Blood tests.
A supplier to the NHS has advised us of a global shortage of some equipment used for taking blood tests.
Anyone who needs a test for urgent health problems will still get one, but where your clinician recommends that it’s safe to do so, then you may be asked to come back for a test at a later date, or your appointment may be rescheduled.
Given the nature of the shortage, we cannot give an exact date for when the test will be rescheduled, but please be assured that if your condition or symptoms require it, then you will get a test, and we will be re-booking your test when supplies become more easily available.
If your condition or symptoms change or get worse, please contact the NHS as you would normally.
COVID-19 Vaccination update for patients aged 12 to 17
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have recommended that children and young people aged 12 to 17 who live with an immunosuppressed person should be offered a Covid-19 vaccination. This is to indirectly protect their immunosuppressed household contacts, who are at higher risk of serious disease from COVID-19 and may not generate a full immune response to vaccination. This latest recommendation also includes vaccination for children aged 12 to 15 with severe neurodisabilities, Down’s syndrome, immunosuppression and multiple or severe learning disabilities and patients who will be 18 within 3 months.
The practice is working to ensure we can call this group for vaccination as soon as possible and will be in contact with patients or their parents / carers shortly.
If you feel that the contact details the Practice holds for you may not be correct then please let us know, otherwise there is no need to contact the Practice we will be in touch very soon.
COVID-19 VACCINATION CERTIFICATE
COVID VACCINATION BOOKING UPDATE 19th MARCH 2021:
We would like to request that all patients who have been sent a text or letter invite for their Covid Vaccination at the Meres Leisure Centre, who has not yet booked, please can you book your appointment ASAP or alternatively contact the surgery to decline it. You can book your appointment using the link that has been sent to you, however if you are struggling, please let us know. If you have booked at one of the National Centres, please also let us know so that we can cancel your invitation for the Meres site.
As always, we are aware that the phone lines are incredibly busy so if you are struggling with time to get through to the surgery, you can send us an email to swlccg.stjohns.med@nhs.net.
There are appointments available 7 days a week.
The sooner these appointments are made, the sooner we will be able to offer appointments to the next category of patients.
Please help us to help more of our patients to get their vaccinations.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Astra Zeneca/Oxford Vaccine
We are aware that patients may have concerns about their Covid vaccination, following the recent media coverage of EU countries suspending the use of the Astra Zeneca/Oxford vaccination. Further to the advice of the UK Medicines Regulators, we are continuing to administer this vaccine at the vaccination centre at The Meres. If you have concerns, we suggest that you review the guidance from the MHRA.
Their latest statement is available at:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Online Health in the Community Webinar
7th March 2021
This week has seen the GP-led team at The Meres and local ‘pop-up’ centres, smash through the 40,000 vaccination mark, with a little help from some familiar faces, celebrating World Book Day.
We really do have the best team!
All patients across the Grantham and Sleaford area, in Priority group 6 (aged 16-64 in at risk categories) have been invited this week too. Again, please make sure your contact details are up to date with the surgery.
Thankfully, the previously publicised ‘lull’ in vaccine supply appears to have been short-lived, and we are able to significantly increase the number of invitations we are able to send to patients to enable them to book an appointment at their local vaccination centre. If you would prefer to stay local, and are aged 60-64 (Group 7), invites have been sent by text by your surgery, so please let friends and relatives know how easy it is to book. If you know of anyone in this age group that hasn’t received a message or struggles with technology, please ask them to call their GP surgery and a member of the team will help them to book.
The welcome increase in vaccine supply, also means that we will start inviting patients aged 55-59 (Group 8), early this week so there is no need to travel to Boston or Lincoln as the brilliant team of volunteers at your local centre will be able to accommodate you…….although we can’t promise Mary Poppins and Mr Potato Head will be making an appearance!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
01/03/2021
COVID Vaccination
GP surgeries in the Grantham and Sleaford area have been working together to deliver the Covid-19 vaccination campaign since mid-December 2020. This has been hugely successful up to now, with just short of 40,000 vaccinations administered at the main vaccination centre running at The Meres Leisure Centre in Grantham, in nursing and residential care homes, to our housebound patients and also at ‘pop-up’ sessions in the Sleaford area for those patients unable to travel to Grantham.
The team at The Meres Leisure Centre, which includes lots of amazing local volunteers, have the ability to administer 2 vaccinations every minute! And all from our state of the art, custom-built 9-lane ‘Super Highway’.
The feedback that we are hearing from those that have received their vaccination has been overwhelmingly positive, with patients thrilled by how quickly they receive the vaccination from the friendly and efficient team. Most people have had their jab within 7.5 minutes, on average, from arriving at the centre!
The Prime Minister set an ambitious target of offering a vaccination appointment to all patients in the first 4 priority cohorts by the 15th February this year, and we are delighted to say that we exceeded that target in the Grantham & Sleaford area. Practices are now working through the next group of priority patients and invitations are sent, usually via a text message link so it’s really important to ensure that you update your contact details. Don’t worry, you will be contacted by your practice so please don’t be concerned if you don’t have the technology to book an appointment this way. We won’t be leaving anyone behind!
