DEAR PATIENTS

PLEASE BE ADVISED THE USE OF FACE MASKS OR COVERINGS IN GP PRACTICES WILL REMAIN IN PLACE AFTER COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS ARE RELAXED ON 19^TH JULY

ALL PATIENTS ENTERING THE SURGERY WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A FACE COVERING (UNLESS THEY ARE EXEMPT) THIS WILL HELP TO KEEP OUR PATIENTS SAFE AND ALSO PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STAFF TO WORK IN

IN ADDITION TO FACE COVERINGS TELEPHONE TRIAGE AND REMOTE CONSUTATIONS WILL BE CONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

THANK YOU

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Important information for patients registered at Essex Way Surgery.

We are still open and here for you. We are continuing to provide services as we have been doing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are prioritising delivering of care and services based on clinical needs. 

Our first priority is the safety of patients and staff as we have many vulnerable patients and COVID-19 is still present in our local area. The limitations of our premises, with a very small waiting room and reception area means we still need to limit the number of patients in the building at one time.

If you need medical advice or treatment, please ring us on 01268-792000,our opening hours are 8.00 am - 6.30 pm Monday to Friday.  

Due to coronavirus, how you contact us will be different at the moment. This is to limit face to face contact whenever possible and help stop the spread of coronavirus.  

When you phone or go online, you will be asked to provide some information about your healthcare need. This will help the practice healthcare team assess the most appropriate way to provide your care, which may include a face-to-face consultation and ensure it is provided by the most appropriate person. Face-to-face appointments are available to all patients where there is a clinical need.   

 Alternatively, visit the local pharmacy for clinical advice on minor health concerns.  

For urgent issues or out of hours, you can also call the NHS on 111 or go online to seek NHS advice 111.nhs.uk 

Appointments are being delivered face-to-face, by telephone, or using video calls and messaging to your mobile or computer – the practice team will assess what is most appropriate for you and if you have a preference you can discuss this with them.  

Attending a face-to-face appointment- If you are asked to come into the surgery for a face-to-face appointment, please remember to wear a face covering. Measures are in place to keep you safe from infection during your visit to the surgery. If you have a disability or condition which means you cannot wear a face covering or cannot communicate with someone who is wearing a face mask, or require other adjustments before your appointment, please let the surgery know ahead of your arrival.  

COVID-19 Vaccination The NHS is currently vaccinating those people who experts have agreed will benefit from it the most. A vaccination programme of this size and scale will still take some time to complete. Please be assured that everyone who needs the vaccine will be offered it. The NHS will be in touch with you when it is your turn to be vaccinated. Please don’t call us before you are invited. In the meantime, you can get information about the COVID-19 Vaccination online at www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination. 

Our staff are working extremely hard to provide services and care and we would like to thank our patients for your continued support.

Repeat Prescriptions

We will accept repeat prescriptions preferably by  online services or email (essexway.surgery@nhs.net) , but please ensure you have the correct medication name and dosage.

Thank you

Practice Manager

COVID VACCINATION CERTIFICATE

Please note we are unable to issue the COVID vaccination certificate at the practice.

Please see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstrating-your-covid-19-vaccination-status-when-travelling-abroad for further information. 

Proof of your vaccination status will be available on the NHS app, which is also valuable for accessing your health records and ordering repeat prescriptions.

The NHS app can be downloaded from  https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nhs-app/id1388411277 

for iPhone or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhs.online.nhsonline for android. 

Alternatively you can call the NHS helpline on 119 (from 17 May) and ask for a letter to be posted to you. This must be at least 5 days after you’ve completed your course of the vaccine, the letter may to take up to 5 days to reach you

COVID-19 VACCINATION AND BLOOD CLOTTING 

INFOMATION ABOUT YOUR VACCINE

Primary Care Networks

Primary care networks (PCNs) are the new way for local health services to work together to treat populations.

