Frome Medical Practice is continuing the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, with the focus on vaccinating patients due to receive their second dose.
Karen Creffield, practice manager, said “The practice would like to thank all our patients for their patience at this time. We are currently at the peak of providing people with their second Covid vaccine.
“This is a very demanding time for us and our teams are all working additional hours so we can ensure everyone is offered an appointment.
“We ask that people remain patient and wait for us to call them to arrange their second dose appointment, rather than calling the practice themselves.
“However, there is an exception to this. If you received your first vaccine 10 weeks ago or more and we haven’t yet been able to contact you yet please get in touch with us so we can book your appointment. We anticipate that our phone lines are going to remain busy during this time, so please be patient when calling.
“We also wanted to give patients advance notice of a busy period we will face in early May. We have been delivering our vaccine programme at the weekend, wherever possible, so as not to disrupt the day-to-day running of the practice.
“However, we want to advise patients that due to fixed delivery schedules this is not always possible. We know that we will be receiving a delivery of vaccine the week beginning 3rd May and as a result of this we will have to offer a large mid week clinic.
“Unfortunately this is going to limit the availability of non-urgent appointments that week. We ask that patients who need non-urgent advice check our self care resources on our website, or talk to their local pharmacy, who can advise on issues such as urine infections, some skin conditions, conjunctivitis and other minor illness.
“The 111 services is also available for support from 6.30pm during the week and at the weekends.”
The recent government announcement that people aged 45-49 are now entitled to the vaccine led to a high number of calls to the practice regarding appointments,
However, patients who are 45-49 with no underlying health conditions are being invited to book their vaccine appointments by the central NHS, either via text or letter, and are asked not to call the practice about this. Patients in this age group can also visit nhs.uk to make a vaccination appointment.
The practice is also reiterating that whilst the vaccine programme is an important step in combating coronavirus, it’s important not to become complacent about other measures we can implement to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading the virus.
Karen said, “We are now at Step 2 of the Road Map which aims to bring us out of lockdown. This is great news as it means all our efforts of the last few months are paying off, but it’s vitally important that we continue to respect the restrictions that remain in place, along with continuing to maintain social distancing, regular hand washing and the wearing of face coverings where possible.”
People with coronavirus symptoms are asked not to visit the Practice, or indeed any public place, and instead they must self isolate at home and arrange for what is known as a PCR test. People without symptoms are also now encouraged to order rapid lateral flow tests, which they can undertake at home.
For more information about vaccinations, coronavirus symptoms and self isolating and testing for coronavirus please visit nhs.uk
