Welcome to the Blake House Surgery Website

Our aim is to provide friendly, personal health care which combines the traditional values of General Practice with evidence based modern medicine, and we welcome new patients to the surgery.

If you wish to register you can do so on-line, or by calling into the surgery and completing the appropriate forms. All new patients will be invited to attend a new patient check with the Practice Nurse.

You can find out information about medical conditions and diseases through our patient information leaflets as well as keep up to date with all the latest practice news and developments. 

We are always looking to improve our services so please fill in our patient survey or leave some feedback on our Contact details page or our Facebook page.

Tuesday 7th July 2020 - The electric at the Surgery has been restored, but due to a underground fault, Western Power are currently digging up the car park. Parking will be restricted for the next couple of days. Thank you

With the numbers of visitors increasing in both Devon and Cornwall, our local Resilience Forum has come up with some useful information to pass on to visitors if they become ill or need medication whilst away. Contacting their registered surgery, or using on-line access points for remote consultations, will usually be the most appropriate way for temporary residents and visitors to be given care - spoken to by a clinician who knows them and can access their medical record. If you are in any doubt please advise visitors to contact their own surgery in the first instance or NHS111. Otherwise, please call us here.

Thank you

http://devonccg.newsweaver.com/…/holidaymaker%20info%20shee…

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

The surgery is currently experiencing very high telephone call volumes. We would ask you to kindly review whether your call is urgent for the same day and if it is not, then please use our E-consult forms. These are very easy to use forms that can be found using the following link https://econsult.net/ and guide you clearly and easily through describing your problem or need. Did you know that you can also use this form for medicines inquiries or blood test inquiries? You can also attach your photographs to this for review. The GPs can then screen your message and decide on the next step in your patient pathway.

Please do not call reception to check your medicines are ready for collection. Our turnaround time for prescriptions is 3 working days. This will help open our phone lines for patients that really need to get through and speak to a receptionist.

We are still in the midst of a global pandemic and it is vital that we all take as much care and all necessary precautions to prevent a second wave of infection and to combat a continued steady state of heightened infection rates. For this reason there are no plans to re-open the surgery for business as usual just yet and telephone triage with GPS and for your long term condition reviews will remain as it is.

Thank you all for your ongoing support and patience at this time. We wish you all wellness and safety.

The Blake House Team

eConsult

https://econsult.net/

Please take a look at the below video. This gives a quick run through of eConsult and how to use it.

eConsult is a way to contact your own NHS GP practice online, for free, anywhere and anytime you have access to the internet, quickly and safely.

Please be aware we may ask for this to be completed on behalf of the doctor.

APRIl 6th PCN Coronavirus info sheet to patients.pdf

Mental Health Support Services

URGENT APPEAL

Whether you are socially isolating, socially distancing or socially shielding, if you are a sat-at-home seamstress then your community needs you!  We are putting out an urgent appeal for handmade masks for our dedicated Care Home staff who have not got the basic mask PPE to wear throughout their day.  Masks protect us all.  Please help if you can and contact us at Blake House with any donation you can offer.

The links to patterns are below. Thank you, wonderful people, for helping at this most challenging time.

Keep calm, stay at home and carry on sewing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_-R8Ox3Spw

Instructions for making masks

Printable instructions for making the masks

washing instruction labels

Printable washing instructions with inspirational messages and #masks4all slogan on page 2 - please print off in duplex/back to back if you'd like to use.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/04/why-wear-a-mask-may-be-our-best-weapon-to-stop-coronavirus

Please wear a face mask if out and about shopping, exercising in addition to social distancing and hand washing etc.

Wash immediately you get home at 60° or above and air dry.  Wash your hands immediately after handling a worn mask.  Wash your hands before handling a freshly laundered mask.

Colleagues have been making facemasks for fellow staff members to wear for personal use whilst out and about, during exercise, shopping etc.

If you would like to have a go at making your own, here a couple of options to try amongst many:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_-R8Ox3Spw&t=6s

http://masks4all.co.uk/index.html - click on start making masks for pattern and instructions.

