The practice is busy planning for flu jab season, which is challenging given the need to continue efforts to protect our patients and staff during the pandemic.

We will run Saturday flu clinics during October on the 10^th, 17^th, 24^th and 31^st between 9.00am and 3.00pm but this year the practice will allocate an appointment to you and contact you with the date and time via a text to your mobile. For those patients who do not have a mobile we will contact you via phone or letter.  

Please do not telephone the practice to make a flu appointment prior to receiving a text or letter. Due to the pandemic there is an increased demand for our phone lines to be available for telephone consultations. If you find the allocated appointment is not suitable, other options will be available.

Please bear with us, our aim is to contact all eligible patients during September.  

It is particularly important that any eligible patients have their flu jab. As a general reminder this includes patients who are 65 and over or otherwise at risk due to Diabetes, Heart problems, Stroke or TIA, COPD / Asthma (the latter only if on regular steroid inhalers), low immunity, some liver and kidney disease and very importantly pregnancy.

Patients aged 65 and over will be eligible for a pneumonia vaccination (if not had previously) and some patients will be eligible for a booster every 5 years (no spleen or kidney disease).

Our target Shingles vaccination population are those aged 70 and over but under 80 years of age (as individuals remain eligible until they turn 80 years; and have not previously had any shingles vaccination. 

This year we will not be offering pneumonia or the shingles jab during the Saturday flu clinics, but will offer these to eligible patients in separate clinics and also during any existing appointments where possible, further details will be available soon.

We know some of our patients are housebound and not able to attend the practice; any appointments for a home visit will still need to be requested via reception.

Access to NHS Dentistry is currently limited during the pandemic as all dentists have been asked to stop all routine “face-to-face” dental care.

However, if you need urgent dental care, help is at hand:

CALL your dental practice:

They will give you advice over the telephone and make arrangements for you if you need to be seen.

If you don’t have a dentist, find your nearest dentist and CALL them. You can search for your nearest dentist at: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist

You can also contact NHS 111:

You can ask for a translator if you need one.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 

If you’re deaf, you can:

• use the NHS 111 British Sign Language service https://interpreternow.co.uk/nhs111 
• or
• call 18001 111 on a textphone

Do not worry if you have COVID-19 symptoms, appropriate arrangements can be made to see you if you need urgent dental care.