Lambourn Surgery Patient Participation Group Newsletter, October 2021

Flu vaccine

Although vaccine supplies have been delayed, Flu Clinics have already been held for Lambourn Surgery patients at the Walwyn Hall and will continue throughout October. All eligible Lambourn Surgery patients will be invited to flu clinics based upon age and vulnerability by the end of October.

Covid Booster

The Covid booster programme has started. Eligible patients will be invited to make an appointment for their Covid Vaccine booster 6 months after their 2^nd dose. This is being performed through the NHS appointment system that some will have used for their first two jabs. Patients will be able to choose the time and place of their appointment. Please note however that most practices (including Lambourn) will not be vaccination centres, since they are being asked to concentrate on regular GP services. Options will include community pharmacies and community vaccination centres. You will see the options available when you receive your invitation. You may have heard that The Lambourn Pharmacy is now a registered Covid clinic, but please note that you can only book appointments through the national booking service once invited. Please do not call the Pharmacy directly.

Appointments

The triage method for making appointments introduced during the pandemic will continue for the time being in order to keep staff and patients safe and ensure that patients with the greatest need are contacted first. Although regularly used by many patients, using this process on the surgery website is problematic for some. To be fair, it is not the most intuitive of systems so here’s a quick step by step guide to requesting help via the website. Remember if you or a friend/family member are unable to access the internet then you can phone the surgery and a skilled receptionist will, confidentially, talk you through the process.

As you go through each section, please ensure that you read each page. The following describes how the web page appears on a PC or laptop. The format may be slightly different on a phone or tablet but will include the same text.

1. Open Lambourn Surgery Webpage; www.lambournsurgery.co.uk
2. Currently, you may get a yellow pop-up window re Covid 19. Please read and close by clicking the x in the top right-hand corner.
3. Click on the green box “Consulting Room”
4. Consider if this is a matter that may be resolved by talking to a pharmacist or the 111 service, or if this is a matter that would normally be dealt with by a nurse. If not, then click on the link on the right-hand side of the screen “Get help from the practice”
5. Consider if the reason for contact may be an emergency (Call 999) if not then click on the blue box at the bottom of the screen “I have none of these”
6. At last, we’re down to brass tacks! Most of the rest is pretty self-explanatory. Most fields require a response, but this can be as brief or as detailed as you wish, however the clinician can make a better-informed judgement with more detail.
7. Remember that you can request a response by a phone call if you prefer.
8. Don’t forget to read and agree to the terms and conditions and to press “submit” at the bottom of the page. You will receive an acknowledgement of your request.
9. You will receive a response within 3 working hours (Monday to Friday). If you are making a request after 4.30pm please note that your request will not be read until 8am the following working day.

I hope this helps. There is ongoing work considering how the appointment process will work in the future as operations start to return to “normal”.

Remember

In order that our surgery can provide care to those most in need please consider consulting with a pharmacist or calling 111 or the online service 111.nhs.uk for straightforward medical advice,

You can contact the PPG via email; ppgchairpersonlambourn@gmail.com or in writing via the surgery office (Bockhampton Road, Lambourn, RG17 8PS) addressed to the Chair of the PPG.

Alan Breadmore, Chair, Lambourn Surgery PPG