Flu Season 2020/21

All patients aged 50 to 64

We are now ready to proceed with this new cohort of patients. Please note this entire update before contacting us to book an appointment.

We have been promised our delivery of extra flu vaccinations in the week ending 4 December 2020, so we are planning a SATURDAY FLU CLINIC ON 5 DECEMBER 2020 – FROM 9AM.

We urge qualifying patients to attend on this day, as it helps us to protect our normal working week appointment availability.

We have been allowed to order 1000 vaccines from the Government stock, which should be enough to vaccinate around 70% of those who fall within that group. It is unlikely that the entire cohort will want a flu vaccination, so we feel confident that we have enough. If not, we will do our best to source some more.

In order to keep track of how many people want a flu jab on this day, we are asking patients to BOOK AN APPOINTMENT for this Saturday flu clinic.

In an attempt to protect the Reception Team’s workload – our surgery phone lines are very busy – we ask patients to book an appoint in this flu clinic as follows:

– ONLINE – 24/7, if you have access to Patient Access (two clinics added under Dr     and Reverend Flu – not a real Reverend… just used to add more than one   clinic for that day!) 

– by phoning 01279 818 057 (between 1pm and 3pm) from 25 Nov 2020

– by phoning 01279 818 053 (between 1pm and 3pm) from 25 Nov 2020

– by phoning 01279 818 051 (between 1pm and 3pm) from 25 Nov 2020

PLEASE DO NOT CALL OUTSIDE OF THE STIPULATED TIME, AND PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE VOICEMAILS. Just keep trying, we will do our best to manage this well!

Only if you are unable to use any of the options above, can you call the main surgery line. Please help us by using the options above if at all possible. We get emergency calls on the main surgery lines, so we want to try and keep them as freed up as possible.

Please wear a face covering to your flu clinic appointment. Do not worry if you see a queue outside the surgery on the day of the flu clinic – we are very experienced in running flu clinics, and any queues are usually fast moving. We have lots of “jabbers” and support staff lined up to assist you on the day.

PLEASE REMAIN ALERT –

You cannot attend our flu clinic if you have any COVID-19 symptoms

– a high temperature or fever

– a new, continuous cough

– a loss or alteration too taste and smell

If you, or a household member have a recent confirmed COVID-19 test result, you cannot attend the surgery unless your period of self-isolation has completed.

If you, or a member of your household is waiting for a COVID-19 test result, you must not attend the flu clinic. 

If you have travelled internationally in the last 14 days, you must not attend the surgery if goverment guidelines require you to self-isolate for 14 days upon return to the UK. Please see link below for details:

If you have been in contact with someone who is a confirmed COVID-19 case, please do not attend the surgery until you have completed the 14 day self-isolation period.

PLEASE KEEP OUR TEAM AND LOCAL COMMUNITY SAFE BY FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND this FLU CLINIC, WE WILL MAKE AN ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT FOR YOU – PLEASE CONTACT US

You also should not have a flu vaccination if you are feeling generally unwell, or are on antibiotics currently. Please contact the surgery so we can re-schedule your flu jab for when you are feeling better.

Please read our guidance about this Saturday’s flu clinic

This clinic is for those aged 65 and over, and those with an ongoing chronic condition aged 18 to 64 – so those who are usually invited annually for a flu vaccination. 

Remember – queueing will be outside this year, and we request all attendees where a face covering when attending the flu clinic.

We have plenty of jabbers and support staff, and will do our utmost to keep queuing to a minimum.

We noticed from our 1st and 2nd clinics that most patients arrived at the beginning of their allocated timeframe, and that is the only time that queueing occured. If you want to avoid queueing, please attend towards the middle or end of your allocated timeframe.

Please queue from the surgery door, along the wall to the pharmacy, and around the corner towards our binstores. PLEASE KEEP 2 metres from other members of the public, when queueing outside, and also within the surgery.

Saturday 17 October 2020

TIME to attend                  Surname starting with letter

See bottom of this page for definition of ongoing chronic condition.