A primary care network consists of groups of general practices working together with a range of local providers, including across primary care, community services, social care and the voluntary sector, to offer more personalised, coordinated health and social care to their local populations

Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan

Essex Way Surgery is part of the Benfleet PCN which consists of the following surgeries:

• Dr Khan and Partners (Rushbottom Lane)
• Dr P A Patel
• The Hollies Surgery
• Essex Way Surgery
• St George's Medical Practice (Rushbottom Lane)
• High Road Family Doctors
• Benfleet Surgery

Benfleet PCN are currently working together in delivering the COVID-19 Vaccination programme  at the Benfleet Clinic,  513 High Rd, South Benfleet, Benfleet SS7 5AD

This December, NHS England and NHS Improvement has launched the next phase of the latest ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign which focuses on the NHS 111 service as a new way to access A&E.

If you have an urgent but non life-threatening medical need, make sure you use NHS 111 first rather than going straight to A&E. If you do need urgent care, then NHS 111 can now book you in to be seen quickly and safely in A&E. NHS 111 is also able to direct patients to or book an appointment at Urgent Treatment Centres, GP surgeries, pharmacies, emergency dental services and walk-in clinics.

Contacting NHS 111 first will also help the NHS to keep you safe by maintaining social distancing and ensure that you receive the right care in the right place, in a more timely and safe way. However, you should still dial 999 if you have a life-threatening illness or injury.

Just think 111 first. When you think you need A&E, contact NHS 111 by phone or online

• When you think you need A&E, just contact NHS 111 first. The NHS will help you right away and if you need urgent care, the NHS can book you in to be seen quickly and safely
• Contacting NHS 111 first will help NHS urgent and emergency care services maintain social distancing and ensure that patients receive the right care in the right place, in a timely and safe way
• You can use NHS 111 either by visiting the website 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111
• People with life-threatening illnesses or injuries should continue to dial 999 and anyone who arrives at A&E without calling NHS 111 will still receive medical care, with those needing emergency treatment prioritised
• NHS 111 makes it easier and safer for patients to get the right advice or treatment
• NHS 111 can make sure you access the most appropriate service for your health concern. If needed, NHS 111 can book you in to be seen at your local A&E or direct patients to Urgent Treatment Centre, minor injuries unit, emergency dental services, pharmacy or another more appropriate local service
• The NHS 111 phone service can also send an ambulance should a patient’s condition be serious or life- threatening
• Clinicians, such as nurses, doctors, pharmacists and paramedics, now play an increasingly important role in NHS 111. For example, clinicians within the service can assess patients and provide the advice they need over the phone without having to visit a physical service https://youtu.be/AIAu4WM3aVs

WHAT YOUR PRACTICE TEAM IS DOING TO KEEP YOU SAFE AND COMFORTABLE WHILE LOOKING AFTER TOUR HEALTH NEEDS

COVID VACCINES

Dear patients,

The public can really help the NHS to deliver our vaccination programmes effectively to those who need it most. Taking these simple steps will help us to help you.

• The NHS will contact you when it’s the right time to come forward, 
• Please act on your invitation when it arrives, and make sure you attend your appointments when you arrange them.
• In the meantime, please continue to abide by all the social distancing and hand hygiene guidance, which will still save lives.

The latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination programme is online on the NHS website. Local updates can also be found here.  

We advise checking there first if you have questions about the safety or effectiveness of COVID vaccines, or your priority to receive vaccination.

General public resources for the public COVID vaccination campaign are also available on the Campaign Resource Centre.

THANK YOU

COVID-19 VACCINATION AND BLOOD CLOTTING 

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR VACCINE

PATIENT EXPERIENCE  POSTER 

Coronavirus

If you have reason to believe that you may have Coronavirus -cough, fever, runny nose, body aches, shortness of breath,a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia),  please DO NOT VISIT THE PRACTICE as we need to protect staff and other patients.  STAY INDOORS and call NHS 111 or go online to the 111 service who will offer advice.  For further information on how Coronavirus spreads see 'Latest News'

PLEASE SEE BELOW CURRENT ADVICE FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND (PHE)

Symptoms

The most important symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of any of the following:

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness. However, if you have any of the symptoms above you must stay at home and arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – go to testing to arrange.

