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Flu & Covid Booster Vaccinations

We are planning, where possible, on giving the covid booster vaccination alongside the flu vaccination. We will be inviting patients in cohorts like we did with the previous covid vaccination programme. We can only provide the covid booster vaccination if there has been 6 months between the date of your 2nd covid vaccination and the 3rd booster vaccination.

We will contact patients as they become eligible and when we have capacity to provide vaccinations. Please wait to be invited and do not contact us to book unless you have already been invited by the surgery so we can better manage the demand and pressure on our phone lines.

Your invite might be by phone, letter, SMS (text) or email. If by SMS or email you will receive a link to a webpage to book your appointment online. If possible please try to book using this method, again to reduce demand on our phonelines and at reception. 

Appointment of an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP)

The surgery is pleased to inform you that we have an experienced advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) joining the practice on September the 20th. Pip Hynam has a wealth of experience and has worked for the last 6 years at Coleridge Surgery in Ottery St Mary. She works alongside GPs, taking a full history, assessing, diagnosing and treating and is able to prescribe just as the GPs would. If you have an on the day urgent need, you may be phoned by or booked to see Pip in the practice instead of a GP. She is really looking forward to working with our patient population in Honiton and will be a fantastic addition to the team.

02.09.21 - The General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDfPR) Collections

The data collection that was due to begin on the 1st September 2021 has  been deferred by NHS Digital and no new start date has been set at this time. Please visit our Privacy Policy page for more information.

27.08.21 - Blood Tests

Due to a shortage of blood bottles, we have been informed by NHS England that we are not able to do any routine blood tests for at least 3 weeks.

As a result we are cancelling blood tests where your clinician recommends that it’s safe to do so.

If your appointment is cancelled we ask you to kindly contact us in 3-4 weeks to check the situation.

Sadly, this is out of our control, but we do apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

25.08.21 - Car Park - Partial Closure until 06.09.21

Part of the lower car park at Honiton Hospital has had to be partially closed for urgent tree safety works. The works are expected to start on Wednesday 25th August and last for 8 working days, completing on Monday 6th September. Any spaces that can safely be re-opened before the completion date will be.

We appreciate this is not an ideal situation but to avoid potential property damage or injuries this work must proceed and we appreciate your support in getting it actioned as quickly as possible with minimal disruption.

Please visit our Surgery News page for further news updates.

COVID-19 & Vaccinations

Please visit our dedicated Covid-19 Information page for more details and advice regarding Covid-19 and vaccinations.

Attending the Surgery

From Monday 28th June we will be reopening our doors and the doorbell system will no longer be required to enter the surgery.

It is important that we remain cautious at this time and we encourage patients to only attend the surgery when required (e.g for a booked appointment). Please continue to contact the surgery by phone or using our eConsult service for general enquires.

Please observe the following when attending the surgery:

• Please continue to wear a face covering when possible.
• Please use hand sanitzer upon entering the surgery (this is located on the left hand side as you enter the building).
• Please use the check-in machine located next to the hand sanitizer, take a seat and wait to be called for your appointment.
• Please maintain social distancing from other patients and staff at all times. If there is a queue at reception and there is not enough space to queue while distancing please wait outside of the surgery until the queue has reduced.
• Please do not arrive too early as we have limited capacity in our waiting areas. If you arrive too early you may be asked to return closer to your appointment time.
• There will be a maximum of 18 patients permitted in our waiting areas. If we reach this limit we may close the doors and ask patients to use the doorbell system where a member of the team will answer and respond appropriately.
• Samples can be dropped off in the designated drop-off in reception but please be mindful of other patients and wait until there is space to approach the drop-off.
• Please do not enter the surgery to drop off prescriptions or other correspondence. There is a designated post-box for to the right of the main entrance (next to the staff entrance).

Please DO NOT attend the surgery if you have symptoms of Covid-19.

Prescriptions

We do not take repeat prescriptions over the phone.

Repeat prescriptions take 72 hours to process; please bear this in mind when ordering your repeat medication.  This is standard communication from all GP Practices.

Urgent prescriptions can take up to 24 hours: please bear this in mind when ordering, we will contact you once the prescription has been sent to the pharmacist or the paper prescription has been signed.

The definition for Urgent prescription is that they are lifesaving medications only.

NHS England have made it clear that we do not prescribe over the counter medications.

We do not prescribe Hay fever medication that are included as over the counter medications.

Cancelling Appointments

To cancel appointments you can simply reply CANCEL to your SMS appointment reminder, logging on to the ‘online services’ or using the ‘NHS App’ (more information on NHS app). If you are unable to cancel your appointment using one of these options then you can contact the surgery by phone.

Patient consent form for third party access to medical records

Please see attached form to complete if you wish to give consent for another person to access your medical records, or for the surgery to share information about you with the person specified.

Home Blood pressure

Please see form below to complete Home Blood Pressure Readings at home.

Home blood pressure diary

Evening and Weekend GP and Nurse Appointments (Improving Access)

We do offer some appointments up to 8:00pm on some evenings, which are outside of normal surgery hours of 8:00am to 6:30pm. We are also open some Saturdays and Sundays. These are primarily aimed at patients who are unable to make an appointment between these normal working hours. If you would like one of these early or late appointments please contact the surgery on our normal telephone number. Please be aware you will not necessarily be able to see your own GP as there are a limited number of these appointments available.

eConsult

Escape the wait, consult with your GP online.

You will already have noticed the pop up about eConsult when you came onto the website. This offers a way of seeking advice from your GP online with a response back by the end of the next working day regarding what should happen next.

Please note WE WILL NOT ACCEPT REPEAT MEDICATION REQUESTS THROUGH THIS SYSTEM. If you want to order repeat medication online you will need to register for online services, see below.

Please see a short patient video describing the eConsult Service. You can also watch the eConsult video with subtitles.

Start your eConsult

Sign-up for Online Services

** UPDATE DUE TO COVID-19 **

CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BOOK APPOINTMENTS ONLINE (please call surgery to book)

If you wish to sign up for online services during this time, please complete online form.

either post this through our letter box with copy of photo ID or Email completed form and copy/picture of photo ID to:

d-ccg.informationhonitonsurgery@nhs.net

**** New 'AIRMID' Systm One app notes you can "add data to your record" please be aware we do not get notified of this data being added, this is for personal use only. If you wish to inform a clinican of any readings or information please either call directly or complete an eConsult. Thank you ****

Instead of phoning or visiting the surgery to order repeat prescriptions, book or cancel your appointments - or get your test results - you can now do it all online, and it’s quick, easy and secure. You can also see your patient record. A carer, with your permission, may also do all or some of this on your behalf.

We are encouraging our patients to sign up for online services. Registering is simple and FREE. All you need to do is:

• bring along a form of ID with you to the practice (driving licence/birth certificate etc)
• complete and sign a registration form and receive a unique username and password
• use your secure details to access online services

Children registering for online services

Under 16 years old - Please complete form and ensure you bring a copy of Child’s Birth Certifcate in with you. Please note we can only offer access to booking appointments and prescription services for this age range.

16+ years old – Should have sole access.

Going online really does make a difference. It not only saves you and the practice time, but will help you to take more control of your health care.

Patients who have registered to use online services are already seeing the benefits which include:

• saving time when booking appointments and prescriptions
• feeling more empowered due to easier and convenient access
• being more informed about their care and better prepared when they see their GP, practice nurses and attend clinics
• Available 24 hours a day from the app, website, smartphone or computer it's especially useful if the telephone lines are busy.

Registering online doesn’t mean you can’t see your GP, practice nurse or attend a clinic. It just gives you quicker and easier access to practice services whenever you’re online and wherever you may be.

Ask our receptionists about registering for online services next time you’re in the practice or on the phone, and we’ll support you in getting started.

Already signed up? Order a repeat prescription, book an appointment or view your medical record.

Research Trials & Studies

Medical research has been conducted at the Honiton Surgery for over 20 years. These studies cover all aspects of health care including diabetes care, early diagnosis of cancer, assessing dressings and wound care, post flu vaccine surveillance and assessment of new medicines. Please see our Training and Research page for more information.

Medical Students

As a training practice we are involved in the teaching and training of medical students in different stages of their careers. We currently have a number Medical Students present in the surgery.

You may be asked if you would agree to have a medical student sitting in your consultation with you, we very much hope you will participate in the student teaching programme but understand that on some occasions you would rather not have a student present – please let us know if that is what you would prefer. 

Patient Participation Group

Did you know we have a virtual patient participation group?

A new Patient Group was established in 2005. There are quarterly meetings. These provide an opportunity to discuss developments in the surgery and to hear any concerns being voiced by patients to their representatives. Telephone numbers are listed below for the representatives who are very happy to hear from other patients.

See our Patient Group page for further information.

Our lifestyles can be more unhealthy than we think. Start the fight back to a healthier you. Take the One You quiz and see how you score.

One You is here to help you get back to a healthier you. Take our quiz to see how you score.
 

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