The practice will be offering both seasonal flu and covid booster vaccinations from 4th October 2024.

Eligible cohorts for flu and covid are:

• patients aged 65+
• aged 18-65 who are clinically at risk
• care home residents

We will be offering the usual Saturday fast clinics on 5th October (over 65's) and 12th October (both).  Eligible patients will be sent an invitation to book.

There will also be some clinics during the week and on Thursday evenings in our enhanced access hours.  

We ask that the limited clinics in the week are reserved for patients with mobility needs who are unsuitable to attend our Saturday walk-through clinics.

RSV is a major cause of respiratory illness, particularly dangerous for infants and the elderly.  The virus can lead to pneumonia and infant bronchiolitis, requiring hospitalisation and intensive care in severe cases.

From Sept 2024 we will be offering the new RSV  vaccination to eligible patients.

All adults turning 75 years old on or after 1 September 2024 will be eligible for the routine programme and will be offered a single dose of the RSV vaccine. A one-off catch-up campaign for those already aged 75 to 79 years old on 1 September 2024 will be undertaken at the earliest opportunity.

Pregnant women will also be offered the vaccine to protect their babies.  This will be offered by the midwives team.

You will be invited in due course when we have the vaccination available.  

You can read more here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-rsv-vaccination-programme-announced

Following guidance from the Integrated Care Board, we are unable to enter into Shared Care Agreements for medications used in the treatment of ADHD which originate from a private healthcare provider.

These medications need to be initiated by an NHS specialist through an NHS referral which involves regular monitoring over a prolonged period before prescribing of these can be safely taken over. This also allows timely direct access to a specialist for a review should this be required.

Patients are welcome to explore a diagnosis of ADHD privately, though if this results in a diagnosis and subsequent prescription, this expense as well as that of any follow-up monitoring required, would be borne by the patient. This is something that we expect a private provider would inform patients of.

If expense is a concern then patients are encouraged to seek an NHS referral in the first instance, or acknowledge that they are to continue upon private prescriptions whilst awaiting NHS specialist review.

Due to capacity issues, the practice is no longer accepting out of area patients.  New patients should check that you fall within the catchment area before applying to register.  

 Thanks to all our patients who took part in our patient survey last month - you can access headline findings here >> Practice Survey Results 2023

The combination of the Easter bank holidays and the 4 day junior doctor strikes will create significant challenges for the NHS.

Bank Holidays are always busy periods for the NHS and coupled with this, we are expecting significant service disruption as junior doctors take industrial action from 06.59 on Tuesday 11 April to 06.59 on Saturday 15 April.

At St Fillans, our GP trainees will be on strike and this means that we will be at significantly lower GP capacity the w/c 11th April following the bank holidays.  Please be aware that an non-urgent requests may take longer than normal to be dealt with over this period.  Urgent requests will be dealt with as normal.  

We are delighted to announce that from 30th March 2023 our partnership is strengthened further by the addition of 2 new partners - Dr Jonathan Bennett (GP Partner) and Laura Scarborough (Managing Partner, non-clinical).

Dr Jonathan Bennett has worked with the practice for a number of years, originally as a trainee and then as a salaried GP and has been an extremely popular and respected member of the GP team.

Laura Scarborough joined the team as our business manager in April 2020, from a background in Finance and has since gained a wealth of experience in primary care, including managing the Primary Care Network alongside the practice.

Jonathan & Laura join existing partners Dr Pravin Gorajala & Dr Peter Flowers and look forward to working together.  

MyDesmond is an online self-management diabetes education programme.  It's designed to help people with type 2 diabetes and those at risk of developing type 2 diabetes care for their own health in a positive way.

You can download the app here:- 

https://lancashire.orcha.co.uk/app/?appId=7799&platformId=3

There are lots of viruses that cause sore throats, coughs and colds to circulate, especially over winter. These usually get better without needing any special medical treatment or medicine. However, children can occasionally develop a bacterial infection on top of a virus and that can make them more unwell. One of these bacteria is called Group A Strep (GAS), it’s very common, is not new and can be treated, responding well to antibiotics. It has been in the news over the last few days as it has been found in some children who have become very sick, very quickly. Fortunately, this is still very rare.

Most children recover well after a mild illness. Your child may be poorly for a few days but will usually recover well. Antibiotics may help them recover quicker, but they are not always needed. There is more GAS around this winter than in recent years, causing a lot of children to be unwell. We think this is because there is much more mixing now and these bugs are new to many young children, so they are more likely to catch and spread them.