What do we mean by possible or confirmed coronavirus infection (COVID-19)?

• Possible infection is where a person has coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms and is currently awaiting a test result.
• Confirmed infection is where a person has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

Main messages

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, OR you have received a positive coronavirus (COVID-19) test result, the clear medical advice is to immediately self-isolate at home for at least 7 days from when your symptoms started. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. You should arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – go to testing to arrange.

Consider alerting the people that you have had close contact within the last 48 hours to let them know you have symptoms of coronavirus COVID-19.

Following a positive test result, you will receive a request by text, email or phone to log into the NHS Test and Trace service website and provide information about recent close contacts

After 7 days, or longer, if you still have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell/taste, you must continue to self-isolate until you feel better.

You do not need to self-isolate if you only have a cough or loss of sense of smell/taste after 7 days, as these symptoms can last for several weeks after the infection has gone. See the ending isolation section below for more information.

If you live with others and you are the first in the household to have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), then you must stay at home for at least 7 days. All other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the household became ill. See the explanatory diagram.

Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection that people in your household could pass on to others in the community.

If anyone else in the household starts displaying symptoms, they must stay at home for at least 7 days from when their symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in their original 14-day isolation period. The ending isolation section below has more information, and see the explanatory diagram.

If you have symptoms, you should stay as far away from other members of your household as possible. It is especially important to stay away from anyone who is clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable with whom you continue to share a household.

Reduce the spread of infection in your home by washing your hands regularly for 20 seconds using soap and water, or use hand sanitiser, and cover coughs and sneezes.

If you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home, or your condition gets worse, or your symptoms do not get better after 7 days, then use the NHS 111 online coronavirus (COVID-19) service. If you do not have internet access, call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

If you develop new coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms at any point after ending your first period of isolation (self or household) then you must follow the same guidance on self-isolation again. The section below (After ending self-isolation and/or household-isolation) has further information.

Stay At Home advice  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/ 

Everyone is being reminded to follow Public Health England advice to:

•           Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.

•           Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.

•           Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

•           Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

More information can be found on the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Find the support you need after COVID-19

                 CANCER AND COVID-19                                           

cancer is one of the biggest killers in the UK. One in two people born in the UK after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. Anyone can develop cancer, but it becomes more common as we get older.

Your risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics and lifestyle, but in some cases the exact cause is difficult to determine. However, it is well known that two in five cancer cases in the UK each year are preventable and are linked to lifestyle factors.

Spotting cancer early will improve your survival rate, so it’s important that you recognise the signs and act. One of the best things that you can do is remember to go along for screening when you are recalled by your GP practice – it is one of the most effective ways to identify any early signs of cancer. 

Learn more about the types of screening that are offered via the NHS.

Cancer awareness resources can be found in the Long Term Conditions page.

MY CARE RECORD IS A LEGAL FRAMEWORK THAT WILL SUPPORT YOU TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH OTHER LOCAL HEALTH AND CARE SERVICES. THIS CAN BE FOUND UNDER DATA PROTECTION IN POLICIES

Essex Way Surgery

Essex Way Surgery is conveniently situated in South Benfleet on a major bus route and close to Benfleet rail station.

Our practice location is shown on the Contact Details page.

We have no car parking on the premises but have the station and short stay car parks close by. Please note that short stay car  parking is now available in the School Lane car park. Parking is permitted in nearby streets excluding the hours between 2 and 3 pm.

The surgery provides disabled access with a ramp and assisted opening doors. We also have toilet facilities suitable for people with physical impairment. There is a portable induction loop for those with hearing impairment.

Patient Notice

The Practice holds medical records confidentially and primarily for the provision of direct patient care.  For more information please select No:11 on the right hand side (Care Data).

Please note you are now able to book routine appointments with a GP or Nurse on Saturday and Sunday. Please look under the opening hours section for more details.

WE DO NOT DISCRIMATE

All patients registered with Essex Way Surgery have been allocated a named GP

Practice Privacy Notice

Dementia Awareness

Download our leaflet on Dementia Community Support.