News

Vaccines have begun at last!

I spent yesterday in Barnstaple at the vaccine hub at the leisure centre, by the River, close to the train station, Lidl and Tesco. There is a great team of volunteers and GP practice staff from across North Devon. Volunteers are in the car park to show you the way and help if needed with mobility.

We have been giving the first 975 doses of the Pfizer, and we have also used spare vaccine to get an extra dose out of each 5 dose vial, using these to vaccinate some frontline GP practice staff – nothing is being wasted!

The rules are changing quickly, and we are now expecting Oxford vaccine and more dose of the Pfizer vaccine next week. The plan is to move to a 12 weeks gap between first and second jabs of both types, which we fully support to get more people protected.

What about Hartland?

At the moment we have not had permission to bring vaccine doses out to GP practices, but common sense suggests this could happen within a few weeks when enough vaccine becomes available.

We would love to start a “flu clinic” delivery in the village hall. Currently there is 15 minutes observation period required due to the vaccines being “brand new”, which will slow things down a little.

In the meantime, we are inviting patients to visit Barnstaple for a jab, starting with our oldest patients, so far its been the over 90’s. Please answer any phone calls in the coming few weeks.

Are the vaccines safe?

YES, we really believe so (and our staff are being vaccinated as soon as allowed!), and if you are choosing between the vaccine or the virus, there is no contest.

There is either a safe vaccine or a risky virus. Please get protected as soon as possible

How long does the vaccine take to work?

We think the Pfizer vaccine is working within 2 weeks, while the Oxford vaccine may take 3-4 weeks. We will get more details in the coming days.

COVID Vaccine, not before Christmas

Just a quick update, unfortunately we will NOT be able to start doing Pfizer COVID vaccine until after Christmas, when we expect to begin small numbers from a shared hub in Barnstaple covering all of North Devon. We will contact you when we have vaccine available, starting with those aged over 80.

The complex cold chain requirements mean we have to work within a shared hub where the Pfizer vaccine packs can be thawed (1000 doses at a time) and must then be given within 3 days.

We hope and expect in the new year the pace of vaccination will rapidly accelerate, especially if the easier to store Oxford vaccine is approved which may  be available for us to give from our practices.

Another COVID case

An update from Dr Sam Tapsell:

Following a fever on Monday night, I had a swab on Tuesday morning which today came back positive for COVID. I will therefore be working from home returning on Thu 3 December (10 days isolation). I’m hopeful that I’m having a mild case, as my temperature seems to be better today, with just a sore throat and slight cough along with feeling tired.

Dr Ruth Tapsell had a negative swab taken at the same time, but will need to isolate for 2 weeks and will therefore be working from home, returning on Tuesday 8 December 2020.

Dr Mike Trowbridge is therefore “holding the fort”, but as the only doctor at the surgery he is working flat out, and your patience will be appreciated.

We dont think this case has come from contact within Hartland surgery, but obviously we will be on our guard in the coming days.

With a vaccine hopefully starting within a matter of weeks, please take utmost care to protect those most at risk. And especially if you have diabetes or are overweight, try to cut your sugar and starch intake. This seems like the best way to protect yourself from getting a more serious illness if you do catch it and giving you confidence to get back to normal life in the springtime and beyond.

Returning to normal

Following our staff COVID outbreak, we are pleased to report no further cases or symptoms within our staff during the last 10 days. Affected staff are making a good recovery. We are therefore cautiously returning to a “normal” service during this week.

There are rising COVID cases both locally and nationally so we are still trying to avoid face to face contact where this is safe to do so. We will continue with “collection times” at 12-1 and 5-6pm for prescriptions.

We will also have some members of the team working remotely from home and some other measures to make our workplace as safe as we can for our staff.

We are grateful for support we’ve had from other practices, for example some patients attended Bideford Medical Centre for urgent blood testing last week.

Thank you all for your patience while we catch up and please keep looking out for each other during this winter.

 

Flu clinic – isolation not required

We have had a few people asking if they should isolate after coming for flu jabs on Saturday at the village hall. The vaccines were for more vulnerable people aged 18-64.

We would like to reassure you that the staff involved with the flu clinic have been asymptomatic and have been swab tested negative for COVID during this weekend.

The clinic was also a brief jab, in one door and out the other with all the precautions regarding ventilation, masks, gloves, alcohol gel and social distancing.

We must all remain alert that COVID is active in our community right now and follow the rules to protect those most at risk and to test if we have symptoms.

We still expect to be offering flu vaccine to all people aged 50-64 towards the end of November and will update the website when we have our vaccine delivery dates confirmed.

COVID within Hartland Surgery

Over the past few days, we have had a number of staff who have tested positive for COVID.

If you develop any of the following you should arrange a test through the government COVID website:

  1. A high temperature
  2. A new, continuous cough
  3. Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

Remember that any one of these would be a reason for you to get tested.

We will therefore postpone all face to face contacts with a bare minimum telephone or email service in place to protect our patients. We also need to avoid staff working within the practice building where possible to prevent further spread. If your problem is not urgent, could you please give us 2 weeks to get the surgery back towards a more normal service.

If possible please contact us by email or eConsult through our practice website, and we can email or ring you back if required.

Shutdown afternoon Wednesday 7 October from 1pm

The practice is closed this Wednesday for a regional teaching afternoon from 1pm. This takes place each quarter for training. This means from 1pm the phone lines will not be answered and callers directed to 111. Our teaching program for North Devon features Diabetes, Respiratory conditions, early diagnosis of cancer and support for care homes.

We will still have medication collection today from 12-1 and 5-6pm.

Also you may be aware North Devon has featured in national news bulletins this morning due to problems with testing bloods due to national supply problems from Roche.

This has disrupted our blood testing capacity this week, caused lots of routine testing to be cancelled and generated worry for some of you who are awaiting test results. We are very sorry for the disruption. It has made us appreciate how good the normal service is, with many test results taken in the morning and results back later that evening. We are told normal service may take 2-3 weeks to resume, we really hope it may be sooner.

Flu Vaccine Update

Just a quick update regarding flu vaccine, the national NHS guidance is available here

  1. Over 65. We have done our over 65 group this last weekend, but we still have a small number available for any in this group who missed out. Please ring our reception team to book.
  2. Under 65 “at risk” (for example asthma or diabetes). We have an upcoming flu weekend on Saturday 24 October. You can check if you are “at risk” on this NHS page.
  3. Aged 50-64. This group will be offered flu vaccine this year, but we understand the supply of vaccine will be in December. We expect to have our supply confirmed later in November and we will update the website. Despite the later dates, we are advised there should be adequate supply of vaccine, we dont think you will “miss out”.

Flu – why am I asked to wait

Phone Switchover

*resolved*. Now working normally at 5pm, very sorry for problems with the phone for a few hours earlier this afternoon.

  • Our surgery number is moving to our new phone system this afternoon, Tuesday 1 September, but at the minute is ringing as engaged. We have contacted our supplier who reports it should move across shortly, but if you need to get in touch you can ring us on 01237 441111.

2020 Flu Clinics. Appointment Only.

We will be running flu clinics using Hartland Parish Hall on Saturday 26 September and Sunday 27 September 2020, These dates will be for over 65’s and we will offer immunisations to other groups later in the autumn and winter as our supply of vaccines will be spread out.
These will be by appointment only, and we will be arranging bookings shortly and sending invitations by SMS and telephone.
The parish hall should enable us to have a safe patient flow, in and through the building.