenient they run alternatives in and around York over the month. Full details are on the file below.

rww-york-programme-v231_0.pdf

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 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

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.

Group coaching poster spring 23.pdf

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.