Signs that suggest your child might have Strep throat are:

· Fever within the last 24 hours

· White spots at the back of their throat (pus on their tonsils)

· Very large or red tonsils

· Sore (tender) lumps under their chin

· If they have become poorly quickly over the past couple of days

· No cough or runny nose

If you are concerned that your child might have these contact 111 or GP Surgery. You can also find more information Strep A - NHS (www.nhs.uk).

Antibiotics are not routinely recommended as a preventative treatment and should only be taken when recommended by your doctor.

If there are cases identified in a child’s class, any child showing symptoms should be assessed by their GP and will be prescribed antibiotics if needed. Children are not infectious after 24 hours on treatment and can return to school once they’re feeling well enough after this period.

Good hand and respiratory hygiene are also important for stopping the spread of many bugs. By teaching your child how to wash their hands properly with soap for 20 seconds, using a tissue to catch coughs and sneezes, and keeping away from others when feeling unwell, they will be able to reduce the risk of picking up, or spreading, infections.

Keep unwell children off school or nursery and away from vulnerable adults and children.

We know that when there are lots of viruses circulating, like flu. Reducing these viruses through vaccination can help protect against GAS outbreaks and is the best way to make sure they are protected from serious illnesses.

As at 08:00hrs today, Tuesday 22 November 2022 the practice phone system is unavavilable.  This is currently being worked on by our telephone provider.

If you have a medical need, please complete our on-line triage form via the practice website www.stfillansmedicalcentre.co.uk

If you have an urgent medical issue please contact NHS 111

We would like to invite registered patients at the practice and their Carers, to join our Patient Participation Group (PPG).  We are looking to develop a virtual PPG, to represent the practice and contribute to future developments and services. These virtual meetings are likely to be held on a quarterly basis.

Your experiences and views matter. You can bring different ideas to the surgery to help us improve what we do in some way.  We are asking that you get involved in your practice and help shape local healthcare.  It may not be possible to act on every suggestion, but all feedback is very valuable. Working in a spirit of mutual respect, openness and trust, all patients’ views are discussed and, where appropriate, the PPG works together on solutions.

We may send a couple of emails out to you, to obtain your views on current health topics, prior to holding the quarterly meetings and would welcome your feedback.

If you would like to be a part of our PPG please send your contact details and email address to the Practice Manager via email gpccg.stfillans@nhs.net or use the online form on the 'Have your Say' section of the website.

The GP patient survey results have now been published for 2022 - check out the 'Have Your Say' section of our website for the full survey.  We are happy that our hard work was recognised as we scored well above the national average in all areas.

Have Your Say

Face coverings are still a requirement in NHS settings.  All patients are required to wear a face covering on entry to the practice.  If you are exempt, we will provide you with a visor to wear whilst in the building.  If you are not able to wear a face mask, we may make adjustments to compensate e.g. you may be asked to wait outside and you may have to be seen in a different room.

We ask all patients to treat our staff with courtesy and respect when they remind patients to wear a face covering.  Many of our vulnerable patients are still concerned about visiting the practice and we therefore ask all patients to take these precautions to protect them.  Thank you for your understanding.

NHS Digital have updated their website information on Monkey Pox https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/monkeypox/

Current advice is as follows:

Call 111 or contact a sexual health clinic if:

You have a rash with blisters and either:

• you've been in close contact with someone who has or might have monkey pox (even if they've not yet been tested) in the past 3 weeks
• you've been to west or central Africa in the past 3 weeks
• you're a man who has sex with men

Tell the person you speak to if you've had close contact with someone who has or might have monkeypox, or if you've recently travelled to central or west Africa.

Do not go to a sexual health clinic without contacting them first.  Stay at home and avoid close contact with other people until you've been told what to do.

How to access your Covid-19 Vaccination Status:

You can access your vaccination status via the the free NHS App from 17th May.  You can access the app through mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.  Proof of your Covid-19 vaccination status will be shown within the NHS App.  We recommend that you register with the app before booking international travel.

If you do not have access to a smartphone and know that the country you are travelling to requires COVID-19 Vaccination Status, you can call the NHS helpline on 119 from 17th May and ask for a letter to be posted to you OR you can request a letter via the NHS website here.  This must be at least 5 days after you have complete the course of the vaccination.  We expect the letter to take up to 5 days reach you.

DO NOT CONTACT YOUR GP SURGERY about your Covid-19 vaccination status.  GP's cannot provide letters showing your Covid-19 vaccination status.

There following websites provide links to guidance and advise on self-management of Covid-19:

NHS Central Lancashire CCGs - Coronavirus: Apps to help children and young people

NHS Central Lancashire CCGs - Coronavirus: Apps to help self-management

We are not currently able to provide covid vaccinations from the practice - please use the national booking system online to book an appointment at a local vaccination centre or call 119.