PLEASE REMAIN ALERT –

You cannot attend our flu clinic if you have any COVID-19 symptoms

– a high temperature or fever

– a new, continuous cough

– a loss or alteration too taste and smell

If you, or a household member have a recent confirmed COVID-19 test result, you cannot attend the surgery unless your period of self-isolation has completed.

If you, or a member of your household is waiting for a COVID-19 test result, you must not attend the flu clinic. 

If you have travelled internationally in the last 14 days, you must not attend the surgery if goverment guidelines require you to self-isolate for 14 days upon return to the UK. Please see link below for details:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors

If you have been in contact with someone who is a confirmed COVID-19 case, please do not attend the surgery until you have completed the 14 day self-isolation period.

PLEASE KEEP OUR TEAM AND LOCAL COMMUNITY SAFE BY FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND YOUR ALLOCATED FLU CLINIC, WE WILL MAKE AN ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT FOR YOU – PLEASE CONTACT RECEPTION

You also should not have a flu vaccination if you are feeling generally unwell, or are on antibiotics currently. Please contact the surgery so we can re-schedule your flu jab for when you are feeling better.

See you Saturday!

Our second Saturday Flu Clinic – Saturday 3 October 2020

Please read our guidance about this Saturday’s flu clinic

This clinic is for those aged 65 and over, and those with an ongoing chronic condition aged 18 to 64 – so those who are usually invited annually for a flu vaccination. 

Remember – queueing will be outside this year, and we request all attendees where a face covering when attending the flu clinic.

We have plenty of jabbers and support staff, and will do our utmost to keep queuing to a minimum.

We noticed from our 1st clinic last Saturday that most patients arrived at the beginning of their allocated timeframe, and that is the only time that queueing occured. If you want to avoid queueing, please attend towards the middle or end of your allocated timeframe.

Please queue from the surgery door, along the wall to the pharmacy, and around the corner towards our binstores. PLEASE KEEP 2 metres from other members of the public, when queueing outside, and also within the surgery.

Saturday 3 October 2020

TIME to attend       Surname starting with letter

See bottom of this page for definition of ongoing chronic condition.

PLEASE REMAIN ALERT –

You cannot attend our flu clinic if you have any COVID-19 symptoms

– a high temperature or fever

– a new, continuous cough

– a loss or alteration too taste and smell

If you, or a household member have a recent confirmed COVID-19 test result, you cannot attend the surgery unless your period of self-isolation has completed.

If you, or a member of your household is waiting for a COVID-19 test result, you must not attend the flu clinic. 

If you have travelled internationally in the last 14 days, you must not attend the surgery if goverment guidelines require you to self-isolate for 14 days upon return to the UK. Please see link below for details:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors

If you have been in contact with someone who is a confirmed COVID-19 case, please do not attend the surgery until you have completed the 14 day self-isolation period.

PLEASE KEEP OUR TEAM AND LOCAL COMMUNITY SAFE BY FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND YOUR ALLOCATED FLU CLINIC, WE WILL MAKE AN ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT FOR YOU – PLEASE CONTACT RECEPTION

You also should not have a flu vaccination if you are feeling generally unwell, or are on antibiotics currently. Please contact the surgery so we can re-schedule your flu jab for when you are feeling better.

See you Saturday!

—————————————————————————————————

Our First Saturday Flu Clinic – Saturday 26 September 2020

Please read our guidance about this Saturday’s flu clinic

For those aged 65 and over, and those with an ongoing chronic condition aged 18 to 64 – so those who are usually invited annually for a flu vaccination. 

Remember – queueing will be outside this year, and we request all attendees where a face covering when attending the flu clinic.

We have plenty of jabbers and support staff, and will do our utmost to keep queuing to a minimum.

Please queue from the surgery door, along the wall to the pharmacy, and around the corner towards our binstores. PLEASE KEEP 2 metres from other members of the public.

TIME to attend                      Surname starting with letter

See bottom of this page for definition of ongoing chronic condition.

PLEASE REMAIN ALERT

You cannot attend our flu clinic if you have any COVID-19 symptoms

– a high temperature or fever

– a new, continuous cough

– a loss or alteration too taste and smell

If you, or a household member have a recent confirmed COVID-19 test result, you cannot attend the surgery unless your period of self-isolation has completed.

