Okehampton Medical Centre

CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION AND SUPPORT OKEHAMPTON AREA
Directory of useful services in the Okehampton area including; home delivery information, advice, support and more.

Okehampton Medical Centre would like to thank Travelodge Sourton, North Park Vets and the local people for their kind donations of Personal Protective Equipment which will be very helpful during this busy time.

Please allow at least 72 hours after ordering before collecting your medication from our Dispensary. With the current situation we are receiving a high number of orders so please ​bear with us. Stockpiling and hoarding may lead to some people going without essential medication therefore we are only able to dispense your medication at normal intervals as we are unable to order more than required. Our team will continue to do its best to supply your medications, so please help us to work together as a strong community by acting responsibly.

InTouch at home Okehampton Compiled by West Devon CVS 26 March 2020
Time to Talk A confidential listening support service and practical help for disabled people or deaf people Tuesday: 10am - 4pm Wednesday: 10am - 4pm Thursday: 10am -4pm 0300 303 3691 0785 642 6940
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Free online art classes to help people feel less isolated.

It has been decided to protect all, that we will close the doors to the new and old building from tomorrow and ask the patient to press the bell or knock on dispensary door where they will be greeted by the reception and dispensary teams.

Wellbeing App of The Week
As recommended by Fran Bliss, Wellbeing Coordinator.
www.calm.com

Cancelling your appointment
If you are unable or do not wish to attend your appointment please inform us as soon as possible. We are currently receiving and making a high number of calls which may make it difficult to get through on the phone. You are able to cancel your appointment online via Patient Access. You can also use Patient Partner, our automated telephone system by calling 01837 52233, selecting option 6 and following the instructions you will hear. You can also reply to appointment confirmation or reminder text messages if you receive them.
If you are unable to cancel your appointment using any of the methods above you can use the eConsult system via our website www.okehamptonmedicalcentre.co.uk to ask for clinical advice or submit an admin query stating the date and time of your appointment that you wish to cancel.

We would like to thank all our patients for their continued support through this difficult period. We are trying our best to provide a smooth service to our patients and because of this we have had to change our procedures in line with National Guidelines.
We would like to apologise to anyone who feels that they have not been able to contact us. Please bear with us, and use our econsult service if you have internet access. If you are unable to do this, call the surgery.
If ...you would like to discuss any concerns, please contact the practice manager Kiran Bakhshi - kiran.bakhshi@nhs.net and we will investigate any issues with our service provisions in a private manner.
Please do not use Facebook as a platform to share your grievances. We will be removing any posts considered to be unhelpful at the current time.
Many thanks for your cooperation during this difficult time.
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Message from Art for All West Devon Workshops.....
Dear all
During this difficult time, our thoughts are with all those who are feeling worried, having to self isolate or are ill.
... Following the government advice to avoid social contact, we have postponed all classes until the advice changes.
Over the next week or so we will begin to plan, and then deliver, free on-line classes using videos and printable handouts/worksheets for you to use and share with others.
We will be asking you to help us reach as many socially isolated or ill people who might benefit from the activity by sharing the videos, or printing out and passing on the handouts to people who don't do the internet.
We would also encourage all of you who do Facebook to join the closed group Art for All - West Devon Art Workshops https://www.facebook.com/groups/318868695 365295/ where you can share examples of what you have been creating and see the work of others, plus inspirational examples of art and craft, and give each other encouragement.
We have contacted our funders to ask if they will allow us to use some of their grants to help run several of these on-line classes per week exploring different media. The National Lottery has already confirmed this is fine, but regardless of funders we will be working on this as our way of helping during this difficult time.
Best wishes and we will be in touch soon with the first session!
West Devon Art Workshops www.westdevonartworkshops.co.uk westdevonartworkshops@gmail.com 07724 153381
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Coronavirus Update
Briefing regarding move to use of eConsult triage system Please do not book a GP appointment or attend your GP Practice if you have symptoms associated with coronavirus, including a new continuous cough or a high temperature. You are advised to stay isolated for 7 days and members of your household are advised to stay at home for 14 days. If your symptoms are serious, or get worse, NHS 111 has an online coronavirus service that can tell you if you need f...urther medical help and advise you what to do. Only call 111 direct, if you cannot go online, or are advised to do so by the online service. For the latest Covid-19 advice please visit www.nhs.uk/coronavirus. From Friday 20th March Okehampton Medical Centre will be changing the way we arrange GP appointments as a result of the current outbreak of Coronavirus. Instead of making appointments on request, we’ll be introducing a system that will make it quicker and easier to get the help you need and reduce the risk of either contracting or spreading this infectious disease. The new system will also allow us to manage demand for appointments more effectively and safely through the coronavirus pandemic. This change will allow us to make better use of GPs’ time and to prioritise the care of patients who need it most. Procedure: The new system- called eConsult- allows you to tell us about your symptoms in an online form. You can fill out the eConsult form on any device (computer, tablet or phone, some are having difficulties with Internet Explorer so please use Chrome or another web browser to access this service), and it only takes a few minutes. We’ll then contact you by the end of the next working day to let know you the next step, which might be telephone call or a face-to-face GP appointment. If your condition seems more serious, we’ll deal with you as a priority – which might mean directing you to the Minor Injuries Unit or Accident and Emergency. If you don’t want to fill out an eConsult form online, or are unable to, you can continue to call the practice and a patient services advisor will ask you questions and complete it on your behalf. Where clinically appropriate, we will see you in person for diagnosis and treatment or refer you to the appropriate service. If you need to speak to a GP, we’ll arrange a face-to-face appointment or phone consultation. Depending on the urgency of your situation this could take place the same day. You can also use eConsult to ask for sick notes and GP letters, and to discuss test results. Completing an eConsult form or talking to a member of the practice team over the phone will help you avoid unnecessary trips to the surgery. If you have a minor ailment, we’ll give you appropriate advice (for example, to visit a pharmacy or information on how to treat yourself). If you need another service (a physiotherapist, for example) we’ll let you know. Dr Tim Watson, Senior Partner, Okehampton Medical Centre
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Please be aware that when calling the surgery there is a 15 second delay following the initial message before the options list begins. You may also hear some clicking noise in the background but please continue to hold, you have not been cut off. We are working to resolve this issue. We apologise for any inconvenience.

We have temporarily suspended booking of appointments via patient partner, our automated telephone system, but you are still able to check or cancel appointments.
You are now able to book telephone triage appointments online via patient access, from 8 am each day for a same day telephone call from a member of the duty team if you feel you need to be seen that day. This will hopefully reduce the volume of calls coming into the Medical Centre. We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your support.

Please take a few minutes to complete our extended access survey. Click on the link below to access. Once completed please email to kiran.bakhshi@nhs.net or return to Reception.
http://www.okehamptonmedicalcentre.co.uk/ da…/uploads/342.pdf