Farnham Medical Centre

Professor Peter Kelly, PHE North East Centre Director:

“We are approaching a critical phase and make no mistake, the North East cannot avoid the very real consequences of this disease. We need to protect ourselves, our families, our key workers and every community across the North East. To do so we must act now. Every single one of us in our region must take responsibility and practice social distancing.

“Those who can work from home should do so. Those who work in essential services and need to go their workplace should rigorously pay attention to social distancing in that workplace. Avoid non-essential use of public transport. We should only go shopping for essential items such as food and medicines and if we do, then we must take great care to keep a safe distance (2 metres) from other people. I know following this guidance is hard. But we must avoid gathering with our wider family and friends where possible and avoid large and small gatherings in public spaces. If we need fresh air and exercise then we must stay close to home and avoid other people.

“Finally, as the Easter break approaches and the weather improves, our natural instinct is to think of the many wonderful assets and beauty spots we have across the North East. I would say in the strongest possible terms we are living in exceptional times and we all need to make very real adjustments and sacrifices to protect ourselves and others. Stay at home, do not travel other than for necessary work or essentials and please follow the guidance here to stay safe: Social distancing to protect vulnerable groups “

What to do if you need medical help

If you need medical help for any reason, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature or a new, continuous cough), use the 111 coronavirus service.

If you need help or advice not related to coronavirus:

• for health information and advice, use the NHS website or your GP surgery website
• for urgent medical help, use the NHS 111 online service – only call 111 if you’re unable to get help online
• for life-threatening emergencies, call 999 for an ambulance

Do not attend a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.  

How to get help during the coronavirus pandemic

patient forum minutes 4 12 2018

A privacy notice is a statement that discloses some or all of the ways in which the practice gathers, uses, discloses and manages a patient’s data.  It fulfils a legal requirement to protect a patient’s privacy.  Please see below to read Farnham Medical Centre’s privacy notice and how we look after your data.

Website-Privacy-Statement-May-2018

Farnham Medical Centre recently merged with 2 other local practices, Chichester Practice and Westoe Surgery.  This has created 1 large practice of almost 18,000 patients serving residents of South Shields.  The newly merged practice has a main site at 435 Stanhope Road, South Shields, NE33 4QY and also a branch site at Stanhope Parade Health Centre, Gordon Street, South Shields, NE33 4JP.  The branch site is located less than a mile away near Chichester Metro station.

We now have 10 GPs and a large nursing team consisting of 2 Nurse Practitioners, 3 Practice Nurses and 3 Healthcare Assistants as well as a large team of support staff.

The practice acknowledges that there have been some initial teething problems following this merge in July 2017, particularly regarding telephone access and we are working hard to rectify this.  We are currently working with BT Local Business to improve the telephone system we operate; we have also employed extra members of staff.  The GPs and staff are most appreciative of your patience during this time of transition.

Please remember we look forward to hearing your constructive feedback and offer a Patient Forum for patients to join to help us improve our services.

Everyone should have received information through the post regarding having their details updated onto the Summary Care Records (SCR).

Should you require any further information or have not received your original letter please contact the practice.

For any patients who are partly sighted or English is their second language, the following link will provide access to information regarding SCR.

www/nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/publications/

Included are audio version, different languages and large print formats.

The following link provides lots of information on SCRs including media clips and FAQs.

www.//wwnhscarerecords.nhs.uk/summary/

Now is the time when many of you are planning your summer  holidays. If you need any vaccinations before you go please make an appointment with the practice nurse. She will discuss exactly what you need and give the required vaccinations. Please make sure you allow enough time as some have to be given several weeks before your holiday. Farnham Medical Centre is also a Yellow Fever Centre which means we can give Yellow fever vaccinations to anyone  even if they are not registered with the practice. Please ask at reception.

There is now a new parking area near the surgery in Farnham Road with several parking spaces and 2 disabled parking bays.

Farnham Medical Centre is currently offering Free NHS Health Checks.  The aim of these are to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

These checks are available to all our patients aged between 40 and 74 who have not been diagnosed with the above conditions.  Appointments are available on Wednesday afternoon between 2:00pm and 5:00pm.

 More information on the check is available at NHS Health Check