COVID Vaccinations Update
16th Feb
From this week our vaccination programme enters a new phase. The Practice has been asked to offer jabs to clinically vulnerable patients:
Summary and eligibility
JCVI priority Cohort 6 includes ‘all individuals aged 16 years to 65 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality’. This also includes those who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.
Cohort 6 is further defined in Green Book Chapter 14a as “Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group”. The list of at-risk conditions can be further subdivided into three main sub-cohorts:
Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group which includes:
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Chronic respiratory disease
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Chronic heart disease and vascular disease
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Chronic kidney disease
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Chronic liver disease
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Chronic neurological disease, including severe or profound learning disability
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Diabetes mellitus
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Immunosuppression
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Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen
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Morbid obesity
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Severe mental illness
People aged 65 to 69 will in the first instance be invited to book a vaccination at one of the vaccination centres.
If you are a patient who is over 70 and have not received an invitation for a vaccine please contact the Practice immediately so that we can book you an appointment.
We have started to send invites via SMS (Text Message) if you have registered a mobile phone number with us. This will include a link to book up your appointment directly.
Please see details of the ONLY vaccination appointment SMS/Text invite that you will receive from Bideford Medical Centre: (click the image for a larger view)
If we do not have your mobile phone details you will be contacted by telephone by one of our team at Bideford Medical Centre.
Invites to the mass vaccinations centres at Exeter, Taunton and Wadebridge as well as Westward Ho are also being sent out by a central National team.
Somewhat frustratingly for Practices and confusing for you, we don't know which patients these are being sent to so you may receive a letter as well as a call/text from Bideford Medical Centre. It is your choice as to whether you accept an appointment at a mass vaccination centre or from your Practice. And yes we have raised our concerns with the powers that be about the confusion this is creating for you and us!
Please be patient and don't contact your Practice about when you will receive an invite. We are working as hard as we can to vaccinate as many of our patients as quickly as we can.
Please check back here for regular updates.
Phases of the Covid Vaccination Programme
This is the official NHS information on the phased approach to the COVID vaccination programme.
Phase 1 – direct prevention of mortality and supporting the NHS and social care system.
JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age. The order of priority for each group in the population corresponds with data on the number of individuals who would need to be vaccinated to prevent one death, estimated from UK data obtained from March to June 2020:
1. Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
2. All those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
3. All those 75 years of age and over
4. All those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
5. All those 65 years of age and over
6. All individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
7.All those 60 years of age and over
8. All those 55 years of age and over
9. All those 50 years of age and over
It is estimated that taken together, these groups represent around 99% of preventable mortality from COVID-19.
This is what we are following at Bideford Medical Centre along with all practices in North Devon. Each category has thousands of patients in and we are on categories 1 & 2 at the moment.
Health and social workers in the North Devon locality (who work in organisations outside the GP surgery) please follow this link for vaccine booking information. Please do not contact the surgery
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) for patients
Why you are being asked to wait for the vaccine
Information for health and social care workers in the North Devon locality (who work in organisations outside the GP surgery)
This includes dentists, opticians, chiropodists, aromatherapists, funeral directors, independent/voluntary workers.
Please follow this link for information regarding vaccine bookings
Want advice from your doctor, self-help information or have an administrative request (such as a sick note or test results)?
Fill out a simple online form to get advice and treatment today if you submit your request between 8:00AM and 4:00PM. Otherwise your practice will respond by the end of the next working day.
How does the e consult service work?
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Complete a simple form about your problem or request
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Your GPs decide on the best treatment for you
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The practice calls you or emails you with advice, a prescription or an appointment
We have changed the way in which we manage long term conditions.
Please click the LTC button above for further information.
Long Term Conditions (LTC)
Children & Young People - Fever / High Temperature
Healthier Together - a community initiative. In addition to the above topic, this website provides a range of advice for parents, young people and pregnant women, and clinical resources to support healthcare professionals.
https://www.what0-18.nhs.uk/parentscarers/worried-your-child-unwell/fever-high-temperature
HANDi Paediatric App
The HANDi Paediatric app gives up-to-date advice about common childhood illnesses and how to treat them.
It’s now available to download for free onto any Apple or Android smartphone or tablet.
The app has been designed as a way to reduce the number of children and young people who visit A&E, but need no treatment. It has been developed by paediatric consultants and will give you access to home care plans, as well as GP and hospital clinical guidelines, for the most common childhood health care concerns.
