Wincanton Health Centre COVID-19 update

We will be changing regular review appointments to telephone where possible.

Routine investigations such as blood tests and smears will be postponed. Monitoring of high-risk drugs such as warfarin and methotrexate will continue.

Please do not request repeat medications early – this will cause supply issues and may be harmful to other patients. We will reject early requests – we are sure you will understand why.

Finally we ask that you are patient with all members of our team who are working under incredibly challenging conditions. We have already had instances of staff being verbally abused on the telephone. We appreciate that this is a time of great anxiety for the whole country but rudeness and abuse is not acceptable.

Please share the message as widely as possible – we will be doing all we can to keep you informed of what is a rapidly changing situation.

Changes to appointment booking

We are bringing in changes to the way we book appointments with immediate effect, in order to minimise the risk of COVID-19 to patients and staff.

• We are only allowing patients to enter the Health Centre following a telephone triage by a clinician; they will advise whether you need to come in or not.
• When needed, we will offer you a face-to-face consultation after the telephone assessment.
• If you have been offered one of these we ask that you wait outside the surgery in your car, and call us to let us know you are outside waiting. We will then call you when we are ready to see you. This is to reduce patient contact and to protect the vulnerable.

Many conditions are able to be safely dealt with during a telephone appointment. The clinician will assess you during this consultation and make a face-to-face appointment where needed.

www.wincantonhealth.co.uk
01963 435700