Noticeboard

Emailing Prescription Requests

We now have a new, seperate, email address solely for prescription requests. The email address is as follows: 

nencicb-cd.prescriptionrequestsacriston@nhs.net

Please ensure the email includes your name, date of birth and the medication that you require and this will be processed within the normal time frame. 

Latest News

Vacancy: Salaried GP Position

Please see the attached information regarding our vacancy for a salaried GP position. 

Please contact Martin Bell, Business Manager, at the Surgery, for further information. 

CV applications welcome. 

Closing date  Wednesday 13th December 2023 - 12 noon 

Salaried GP Recruitment Pack December 2023

Flu Vaccines 2023 - 2024

You are eligible for a flu vaccine if you are

  • Aged 65 years and over
  • Aged 6 months to under 65 years and in a clinical risk group
  • Pregnant
  • A child aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2023
  • A Primary school aged child (from Reception to Year 6: these are delivered via the school nurse service)
  • Living in long-stay residential care home
  • A Carer in receipt of carers allowance, or are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
  • A close contact of an immunocompromised individual
  • A Frontline worker in a social care setting.

We still have a lot (715) flu vaccines for those aged 18 to 64 in a clinical risk group, or are pregnant.

The flu vaccine DOES NOT give you flu - it helps prevent you being affected by the flu virus.

PLEASE NOTE: the practice has had to buy these vaccines. Getting your vaccine anywhere other than at your surgery (e.g. a pharmacy or a supermarket), is taking money away from the practice and out of the NHS. The practice does not make money out of a flu season, but it can easily lose money if you go elsewhere. 

Please contact the surgery to arrange to get your flu jab. Or come along on the afternoon of Thursday 16th November between 1pm and 5pm when there is walk-in session (no appointment needed).

Thank you. 

Patient Participation Group

We always welcome new members. We meet every two months. If you want to know more, contact Martin the manager. 

UTIs

Please see the short animation for information on a new pharmacy service for females, aged 16-64, with a urinary tract infections (UTI) without the need for a GP appointment or prescription, providing a more convenient option and faster access to treatment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR42sQdYp8o

There may be third party advertising as part of the clip: the practice is not responsible for these adverts and does not endorse any product or service that may be advertised. 

Local pharmacies currently offering this service can be found in the following document:

Local Pharmacies offering the UTI access service


Know Your NHS Services - Co Durham

A poster to help you identify which NHS service can best help you..

Know Your Co Durham NHS Services

Telephone lines

Between 12 noon and 1 pm, Monday to Friday, the telephones will be switched off. This will enable non-clinical staff to come together each day to undertake joint administrative tasks; i.e. the practice is supporting staff to better support patients. 

We are not closing the doors: reception will still be operational, and patients will still be able to collect prescriptions, etc.

Information from the Citizens Advice Bureau

Cost of Living poster

Energy prices poster

Tax Credits poster

Universal Credit poster

Cough and Colds in Children

We are seeing an awful lot of children with coughs and colds - to reassure parents and to offer some guidance and support, please see the following resources: 

YouTube clip on coughs and colds in babies and children

Little Orange Book - Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) Animation - YouTube

If you want access to the full "Little Orange Book", which is a really useful resource, it is a comprehensive guide for parents which covers a wide range of aliments in children from common minor ailments like teething, constipation, and colds, through to more serious conditions, then please contact the surgery and we can email it to you (it is too big to go on the website!)

Prescription Requests via Email

You can now order your repeat prescription via our new generic email address:

nencicb-cd.prescriptionrequestsacriston@nhs.net

Please include your name, date of birth and the medication you wish to request.

Your request will be processed within the normal time frame of 2 working days.

Veterans Health

Please see the attached poster if you are a veteran.

Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service

Pain Killers Don't Exist Campaign

If you have been taking painkillers for longer than three months, they are probably no longer working. And, you run the risk of being unintentionally, physically addicted to the medication.

Please click on the following link for further information: www.painkillersdontexist.com

 

First Contact Physio Service

First Phyiso Service: Contact Details

Patient Transport: How to access it...

