FLU SEASON 2021

Get ready to book your Flu vaccination .....

Patients will be sent invites to start booking their appointments imminently.

It is expected that winter 2021 to 2022 will be the first winter in the UK when seasonal influenza virus (and other respiratory viruses) will co-circulate alongside COVID-19.

Seasonal influenza and COVID-19 viruses have the potential to add substantially to the winter pressures usually faced by the NHS, particularly if infection waves from both viruses coincide.

Influenza vaccination is therefore an important priority this coming autumn to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with influenza, and to reduce hospitalisations during a time when the NHS and social care may also be managing winter outbreaks of COVID-19.

Coronavirus advice on NHS website

RIVERLYN MEDICAL CENTRE WILL BE CLOSED TO ALL WALK-IN PATIENTS. ONLY PATIENTS WHO HAVE BEEN INVITED TO VISIT THE SURGERY BY THE CLINICIAN WILL BE ALLOWED ACCESS - TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND CONTAINMENT OF CORONAVIRUS.

All other advice is available below. Thank you for your patience as this very difficult time.

Dear Patients,

Mask wearing guidance and social distancing measures will change from 19th July 2021 as per government guidelines announced recently. We must stress however, that the same guidance suggests caution and recommends ongoing wearing of masks in closed spaces, small and crowded areas and where vulnerable people will be present.

National guidance also outlines NHS patients, staff and visitors must continue to wear face coverings in healthcare settings. As you will often be in close proximity to our clinicians and potentially other vulnerable patients when you come to us, we will continue to ask patients to wear masks on our premises and practice social distancing until further notice. This is to minimise disruption to our service and ensure those most vulnerable are still protected when accessing care.

Thank you for your understanding.

Protect your loved ones with the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app for England and Wales.

It's the fastest way of knowing when you're at risk from coronavirus (COVID-19). The quicker you know, the quicker you can alert your loved ones, and your community.

The more of us that use it, the better we can control coronavirus.

Protect your loved ones. Please download the app.

>>> Easy to Read At Risk Patient Information

>>> Easy to Read Isolation Advice

>>> CANCER care during COVID-19: short information video

COVID-19: Sick Note procedures:

We have received a number of requests for Doctor’s Sick Notes in relation to being off work. The Government’s rules around issuing a sick note (Med3) are that a medical professional can only issue a Med3 when an individual has had more than seven continuous calendar days off sick due to an illness (including weekends).

For any period of illness less than seven days, you are able to complete a self-certification certificate and provide this to your employer. In the unlikely event that your employer does not accept a self-certification then your doctor may be able to issue a private sick note for which you may get charged.

n light of the current Coronavirus situation, it is inevitable that a number of employees may be required to quarantine themselves at home for example due to the nature of recent travel, even in the absence of any symptoms of an illness. In these cases, your GP will not be able to issue a sick note as the time off work is not due to an illness, and isn’t affecting your ability to work, but rather is a precaution to avoid transmission of any illness that is yet to produce symptoms.

We therefore expect your employer to be sympathetic if you are required to self-isolate for 14 days and to understand that the reason for this is to protect the welfare of your work colleagues and the wider community. We understand that you may also be able to call NHS 111 to request an email confirmation of the suspected Coronavirus diagnosis, to show to your employer if needed.

Whilst we appreciate this may cause some difficulties between you and your employer, equally GPs have a responsibility to prioritise the assessment and management of the healthcare needs of patients who are acutely unwell, rather than spending time dealing with requests for sick notes, particularly when they aren’t in a position to issue one.

Also, for children taking time off school, there is no NHS requirement for GPs to provide letters to the school to confirm this. As I am sure you will appreciate, with the rapidly evolving Coronavirus situation, and the already existing pressures on GPs to meet the day to day demands from ill patients, the practice is unable to accommodate a school request for a GP letter. We hope that schools will work with parents to ensure any time off is appropriately recorded, obviating the need for a doctor’s note.

BOWEL CANCER SCREENING

BOWEL CANCER SCREENING and its importance!!!

• Blood in your stools?

• Blood in your urine?

• Coughing for 3 weeks and more?

Bowel cancer screening checks if you could have bowel cancer. It's available to everyone aged 60 or over.

You use a home test kit to collect a small sample of poo and send it to a lab. This is checked for tiny amounts of blood.

Blood can be a sign of polyps or bowel cancer. Polyps are growths in the bowel. They are not cancer, but may turn into cancer over time.

If the test finds anything unusual, you might be asked to have further tests to confirm or rule out cancer.

Always see a GP if you have symptoms of bowel cancer at any age – do not wait to have a screening test.

How to get a home test kit

Everyone aged 60 to 74 who is registered with a GP and lives in England is automatically sent a bowel cancer screening kit every 2 years.

Make sure your GP has your correct address so your kit is posted to the right place.

If you're 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every 2 years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

If you're worried about a family history of bowel cancer or have any symptoms, speak to a GP for advice.

How to use the home test kit

The screening kit used in England is the faecal immunochemical test kit – known as the FIT kit.

You collect a small sample of poo on a small plastic stick and put it into the sample bottle and post it to a lab for testing.

There are instructions that come with the kit. You can also find bowel cancer screening kit instructions on GOV.UK.

Click here to see a short video >> How to do the FIT bowel cancer screening test

Map from Riverlyn Medical Centre to Alice Medical Centre

Thursday Afternoon Appointment Arrangement

As you are aware, Riverlyn Medical Centre has a reciprocal arrangement for a Thursday afternoon surgery cover arrangement with three other practices. (Springfield Medical, The Medical Centre (Irfan) and Greenfields Medical) . The four surgeries provide clinical cover on a rota basis for the group.

Unfortunately Greenfields Medical Centre has given notice to the Group of practices, advising us that they are terminating their agreement.

We have another practice that would like to offer their services and join the group in the agreement.

The practice is Alice Medical Centre Alice Medical Centre Website

We have arranged a meetings at The Medical Centre and also with our Patient Participation Group to represent your thoughts on the matter.

If you would like to give your thoughts and feedback, please call the practice, post us a letter or pop in to the practice to relay any thoughts and feedback that you may have regarding this proposed venture.

The maps below shows where Alice Medical Centre is located in comparison to Riverlyn Medical Centre. By public transport, Nottingham City Transport's No 17 bus connects the two surgeries.

BUS ROUTE map below:

ONLINE Booking, Ordering medication

You are now able to register with Riverlyn Medical Centre for access to:

• Book appointments online

• Order Repeat Prescriptions

• Access to basic medical records

Online Services Guide

Kindly ask the Receptionist to request Online Access to the above.

Appointments will be available to see GPs, Treatment Room Nurses, Clinical Pharmacists and Physiotherapists in a fully equipped accessible location on Upper Parliament Street in the heart of the city.

Opening hours will be:

16:00 – 20:00 Monday – Friday
09:00 – 13:00 Saturday & Sunday

Patients can book appointments in the usual way through the reception team at their own GP practice.

Location: GP+ Nottingham City, 79a Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham, NG1 6LD

CQC website link