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During Pandemic Period – 17/12/2021

To all our Patients

Thank you for your ongoing support over the past year when things have been different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In our Practice we had to change the way we work very quickly and that has only been possible because our patients have adapted to these changes.

We Are Here For You

We would like to reassure you that we are open and still want you to tell us if you are unwell or worried about your health.

We continue to provide face-to-face appointments, as well as supporting people over the phone or online. We offer face to face appointments when they are medically needed and these can be with a range of health professionals currently working within the surgery. Using a mix or face to face appointments and phone appointments allows us to keep the number of patients on site to a safe minimum.

We are currently operating a “triage first” approach to GP appointment booking. This means you will need to speak to a GP via telephone who will determine if they can deal with your issue remotely or if they need to see you face to face. Please ring 0208 675 3521 to book a telephone triage appointment or these can be booked online from 7.30am on the day. Check online during the day to see if any further appointments become available for a call with a GP on the day.

Please do not come down to the Practice to book a GP appointment.

Please consider using online services to order repeat prescriptions and book available online appointments.

Download the NHS App to order repeat prescriptions and to get health advice: nhs.uk/NHSapp

Use Doctorlink to assess your symptoms and if a consultation is needed, you will be able to book an appointment through the App.

In order to maintain safe numbers of patients in our waiting room, please ONLY come into the Practice if you are:

• Attending for a pre-booked appointment
• Collecting paperwork including registration forms, test request forms, letters and prescriptions. If possible please complete registration forms online via our Practice website and consider nominating a pharmacy for collecting your medication.
• If dropping off a prescription request please put your request into the box in the lobby
• Booking one of the following appointments which does not require an initial telephone triage appointment.
  • Antenatal/postnatal checks
  • Immunisations
  • Cervical Smears
  • General nursing/health care assistant appointments including for health checks, blood pressure checks, ECGs, 24 hour blood pressure monitoring, blood tests

Please note that:

• If you are dropping off a sample – please leave sample (in a plastic bag – clearly labelled with your name and Date of Birth) – in the box located in the entrance lobby
• Urine sample pots are available to collect in the box by the entrance.
• Breastfeeding and Children playing area are closed.

 

When entering the premises:

• You MUST wear a face covering and follow social distancing markers. Please follow the floor arrows when exiting the building.
• You MUST use the hand sanitiser available as you enter
• You MUST ensure that you have your temperature taken at our wall mounted thermometer – located straight ahead in the lobby area as you enter the premises. If you DO NOT have a normal temperature – please exit the premises immediately and contact us by phone instead.
• In order to maintain social distancing, there can be a MAXIMUM of 3 people queuing at our reception area. If 3 people are already waiting, please wait outside until the queue has shortened. We can only have a MAXIMUM of 7 patients seated in our waiting room. If we are at maximum capacity please wait outside until a seat becomes available.
• Only the ground floor waiting area is open – please DO NOT go up to the 1^st floor waiting area. The Clinician you have an appointment with will come and collect you from the ground floor and take you through to your appointment.

Do not enter the premises if you have symptoms of Coronavirus or have received a positive test result in the last 10 days.

Thank you for helping to keep our staff and patients safe.

 

This can be obtained via this link https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/get-your-covid-pass-letter/. Letters arrive within 5-7 days.  Unfortunately, the Practice cannot provide this letter.

 

Zero Tolerance Policy

At the current time our Reception team and our Clinicians are continuing to work under difficult and challenging conditions to provide care for our patients.
We realise this situation is difficult for everyone and we thank you for your understanding, and ask that you continue to respect our staff.

 

Contacting Us

Our telephone lines are extremely busy first thing in the mornings, especially on a Monday’s and Wednesday’s and during lunchtimes every day. If your matter is not urgent, please try later during the day when the phones should be less busy. All general queries to be called after 10am. Your call will be held in a queue and answered when possible.

If you request an appointment then our Reception staff will ask you for a brief reason. They are asking this because the doctors have asked them to; in order that any emergency calls can be given priority, and other calls can be dealt with appropriately, it may be that your query can be dealt with by another member or the team without the need to speak with your GP.

Please, do not say that it is a personal matter, as this may delay your call should you need an urgent call back.

If your request is about medication, then please order by Online Patient Access or send us an email to swlccg.thurleighroadpractice@nhs.net . The Medical Assistants will deal with your query within 3 working days. Doctors will no longer deal with prescription requests via telephone appointments. Our Clinical Pharmacist can also help with any medication queries.

Please do not use our email for any medical, clinical or urgent matters. Clinical matters should be discussed with a telephone triage call by a Clinician first.

Please do not attend the surgery and only come in person if advised to by a health professional, who will explain what you need to do.
We are providing routine cervical smear test appointments with Nurses throughout the week from 7.30 am to 7 pm. Appointments can be booked online.

Please see the NHS website or Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust website for further information regarding cervical screening.

 

Routine Childhood Immunisation can also be now be booked with our Nurses for face-to-face appointments, you do not need to book a call before appointment. For further information on routine immunisations, please click the link.

Please ensure you are COVID symptoms free when attending these appointments.

 

NHS Phlebotomy Services

The reception staff can book your blood tests at Balham Park Surgery, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 12 pm for Adults only.

Alternatively you can use the walk-in service at St Johns Therapy Centre, Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 4.15 pm, Friday from 8.30 am to 1 pm for Adults service and 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm for Children service. Children will take priority on Fridays.

Please ensure you are COVID symptoms free when attending these appointments.

Blood tests forms will be available to collect at the surgery.

 

Patient Registration

Patients trying to register at our Practice, should complete an online registration form available on our website. We will get in touch with you via email and confirm you registration.

We are now up-to-date with the registrations, so the estimated time to register currently is 1 week.

 

Home Visits

Clinicians will be triaging through the home visit requests as normal and will undertake a visit should it be clinically appropriate and the problem be medically urgent.

 

Collecting items

We are trying to minimise people coming to the practice therefore, all referrals will be emailed to you directly.

If you are collecting any other documents, please collect between after 10.30 am to 6 pm.

 

Repeat Prescriptions

Prescriptions can be ordered online (via Patient Online Access) or by submitting a prescription request HERE

If you require a repeat prescription you will be asked to nominate a pharmacy, if you have not done so already. This is so that the prescription can be sent electronically directly to the pharmacy that you can collect from there without having to attend the surgery.

 

Non NHS Work

We are not in a position to fully offer this service due to pandemic. Therefore, we anticipate that we are likely to suffer staff shortages during this period and our available resources will be focused towards direct patient care.

Our apologies for any delays this may cause.