On Tuesday 1st December, NHS England and NHS Improvement is launching the next phase of the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign which will focus on the NHS 111 Service as a new way to access A&E/Emergency Departments
The aim of this campaign will be to direct people to use 111 first when they have an urgent but not life-threatening medical need, rather than going straight to A&E. If the patient needs urgent care, NHS 111 can now book them in to be seen quickly and safely in A&E/Emergency Departments.

This week, NHS England and NHS Improvement 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/Emergency Departments.

The aim of this campaign will be to direct people to use NHS 111 first when they have an urgent but not life-threatening medical need, rather than going straight to A&E. If the patient needs urgent care, NHS 111 can now book them in to be seen quickly and safely in A&E/Emergency Departments.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature or a new, continuous cough or loss or change to your sense of taste or smell), 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

WASH HANDS, COVER FACE, MAKE SPACE!

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