Leaflet for Patients about Patient Transport

Poster for Patients about Patient Transport

electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD)

If you get regular or repeat prescriptions, you could save time by switching to electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD).

eRD sends your prescriptions electronically from your GP surgery to a pharmacy of your choice. It’s easy to use and you don't need a computer or electronic device. Ask your GP or pharmacist to set it up for you.

eRD allows your GP to prescribe your regular medicines for up to a year. It’s reliable, secure and confidential. Your regular prescriptions are stored securely on the NHS database, so they'll be ready at the pharmacy each time you need them.

Using eRD you can:

  • save time by avoiding unnecessary trips or calls to your GP every time you need to order a repeat prescription
  • order or cancel your repeat prescriptions online (if your GP practice offers this service)
  • pick up your repeat prescriptions directly from your pharmacy without having to visit your GP
  • spend less time waiting for your prescription in the pharmacy or GP practice
  • save paper – you won’t need a paper prescription to collect your medicine from the pharmacy

For more information about eRD and how it works, ask at your GP surgery or pharmacy, or visit the NHS website: www.nhs.uk/eRD

IMPORTANT

Information for patients

Regarding non-NHS repeat prescription services

We are aware that repeat prescription services that are not legitimate NHS services are currently being advertised.

 

Be cautious if an individual offers to pick up your prescription for you at a cost.

 

Anyone signing up to this service should be aware that it is not endorsed by, or aligned to any NHS organisation. Patients will be signing up to a private contractual agreement between themselves and the individual providing the service.

 

We would strongly advise any patient thinking of signing up to this service to ensure that they consider whether it complies with Data Protection Act (DPA) and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in relation to how their information will be stored and processed.

 

Any advertisement for a legitimate NHS service offering repeat prescription service will display the NHS logo and the contact details of the organisation(s) providing this. 

 

If you have any questions or concerns about a service that you have seen advertised in your local area, please speak to the Business Manager (Martin) who will forward on your question or concern.

 

 

The Medicines Optimisation Team

DDES and ND CCGs

August 2019

 

 Extended Access Service

 

There is an extended access service, running Monday to Friday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday.

Both GP and Nurse or Health Care Assistant appointments are available.

This is an extension of the GP service that runs as normal throughout the day, and is aimed firstly for those people who, for example, work and find it difficult to get to see a GP or Nurse or Health Care Assistant during the day.

This poster offers more information:

Extended Access Service

Information about our appointments system 

Appointments

Ring our main appointments number on (0191) 371 0232the line is open from 8.00 am to 6:00 pm.

 

Urgent appointments

Is one where you have contact with a GP within 24 hours (we cannot guarantee that you will be matched to the GP of your choice, but we will try to)

 

Routine appointments

  • With any GP is an appointment within 2 weeks
  • With the GP of your choice is an appointment within 4 weeks

 

Our Reception staff has been trained to ask questions to help direct you to the most appropriate appointment / GP / Nurse: PLEASE take the view that they are there to help, and are not asking questions for no reason at all.

 

We offer:

  • Early morning appointments (before 8 am) on a weekly basis: days can vary occasionally so ask at Reception for details.
  • Late evening appointments every Monday (last GP appointment 8:20 pm).

You can book an appointment on-line via our website: please ask a Receptionist for details as to how to do this.

You can help us by:

  • Being on time for your appointment
  • Letting us know if you need to cancel
  • Calling for a home visit or urgent appointment before 10 am
  • Ringing for the results of tests between 9.00 am and 6.00 pm

Prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions   

  • Please ask at reception if you would like to start ordering via email or nominating a pharmacy you would prefer to have your prescription forwarded to electronically.
  • You can also post the prescription request in the box in the foyer (please ensure social distancing) or post your request to us.

PLEASE allow 2 working days for the practice to process your prescription request, and 3 working days for the on-site pharmacy to process the prescription order (other local pharmacies may operate on a different time scale).

Therefore, we suggest you plan ahead at least 5 working days for any repeat medication requests.

  • If you take medication on a long-term basis, you can ask for a repeat prescription by ordering via the NHS App, Patient Access, our dedicated Prescription Email Address or via the Front Desk.

Wi-Fi available to patients

Please see the attached poster as to how to access Wi-Fi in the waiting room.

WiFi available in the surgery

Eligibility for help with NHS Costs

Patients are required to make a payment towards the cost of certain items, such as prescriptions, dental or eye care.

The NHS has an online checker so you can see what help you could get to pay for NHS costs at:

https://tinyurl.com/paying-nhs-costs

 

 
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