If you, or a member of your household is waiting for a COVID-19 test result, you must not attend the flu clinic. 

If you have travelled internationally in the last 14 days, you must not attend the surgery if goverment guidelines require you to self-isolate for 14 days upon return to the UK. Please see link below for details:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors

If you have been in contact with someone who is a confirmed COVID-19 case, please do not attend the surgery until you have completed the 14 day self-isolation period.

PLEASE KEEP OUR TEAM AND LOCAL COMMUNITY SAFE BY FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND YOUR ALLOCATED FLU CLINIC, WE WILL MAKE AN ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT FOR YOU – PLEASE CONTACT RECEPTION

You also should not have a flu vaccination if you are feeling generally unwell, or are on antibiotics currently. Please contact the surgery so we can re-schedule your flu jab for when you are feeling better.

See you Saturday!

The plan for children aged 18 and under

The surgery will vaccinate all “at risk” children, and also all children aged 2 or 3 on 31.8.2020. We aim to write to this group shortly.

All school children in Reception class, Years 1,2,3,4,5,6,and 7 will be immunsed at school

Every one aged over 65 – to be vaccinated by the surgery at our Saturday clinics

Those at risk aged 18-64 – to be vaccinated by the surgery at our Saturday clinics

The new cohort – those aged over 50 – 64 not in an “at risk” group – we are still waiting for guidance from NHS England. We hear on the grapevine that the required announcements are not being made until Nov 2020.

For details of our Saturday clinics, and the specific date and timeframe to attend, please scroll down

For details of the “at risk” categories, please scroll down.

Our plans for Flu 2020

Delivering the flu campaign this year will significantly impact our workload, and we ask for patient’s continued support to get this done as safely as possible.

1. All those patients who were advised to shield during the pandemic will be vaccinated first. The nursing team will run a separate clinic for these patients on Wednesday 23 September 2020, and we will be contacting this group directly with instructions. 
2. We will be using the 3 Saturday clinics (26 September, 3 October and 17 October) to vaccinate the bulk of our “at risk group”, i.e. all those aged 65 and over, and those with an ongoing chronic condition aged 18 to 64 – so those who are usually invited annually for a flu vaccination. Patients will be invited in a staggered way, by letters of the alphabet. Entry will be on a one-in-one-out basis, and all queueing will be outside the surgery, with social distancing in place. We have lots of clinicians and support staff to help, and we hope that these clinics will run quickly and efficiently. You do not need to book an appointment if you are able to attend in your allocated timeframe.

** to see the definition of the “at risk” group, please go to our website – Flu 2020 page

Saturday 26 September 2020

TIME to attend                      Surname starting with letter

Saturday 3 October 2020

TIME to attend                      Surname starting with letter

Saturday 17 October 2020

TIME to attend                      Surname starting with letter

1. All children UNDER THE AGE OF 18 will be vaccinated on a different day – and we will be in touch with those parents and/or guardians once we know when the childhood flu vaccination will be available to us.
2. Patients who are housebound should contact the surgery if they wish to have a flu jab this year. We will arrange a date/dates for home visits once we have an idea of the number of patients requiring a home visit.
3. The new cohort announced this year will be done during November and December 2020 – but we will endeavour to get this done as soon as we are advised how to source the additional vaccination required. This cohort includes healthy patients aged 50 to 64, who did not qualify for a flu jab in the past, as well as the household members of shielding patients. Currently, this cohort has not been confirmed by NHS England – we await further guidance

All patients aged 65 and over qualify for a flu jab

Qualifying criteria for those aged 18 – 64

• chronic (long-term) respiratory disease, such as severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchitiso
• chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
• chronic kidney disease at stage three, four or five
• chronic liver diseaseo chronic neurological disease, such as Parkinson’s disease or motor neurone disease,
• learning disability
• diabetes
• splenic dysfunction or asplenia
• a weakened immune system due to disease (such as HIV/AIDS) or treatment (such as cancer treatment)
• morbidly obese (defined as BMI of 40 and above)
• all pregnant women (including those women who become pregnant during the flu season)
• people living in long-stay residential care homes or other long-stay care facilities
• those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or who are the main carer of an older or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill