To date, as part of the Watling Street Network PCN, the Stony Medical Centre team have given 23,400 COVID vaccines.

Every patient within the PCN’s catchment who lives in a care home has been vaccinated twice.

Every patient within the PCN’s catchment who is housebound will have been offered the opportunity to receive their COVID vaccination in their home.

Every patient aged 50 and over will have been offered the opportunity to receive their COVID vaccination.

Every person who falls outside the over 50 age group, but who falls within one of the government defined medically at risk groups will have been offered the opportunity to receive their COVID vaccination.

Every member of staff within Stony Medical Centre will have been offered the opportunity to receive their COVID vaccination, ensuring our staff can stay well, thereby ensuring we are able to continue to deliver our normal general practice services.

Your Stony team have collectively worked over 1,300 hours to deliver the COVID vaccination programme.  This is on top of their usual work.  Without them this vaccination programme would not have been possible.  We thank you!

A similar number of hours will have been worked by the teams at Watling Vale, Hilltops and Whitehouse.  We thank you!

We have been supported by some brilliant volunteers, without whom this vaccination programme would not have been possible.  We thank you!

Now, we pass over the responsibility for vaccinating any remaining patients to the mass vaccination centres (MVC).  The MVC’s will have ongoing availability for the weeks ahead, after all, that is their reason for being.  We now return to focussing solely on our general practice caseload and ready ourselves for starting the flu vaccination programme from September.

Thank you team!

Watling Street Network PCN   |  Stony Medial Centre  |  Watling Vale Medical Centre  |  Hilltops Medical Centre 

You can access your COVID-19 vaccination status through the free NHS App from 17 May. You can access the app through mobile devices such as a smartphone or by tablet. Proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status will be shown within the NHS App. We recommend that you register with the app before booking international travel.

If you do not have access to a smartphone and know that the country you are travelling to requires COVID-19 vaccination status, you can call the NHS helpline on 119 (from 17 May) and ask for a letter to be posted to you. This must be at least 5 days after you’ve completed your course of the vaccine. We expect the letter to take up to 5 days to reach you.

Please do not contact the practice about your COVID-19 vaccination status. GPs cannot provide letters showing your COVID-19 vaccination status.

We have been advised that scam messages have been received by some patients inviting them to book an appointment for a COVID vaccination that appears to have been sent from Stony Medical Centre.

If you receive an invitation with a link to book an appointment but you are asked to pay for your vaccine this is not legitimate and this has not been sent by Stony Medical Centre.

You will never be asked to pay for a COVID vaccination delivered by Stony Medical Centre or the NHS.

Please do not follow this link and do not pay for your vaccine.

You will be invited for your COVID vaccination, funded by the NHS, as soon as you fall into one of the vaccination groups.

Thank you for your vigilance.

4 March 2021

Information from Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Group 

Some people may be feeling concerned that they haven’t received an appointment for their second dose yet.

This will be because centres are not booking people in until they have had confirmation of vaccine supply.

Nobody will be forgotten.

If you received your first vaccine by calling 119 or booking on-line at www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination please go back through this method to book your second dose. Don’t be concerned if you can’t see an appointment straight away, bookings are released daily, so keep trying.

If you received your first vaccine through an appointment made by your GP Practice, they will contact you by the 12^th week to book you in. If you are already in your 12^th week and haven’t received an appointment please contact your GP in the first instance.

30 April 2021

As always, the NHS will NEVER:

• ask people for their bank account or card details
• ask people for their pin or banking password
• ask people to prove their identity by sending copies of personal documents such as your passport, driving licence, bills or pay slips

If anyone believes they are a victim of fraud or identify theft they should report this directly to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

COVID-19 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Social Distancing 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/social-distancing/

Symptoms 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/

Isolation and Treatment

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/

People at Higher Risk

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/

Testing and Tracing

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/

In line with the government recommendations, from June 15th you will be required to wear face coverings when attending your appointments at Stony Medical Centre.

Staff will continue to wear hospital masks and other PPE where necessary.

____________________________________________

Research and Daily Infection Data from the COVID Symptom Study

https://covid.joinzoe.com/data#interactive-map

If you think you might have coronavirus or you've been in close contact with someone who has it:

• Return home
• Stay at home and avoid close contact with other people for 7 days
• do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital
• use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next

The 111 coronavirus service will tell you if you need to continue to stay at home (self-isolate) or if you need medical help.

Please note Travel history is now irrelevant

What to do if you have Symptoms but feel WELL

Anyone with symptoms who is WELL must return home without progressing further into the building and self-isolate for a minimum 7 days, or longer if your fever continues.

What to do if you have Symptoms but feel UNWELL

Anyone with symptoms who feels UNWELL must go to 111 online (or telephone 111).

Anyone with symptoms who is WELL must return home without progressing further into the building and self-isolate for a minimum 7 days, or longer if your fever continues.

111 will assess you and advise next steps

Symptoms

• Continuous cough and/or
• Fever over 37.8 and/or
• Loss of taste or sense of smell

Advice on Self-Isolation

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-self-isolation-for-patients-undergoing-testing/advice-sheet-home-isolation

How to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus

Do

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• always wash your hands when you get home or into work
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
• avoid close contact with people who are unwell
• wear a face mask/face covering when travelling on public transport, when entering busy places where social distancing cannot be maintained and when visiting a health care setting

Don’t

• do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

Requests for certification of absence from the workplace may fall into five categories:

1. Personally affected so isolating for seven days
2. Personally affected and remaining unwell for over seven days
3. Household contact affected so isolating for fourteen days as per government advice
4. At risk group so following government advice
5. Those in full time education.

1. Personally affected so isolating for seven days - Patients can and should self-certify for the first seven days as normal if you are unfit to work. You do not need to contact your GP.
2. Personally affected and remaining unwell for over seven days - If you remain unwell and unfit to work after seven days the current advice is to visit 111.nhs.ukwhere there is an online self-assessment tool; you patient may be invited to call 111 and be given further advice and a MED3 certificate emailed to you. You do not need to contact your GP.
3. Household contact affected so isolating for fourteen days as per government advice
4. At risk group so following government advice - GPs cannot and are not the gatekeeper of the statutory sick pay system. Employers are responsible for putting in place arrangements for home/remote working where this is possible. Where it is not, the employee may self-certify and return to work following the relevant absence which their employer may authorise as per government advice. Where they do become unwell during or after this time, point 1 and 2 applies. You do not need to contact your GP.
5. Those in full time education - there is no NHS requirement to issue certification to schools or colleges to confirm absence. These organisations must work with parents and students to ensure that any absence is appropriately recorded, obviating the need for a ‘doctor’s note’. You do not need to contact your GP.

Please follow the links opposite for special advice in the event of a bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please follow the links opposite for a list of volunteers providing support to patients of Stony Medical Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please be aware that many of the numbers listed are the personal contact details of the volunteers so please be considerate and respectful when making contact.