STAY HOME ~ STAY WELL ~ STAY SAFE

Marie Stopes for Termination of Pregnancy:

Did you know that you can self refer to Marie Stopes by calling their confidential telephone line One Call 0345 450 3964 which is fully operational day or night, 7 days a week. You do not need to see your GP to access this support service. Please see their website for further information - Mariestopes.org.uk

CORONAVIRUS (NOVEL COVID-19)

Thank you everyone for your continued commitment to the surgery’s proactive steps to delay the spread of Coronavirus in our community.

CORONAVIRUS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

• Isn’t the Coronavirus the same as seasonal flu?
  1. No, this is not just the flu. Coronavirus is much more infectious and spreads much faster than seasonal flu.
  2. Flu has a death rate of 0.1%. The World Health Organisation quotes 3.4% as the fatality rate from Coronavirus.
  3. An estimated 15-20% individuals infected with Coronavirus will suffer from severe symptoms that require medical attention, including pneumonia with shortness of breath and low blood oxygen levels. 

• What are the chances I will get seriously ill if I get Coronavirus?
  1. If you are < 60 years old and in relatively good health, the chances of death or severe complication is low. According to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, people aged:
     1. 50-59 are 13x more likely to die from Coronavirus infection;
     2. 60-69 are 36x more likely to die from Coronavirus infection;
     3. 70-79 are 80x more likely to die from Coronavirus infection;
     4. 80+ are 148x more likely to die from Coronavirus infection.
     5. If you have a weakened immune system, the risk is also higher.

• How do I catch Coronavirus?
  1. The virus is spread from person-to-person through infected respiratory droplets. If a person does not cover their nose/mouth when coughing or sneezing they can spray the virus into the air, onto other people’s clothes or skin, or onto surfaces.
  2. The virus can also be carried on people’s hands and transmitted from person-to-person when you come to touch each other, e.g. shaking hands, on clothing, or on contaminated surfaces.
  3. Experts do not know exactly how long the virus can live on surfaces and this range can be anything from several hours to several days.  

• What can I do to limit the chance of me catching the virus?
  1. Stand back: Stand at least 3 feet / 1 metre away from people who are coughing and sneezing, or if you are in a queue.
  2. Wash your hands regularly: You should wash your hands regularly with soap and water and for at least 20 seconds – this is the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.
  3. Use alcohol-based hand sanitiser: This needs to be at least 60% alcohol to be effective.
  4. Avoid touching your face: You can transmit the virus from your skin to your eyes, mouth, or nose.
  5. Avoid shaking hands: Use alternative methods of greeting – elbow bumps, prayer hands, salutes, or whatever feels most comfortable for you.
  6. Keep surfaces clean if you think they may be contaminated
  7. Stay home: Staying away from groups of people may help you avoid being exposed. 

• If I have got the virus, how long does it take for symptoms to show?
  1. Symptoms take roughly 2-14 days to show up. The chances of passing on the virus if you do not have any symptoms is thought to be very low at this time, but it is still vital that you limit your public activities to those that are essential to lower the chance of contracting or passing the virus on. 

• What symptoms am I looking out for?
  1. Cough – this tends to be a dry and persistent cough
  2. Fever – a temperature of 37.7^oC or above. If you do not have a thermometer at home, you may feel hot or have a flushed face, or you may have chills in your body.
  3. Breathlessness
  4. Body aches and pains and feeling generally unwell – although take note, this symptom may not be as frequent with coronavirus as seen with a flu-like illness. 

• What should I do if I have any of these symptoms?
  1. You should immediately self-isolate at home for at least 7 days.
  2. You should take plenty of warm fluids and simple medicines, such as Paracetamol to help control fever and relieve body aches and pains.
  3. If you develop shortness of breath, difficulty catching your breath, chest pains, or are breathing at a fast rate then you should call 111.  

• How long should I self-isolate for if I have cough and/or fever?
  1. You should self-isolate for 7 days, or longer if you continue to feel unwell.  

• What should I do if one member of my household has symptoms? Do we all need to isolate?
• There is imminent guidance that all household members should self-isolate for 7 days if any member in the house is symptomatic. Please be alert for this!!! 

