Notice from Alresford Surgery

Parish Council Notices

 The Alresford Surgery

Station Road

ALRESFORD

Hampshire

SO24 9JL

Telephone: 01962 732345

Website: www.alresfordsurgery.co.uk

Newsletter – April 2020

Covid-19

PLEASE DO NOT COME INTO THE SURGERY

If you have:

  • A high temperature or fever
  • A new continuous cough

Please stay at home and use the following website for further help.

111.nhs.uk/covid-19

If you require further assessment after 7 days of self-isolation, please call the Surgery & you will receive a call back from a GP. 


The current situation with COVID-19 is leading us into unchartered waters but the staff at Alresford Surgery continue to be committed to providing a responsive service to our patients.  We will be making some big changes to the way we operate our appointment book in order that we can continue to care for everyone in a responsible way.  Our aim is to ensure that only those patients who really need to be seen face to face attend the surgery.

The situation is changing daily and we already have a number of clinical staff who are having to self-isolate which is impacting the way in which we work.  There is a strong possibility that we will be operating with minimal staffing at some point in the next few weeks.  We will prioritise urgent and acute illness.

GP appointments

If you have an appointment booked in the next week or two you will receive a phone call from our reception team to convert that appointment to a telephone consultation with the GP.  This will be on the same day and at the same time as your face to face appointment.  If, following this call, the GP still needs to see you they will book this with you.

For the foreseeable future we will be offering a same day telephone triage system for ALL GP appointments:

Decide which GP you want to see

  • Decide when you will be available for a call back (Morning or Afternoon)
  • Call the surgery on 01962 732345
  • State which GP you would prefer to speak to
  • Explain briefly why you need an appointment
  • Wait for a call back within the timeframe given by the receptionist
  • Discuss the issue with the doctor who will decide if a face to face consultation is needed. If so they will agree a suitable time that day.

Obviously not all GPs work every day, to help you plan your call see below.

 

Doctor Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Am Pm Am Pm Am Pm Am Pm Am Pm
Dr Cribb ▪ ▪ ☑ ☑ ▪ ▪ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Dr Lowman ☑ ☑ ▪ ▪ ☑ ☑ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Dr Wright     ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑    
Dr Cross         ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑ ☑
Dr Webb ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑     ☑  
Dr Saunders ☑ ☑ ☑   ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑
Dr Dodd ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑        
Dr Stebbing     ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Dr Harris ☑ ☑                
Dr Swain ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑    
Dr Hodgekiss     ☑ ☑     ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Dr Harring ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑          

 

Please keep checking our website and Facebook page for updates in the coming weeks.

Retirement of Sister Sally Denniss
Sally Denniss, who has been a Practice Nurse here for 20 years and a District Nurse here for 10 years before that will be sadly retiring at the end of April.
Over her time at the Surgery she has seen lots of changes and seen lots of patients.
Sally will miss seeing patients and working with the wonderful team at Alresford but feels it’s time to start a new chapter in her life.

Good Friday & Easter Monday closure
Please make sure you have sufficient supplies of your usual medications to last over the bank holiday period which you can order in a number of ways;

The surgery will be closed on Friday 10 April and Monday 13 April. If you need urgent medical care you can access the Out of Hours service for advice, a face to face appointment or, if it is necessary, a home visit.
The number to call is 111. 

 

111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It’s fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals. They will ask you a series of questions to assess your symptoms and immediately direct you to the best medical care for you.

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.

Retirement of Dr. Cribb 

Dr Richard Cribb will be retiring from Alresford Surgery in early May.  Dr Cribb joined the surgery in 1993 and will have given 27 years service to the town of Alresford and surrounding villages.  We are currently recruiting to fill the gap he will leave and we hope there will be more news about this next month.

Waiting room blood pressure machine

We now have an automated blood pressure machine in the waiting room.
This can be used by non-patients & patients, as long as you live within the local community, so feel free to come down to the surgery and measure your blood pressure at your leisure. Please ensure that you complete your details on the bottom of the printed slip & then hand your result to reception who can then update your records.

This facility can be a very convenient alternative to booking an appointment, especially if you require an up to date blood pressure for a referral for example.
We hope that this will save patients time as well as making more appointments available.

If you require any assistance in using the blood pressure machine please ask a member of the reception team who will be happy to assist you.

The new waiting room blood pressure machine was very kindly purchased by the Edward Pay Medical Fund and New Alresford Town Council for the Surgery.