In line with the Government’s announcement, the NHS is aiming to offer every adult the chance to book a COVID-19 booster vaccine by the end of the year. This means our practice is now prioritising the booster rollout. As part of this, some of our routine services may be stood down temporarily to allow us to focus on protecting as many patients as possible. We are still there for anyone who may need care for an urgent need, but would ask for patience as we support this key national priority over the coming weeks. We hope to be able to stand back up any services as soon as possible and will update this page as soon as we know more. Please don’t forget there are many services available for you, depending on your condition. These include:

• Self-care – This is the best choice to treat minor illnesses and injuries such as hangovers, coughs, colds, grazes, small cuts or sore throats. Many of these can be treated at home, simply with over-the-counter medicines and plenty of rest.

• Pharmacy – Pharmacists can give advice on and treat a range of symptoms. They can support you with things such as diarrhoea, earaches, painful coughs, sticky eyes, teething and rashes.

• NHS 111 – You can access 111 online or via the telephone. This is for any urgent but non-life threatening health concerns. They will be able to signpost you to the relevant service and provide advice where appropriate, or book you in to an Urgent Treatment Centre.

• A&E / 999 – You should only attend A&E or dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency such as severe bleeding, breathing difficulties and severe chest pain. If you are now eligible for your COVID-19 booster please book it as soon as you can. It is vital as many people as possible get boosted as soon as possible. Please do not ring the practice regarding your boosters, instead visit https://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/coronavirus-updates/Pages/coronavirusvaccination-in-northamptonshire.aspx or call 119 to book an appointment or to find a walk-in clinic near you. You can also find out more about who is eligible, how the vaccine is given and other frequently asked questions

We are COVID safe practice and doing everything that we can to reduce the risk of COVID transmission.

If you are worried or feel that you need a hospital referral please do not wait until after the pandemic, please contact the surgery straight away.

We are offering telephone, video and face to face appointments where clinically indicated.

If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact the surgery.

As part of our contingency planning for Coronavirus, we are advising all patients to not attend the surgery unless absolutely essential. Where possible we are asking patients to book in telephone consultations. If you have an appointment already booked and wish to change this to a telephone consultation, please contact the surgery so we can arrange this.

Going forward, we will only be offering telephone triage in the first instance, and the practitioner will decide whether it is appropriate for you to attend the surgery.  Please do not attend the surgery when we open at 8am and telephone instead.

You may be asked to attend a online consultation or to send a photo to the surgery via a text message link. If you are struggling with any technical issues please contact the surgery for more guidance.

All appointments have now been extended due to all members of the clinical team having to clean down and change their PPE (personal protection equipment) after every patient.

We are working our telephone providers to ensure we have the maximum number of phone lines open and have called in additional support. Please ensure that you have updated us with your correct details prior to your appointment, and if you haven’t already done so please nominate a pharmacist for your prescriptions to be sent electronically, as we will not be open for collection. We appreciate your cooperation and patience during this time; we are doing our upmost to protect our patients and staff in the current situation.

If you have a face to face consultation at the surgery, please wear a face covering/mask/scarf to protect yourself and others. Unfortunately we are unable to supply masks. The only exemptions will be for children under the age of 3 or those who may find it difficult to manage them correctly. Thank you for your understanding

The NHS and Public Health England (PHE) are extremely well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. The current risk to the general public is moderate. You can help too.

Germs can live on some surfaces for hours. To protect yourself and others:

• Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze.
• Bin the tissue, and to kill the germs, wash your hands with soap and water, or use a sanitiser gel.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

If you have arrived back from an affected area within the last 14 days and develop symptoms of cough or fever or shortness of breath, you should immediately:

• Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu
• Call NHS 111 to inform them of your recent travel to the country
• Call 999 if you have an emergency

This is the best way to slow the spread of almost any germs, including Coronavirus.

More information, including a list of the affected areas is available by logging onto gov.uk/coronavirus

If you have symptoms and you are waiting for the pandemic to end. Please contact the surgery. If you have symptoms and you are waiting for a referral to hospital. Please contact the surgery. 

**Please click here for stay at home guidance in different languages**

We are aware this is a difficult time for anyone who is currently admitted to hospital or anyone who has a relative who is currently in hospital. Our thoughts are with anyone affected. Thank you for bearing with us through this difficult pandemic.

Please use the following support line if you have any relative at NGH for support so you can check in on the current condition of a family member or loved one.
Please follow their instructions below.
In order to use this service, you will need to know the patients full name, ward location, date of birth and NHS number where possible. Our team will then take this information and check in with the ward to obtain details on the patient’s condition. You will then receive a call back with this information.

To use this service, please dial 01604 545784.

The line is open on: Monday to Friday - 9:00am til 5:00pm Saturday and Sunday - 10:00am til 4:00pm

This line cannot be used for advice on upcoming appointments or admissions, advisers will not be able to answer these questions.

The government have acknowledged that the order to stay at home can cause anxiety for those who are experiencing or feel at risk of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is unacceptable in any situation, no matter what stresses a person is under.

If any person feels that they are at risk of abuse, it is important to remember that there is help and support available, whether this is in the form of police response, online support, helplines, refuges or other services.

The household isolation instruction as a result of COVID-19 does not apply if a person needs to leave their home to escape domestic abuse.

Click here for information about the "Silent Solution" service