Noticeboard

Sickness Certificates

The first 7 days of sickness do not require a certificate from your GP. If your employer insists on a sickness form, complete a Self-Certification form, which can be found here

Please ask staff to issue the usual sick notes, NOT the GP's.

We do NOT do sick notes for suspected Coronavirus

Sick Notes do NOT need to be SIGNED. We will text them to you, as we do not want you to come to surgery to pick them up. You can print them or email them to your employer.

We are not allowed to write letters telling your employer that you should be allowed to work from home. That's your HR department's decision, based on what medical conditions you declare to them. If they don't believe you, we can write a letter confirming your medical problems for £30 in advance. We have been overwhelmed with such requests, understandably, and we cannot deal with them all.

Keep Your Details up to Date
Please do update your contact details ("Your Contact Details" box at the bottom of screen) with home & mobile & email. You will receive appointment reminders and occasional requests for information by text.

PHONE CALLS may be recorded for your protection.

The Over 65s

CORONAVIRUS

BEST ADVICE IS STAY AT HOME!

Your Prime Minister has already stated that we risk 'losing loved ones before their time'. This may seem insensitive, but it's the reality. The truth of the matter is that because of modern medicine we are ALL hoping to live beyond our 'time', myself included! But the cost is that most of us will have more 'fragile' weaker defence mechanisms against illness. All we can do is to be responsible for our health & make wise decisions. We are a social society, compared to medieval times: we look after our sick and elderly. We need to be grateful and have realistic expectations. The people who are most at risk are the over 60's: yet the under 60's are having their lives disrupted in a massive way, financially, socially. Students who have been working very hard preparing for exams are having their dreams squashed. This is all to try to protect our more vulnerable members of society.

I'm hoping that you have lines of support established, that your adult children are in close phone contact and help you.
You have thermometers, BP machines, pulse oximeters.
You drink plenty of fluids (not just caffeinated drinks, which are peed straight out and dehydrate you).
That you take your medicine as prescribed. Studies show that one third of over 60's don't take their medicines properly.
Despite 3years of prompting, we still don't have mobile numbers for many over60's on record, and don't have NextOfKin consent/mobile numbers. At this challenging time, we need to be able to send you messages. Anyone who hasn't updated their record is simply unwise and irresponsible.

There are a lot of rumours and lies being spread online and by word of mouth about Coronavirus. Keep an eye on BBC news and this website for the truth. As we all get older, we can become single-minded and forget how to try to keep an open mind about advice: this is simply a fact. In this important time, listen and trust what the healthcare workers advise you: it's their job it is to help you live longer, with reasonable quality of life.

if you do become chesty, follow the advice in the first section on the Coronavirus tab here. Measure your symptoms. This is so we can make an assessment of whether you need respiratory support in hospital. Without this information, the doctor can't make a full assessment. Putting a stethoscope on your back isn't enough. We haven't time to visit everyone who needs visiting, but with responsible self-monitoring of important symptoms and telephone/video support by your doctor, we can manage your illness.
Patients with COPD, Asthma & Diabetes: refer the the personalised CarePlans you've been given.
Even if you've been lucky enough not to be diagnosed with any respiratory diagnosis yet, and you still smoke, NOW is an excellent time to stop!
If you've refused the Flu Vaccine & Pneumococcal Vaccine, now would be a good time to reconsider: people die not from Coronavirus, but from the respiratory Complications of it.
Low blood levels of Vitamin D leave you more susceptible to viruses: check your last blood test result and if you topped up, and if you've topped up for this winter.

IBUPROFEN & anti-inflammatories: firstly you shouldn't be taking them regularly, but only in short burst of 1-2weeks at a time. If you do get fever/become unwell, it's best to stop them, as they make you more vulnerable to viruses. Of course, you may be more stiff/in pain.

DON'T stop your BP meds!