Some of you may have received letters inviting you to book your vaccination appointment at one of the county mass vaccination centres. We are planning to accommodate you locally very soon so please don’t feel you need to travel to Boston or Lincoln. We are experiencing a bit of a lull in vaccine supply at the moment, but are hopeful that this will be rectified in the coming days so that your local vaccination centre at The Meres in Grantham will be able to welcome you shortly. Your GP surgery will be contacting you as soon as they can once vaccine deliveries are confirmed.
IMPORTANT NOTICE 25/01/2021
The public is being urged to be aware of several scams relating to Covid-19 vaccination, after a number of people received fraudulent calls and messages looking for personal details in recent days.
A number of people have received messages requesting they confirm private and sensitive information, such as their address, date of birth and bank details.
We will never text or call people requesting a payment for either a Covid-19 vaccine or a test for the virus.
The vaccine is free, and is not available privately.
Please see below the exciting opportunities to join our friendly, hardworking Team at St Johns Medical Centre:
For more information, please contact Lauren Fern HR Manager on 01476 858820 or alternatively lauren.fern@nhs.net
Face Mask/Covering Exemptions:
From 24th July 2020 it will be compulsory for people to wear face to face coverings when entering shops and other enclosed environments. There are government guidelines on who is exempt from wearing face coverings on public transport and it is likely that similar guidelines will apply to other settings. It is NOT expected that patients will require a letter of exemption from their GP surgery for this.
With this in mind, we have attached some Mask Exemption Cards that you can download if you wish to carry one with you, however we will be unable to provide exemption certificates for patients at this time.
Mask Exemption Cards
Talk before you walk.
Get the medical advice you need quickly, simply and easily
Visit 111.NHS.uk • Call 111 • Use the NHS app
No queues | No waiting | Just expert help
#TalkBeforeYouWalk
Your local NHS services want to make sure you get the right medical advice quickly and easily.
As more and more get out and about to enjoy Lincolnshire as lockdown is loosened, our services are getting much busier.
But we can help you, help us by contacting our services in a different way.
Talk Before You Walk.
Instead of visiting your local Urgent Treatment Centre, GP or hospital Accident and Emergency Department in person, we’d like you to:
call NHS111
click and go to NHS.uk
use the NHS app
If you need to see your GP, please call or make an appointment with them online.
Why Talk Before You Walk?
It’s safer. You don’t need to queue and think about social distancing.
It’s more convenient. Our medical experts can book you an appointment if you need one.
It’s free, fast and friendly. You can ring us anytime 24/7 at a time that fits in with your life.
It’s professional. You get expert medical help and advice from dedicated clinicians.
What do I do in an emergency?
Call 999 if you are facing a life or death situation such as:
A loss of consciousness
Acute confused state and fits that are not stopping
Chest pain and breathing difficulties
Severe bleeding that cannot be stopped
Severe burns or scalds
Severe allergic reactions
Stroke
Major trauma such as a road traffic accident
Information for parents re children returning to school.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-in-children/
We ask that parents continue to follow the most up to date national guidance published during the Covid-19 pandemic. Further information is available at
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/education-and-childcare.
Extended Access - Evenings and Weekends
We are pleased to be able to offer our patients access to routine, pre-booked appointments at evenings and weekends.
Extended hours run between 18:30 and 20:00 weekdays and 09:00 and 12:00 Saturday and Sunday and are available on bank holidays and across the Easter, Christmas and New Year periods.
Appointments are for pre-bookable, non-urgent consultations with GPs and Nurses and Physiotherapists.
We are working collaboratively with other surgeries in the area and the service will be provided from a number of these surgeries throughout the week. This service is managed by a federation of GPs in the Grantham area. This means that your appointment could be with a health professional from any of the federation practices. St John's will host appointments every Monday evening but we may have members of our team working during these hours but from other locations.
To arrange an appointment or to find out further information, please speak to your practice receptionist.
When booking an appointment you will need to consent to a Consulting Clinician that may not be your own GP viewing and updating your health record.
Important things to remember
- These are pre-bookable and not urgent, acute ‘on the day’ matters
Booked in advance through your own GP reception
May be with a health professional from any of the federation practices and may be located in a different surgery from your usual surgery
Extended Access hours are between 18:30 and 20:00 weekdays and 09:00 and 12:00 Saturday and Sunday
These appointments are additional capacity across the federation practices
To arrange an appointment or for further information, please speak to a member of the Reception team.
Staff Training
Please note that we will be closing every last Tuesday or Thursday, alternatively in the month from 12.30 - 3.30 for staff training. For any urgent queries during this time please telephone the surgery.
Practice Newsletter
Our Practice Newsletter is released every 3 months. Please take a look at the latest Newsletter.
SMS Text Messaging Reminders
St John's Medical Centre is currently using the SMS Text Messaging Appointment Reminder Service. Prior to the introduction of GDPR all patients were automatically opted in (unless they informed us otherwise), however from the release of GDPR only those patients who specifically opt in will receive these messages. Those who were already opted in prior to the introduction of GDPR will remain opted in unless we are instructed otherwise. If you would like to be opted-in/out, please contact reception who will update our system.