*Facemasks still required*
Despite the legislation changes on January 27th 2022 regarding wearing facemasks in public places, if you are attending the surgery for any reason you must continue to wear a face covering.
Information about long covid
Please follow the link below for information about long covid:
https://www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/what-is-covid-19/long-covid/
Useful Information Links regarding COVID-19
Please see the following:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/how-to-treat-symptoms-at-home/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/get-tested-for-coronavirus/
https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test
*Flu Vaccination*
We now have appointments for patients over the age of 65 (born before 1st April 1957) and eligible patients under the age of 65 available to book either online or by ringing the surgery AFTER 11am.
If booking online, please ensure you book into the correct slot type for your age. Different types of flu vaccine are used for different age groups, so we will not be able to vaccinate you if you are booked in inappropriately. All patients eligible for a free flu vaccination will be invited by letter or txt when the appropriate appointment is available to book.
We are still experiencing exceptional demand, both for GP and nurse appointments - many thanks for you patience during these unprecedented times.
*Pressure in surgery*
Please see following link for information on how you can support managing pressures in general practice:
Local health and care leaders call on public support to manage pressures as patient numbers surge - Healthier Together (bnssghealthiertogether.org.uk)
*HANDi app*
This app aims to provide advice and support when children are unwell, and offers straightforward advice on treatment and which NHS services to use. For more information, please visit the following link: Download the HANDi app | NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG (bnssgccg.nhs.uk)
*Appointments available to book online*
You can now use the NHS app or Patient Access to book blood or smear test appointments at the surgery. Please only book if you know you are due a test (have received a letter inviting you to book for smear tests) and only book in for either of these reasons. If you book for ANY other reason we will not be able to see you and your journey will be wasted. Many thanks for your understanding.
*In line with other Practices, we are now only accepting phone calls between 8:00 - 11:00 for on the day appointments.*
For any other queries, please ring after 11:00. Our phone lines are exceedingly busy at the moment. For general COVID-19 queries please see the government website https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
eConsultation
The link below is for our eConsultation service. We are pleased to help patients as much as possible and deliver the best care, but we wanted to remind you that we are still a limited resource. We are still focusing on urgent and serious issues during the current pandemic. Thank you for your understanding, please not submit multiple eConsultations or list multiple problems in them it is most helpful for advice, and simple single issues.
Patient access and NHS app are also great ways to use our services, including online prescriptions and checking your results
Greener Practice
At Frome Valley Medical Centre we recognise the impact of all areas of our work on the health of our planet, as well as on our patients. We are pleased to announce we have signed up to the Green Impact For Health Toolkit, which will help us move our practice into being more environmentally friendly, reducing our carbon emissions and plastic waste, helping us to care better for both people and the planet at the same time. For more information about why this is important please read this: Why Greener Practice? — Greener Practice
Important Information - Changes to our Appointment Booking System
With effect from 1 November 2020 Frome Valley Medical Centre will be operating an on-the day appointment system.
You now need to telephone the surgery on the day you require an appointment. There is no need to phone ahead to book routine appointments in advance. Our trained team of care navigators will guide you through a series of questions to ensure you are given access to the best person or service to support you.
We believe this system will be much more efficient and will allow you access to your GP on the day that you need to be seen. It will help reduce long waiting periods of time to see a GP and prevent appointments being booked just in case symptoms do not improve. In turn, this helps us reduce missed appointments from patients who fail to attend and ensure that all our appointments are used by patients who need them.
Don’t forget the many other resources available to you that may be better suited for your problem than a consultation with a GP:
- Over the counter medication
- Advice from local pharmacist
- Resources available on-line from the NHS website
- Phoning 111 and asking advice from that service
- Minor Injury Clinic
- Phoning 999 in any potential life threatening emergency
For queries that are not urgent or do not need to be directed to a GP you may want to use eConsultations – available on this website.
To aid patients needing a consultation, we politely ask all patients phoning with a general enquiry to do so after 11:00 a.m.
We believe this new system will be welcomed by the majority of our patients. However, in order to continually review and adapt this will be launched as a trial three month trial period. We would welcome all feedback, good or bad, regarding how you have found the system to work for you. Please email bnssg.feedback@nhs.net or alternatively the Frome Valley Patient Participation Group on fvmcppg@gmail.com.
Please see the News Section of this website or our Patient Information Leaflet for more information.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT/FROM THE SURGERY
Our receptionist will ask information so that they can help you best. They may direct you to a different service, and are trained around when this is appropriate. To protect patients and staff initial contact for all doctors appointments will be by phone. Please be aware that this may display as Private Number or Caller ID Withheld. Please make sure your phone is available for us to call. You may still be asked to attend after the call but please do not come unless asked to do so.
In order to protect other patients and staff at the surgery, we are asking that all patients and visitors to the surgery wear a face covering. We ask for the patient and only one essential carer or family member to attend the surgery wherever possible. If the carer or the single family member accompanies the patient into the surgery or the pharmacy premises, then we ask that both of you wear face coverings. The exception to this would be if wearing a face covering might cause significant distress to the patient, or if they are a child under the age of 8 years.
"Why does the receptionist need to ask what's wrong with me?"
The reception staff are members of the practice team and it has been agreed they should ask patients 'why they need to be seen'. Reception staff are trained to ask certain questions in order that you receive:
- The most appropriate medical care,
- From the most appropriate health professional,
- At the most appropriate time
Receptionists are asked to collect brief information from patients:
- To help prioritise house visits and phone calls
- To ensure that all patients receive the appropriate level of care
- To direct patients to see the nurse or other health professional rather than a doctor where appropriate
Reception staff, like all members of the team, are bound by confidentiality rules
- Any information given by you is treated strictly confidentially
- The Practice would take any breach of confidentiality very seriously and deal with accordingly
Connecting Care
Some elements of your medical record are available to other services via Connecting Care.
Click on the link below for further information:
https://www.connectingcarebnssg.co.uk
Did you know that every patient has a named GP?
Frome Valley Medical Centre is required to allocate all of our patients a Named GP for medical record purposes.
Patients can be rest assured that they are still welcome to book with any GP for a consultation.
If you would like to know who your named GP is, please feel free to ask a member of our Reception team.
Duty of Candour
Frome Valley Medical Centre has a Duty of Candour to our patients. This is a statutory (legal) duty to be open and honest with patients (or ‘service users’), or their families, when something goes wrong that appears to have caused or could lead to significant harm in the future. It applies to all health and social care organisations registered with the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England. This leaflet explains what to expect if such an incident occurs and what to do if you think your healthcare provider has not complied with the duty of candour : Duty of Candour Information
(Site updated 15/02/2022)