• What about my shopping?
  1. Try contacting family or friends to help with shopping delivery.
  2. Family or friends can also help you with ordering online shopping.
  3. You may wish to consider contacting a meals provider to deliver your meals e.g. Wiltshire Farm Foods
  4. Our Social Prescriber can help guide you through online grocery shopping if you have not used this service before. Please contact the surgery about this.

• I am supposed to be going to a social event / party / gathering – should I go?
  1. The only way to slow the spread of the virus is to limit your exposure to other people which may have the virus. This means putting a halt on your proposed social gatherings. You can always consider these again at a later date.  

• I am due to go on holiday. Will I be able to go? Should I go?The Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advice is constantly under review. The advice is against travel to some countries unless essential. Further information can be found on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus.
• Before you travel:

• Check the travel advice on the gov.uk website

• Make sure you have appropriate travel insurance

• Check with your airline, tour operator, cruise line or other transport and accommodation providers for any coronavirus-related changes

• Plan ahead for any potential disruption to your travel

If you are older, or if you have pre-existing medical conditions *e.g asthma, diabetes, heart disease, you are more likely to become severely ill if you catch the virus. Consider whether travel at this time is the right choice for you. Check the NHS guidance before you travel.

Shebbear Shop Medication Collections

A reminder to our patients who live in and around Shebbear.

If you would like to collect your medications from Shebbear Shop, you will need to contact the surgery on 01409 231628 to register for this service.

Thank you.

NHS Patient Survey on Improved Access

The NHS are keen to seek the views of local people about how they can further improve access to GP appointments. Since the service was launched nationally in October 2018, they are now keen to find out people’s views on these hours and if they are in the most appropriate locations.  

We have prepared a short and confidential survey to gather views that will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.  It will give patients the opportunity to tell us about when they would like to be able to access GP appointments and where they would be willing to travel to access them. 

 Improved Access Patient Survey

You can now book appointments to see a GP or Practice Nurse in the evenings or at the weekend from 8am to 8pm.  Contact us on 01409 231628 to find out more.

Early morning, evening and weekend appointments

now available for North Devon Patients

As you may have heard, nationally GPs are being asked to offer their patients appointments outside of normal hours. The aim of the GP Improved Access Service is to make it easier for people to get an appointment at a time that suits them. This includes early morning, evening and weekend appointments.

In North Devon, a collaboration of local GPs have come together to provide this service for North Devon patients.

This new scheme is an extension of the usual GP practice services that patients across North Devon will be used to – it is not a walk-in or urgent service.  Patients will still need to contact their practices directly to make an appointment.

When using the Improved Access Service, patients might not be able to see their usual GP or Practice Nurse and may have to attend a different GP surgery. If that is the case, the clinician they see will be from another GP practice in North Devon.

The practices involved in delivering this service across North Devon are:

Bideford Medical Centre, Bideford.

Wooda Surgery, Bideford.

Northam Surgery, Northam.

Brannam Medical Centre, Barnstaple.

Castle Gardens Surgery, Torrington.

Torrington Health Centre, Torrington.

Black Torrington Surgery, Black Torrington.

Hartland Surgery, Hartland.

Community Pharmacists based in Barnstaple, Bideford and Ilfracombe will also be offering additional appointments for North Devon patients.

From 1^st October 2018, patients will be able to book face to face or telephone appointments at one or more of these surgeries to see or speak to either a GP or Practice Nurse or other health professional in the evenings or at weekends from:

08.00am to 08.30am - Monday to Friday

18.00pm to 20.00pm – Monday to Friday

09.00am to 12.30pm - Saturday

09.00am to 12.00pm - Sunday

If you are seeing a Doctor or Nurse in a surgery that is not your usual surgery, we will ask your consent for the Doctor or nurse to see your clinical records. Your records will not be accessed without your permission. This will enable your usual Doctor to see what investigations and treatments you have had.

To arrange an early morning, evening or weekend appointment, speak to the practice receptionist or member of the practice team or call the practice on 01409 231628. 

Further information can be found at http://ndgp.co.uk/

Please continue to contact your surgery in the usual way during normal hours.

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