We understand that trying to contact us has been challenging at times. The entire NHS has been overwhelmed by the pandemic, and this has caused much frustration. On behalf of Hughenden Valley Surgeries, I would like to sincerely apologise but also thank you for your support at this most difficult time.

Presently, there are several issues converging on General Practice. Approximately 10% of the UK population is chasing overdue NHS services, 75% of the population is awaiting vaccination and locally, some services are already advising waiting times for appointments of several years.

There appears to be a near infinite demand for face to face GP appointments across the UK. Each day, requests for appointments are several hundred times higher than the maximum number of appointments possible. We are all working our socks off to clear the backlog, however, it seems very unlikely that the NHS will be able to return to the pre-COVID model of General Practice in the foreseeable future, if ever at all. There are simply not enough people qualified as GPs in the world to meet current levels of demand.

At Hughenden Surgeries, we have not stopped for a moment during the pandemic. We have continued to see our patients face to face throughout, taking steps to minimise your exposure to the virus as much as humanly possible. Having the first half of your appointment on the telephone and only being in the building when you need to be examined is nobody’s first choice, but it has protected our patients and our staff.

Our team has worked tirelessly, late into the nights, at weekends and through bank holidays to keep you safe and we will not hold back now. If you have struggled to get through on the phonelines it is only because hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of patients were ahead of you in the queue. That is all.

From Downley to Great Missenden, demand for access to our services has increased more than tenfold since the national lockdown measures eased. At the same time, worries about the virus and the vaccinations have skyrocketed

but there is good news ahead.

We have set in place a Roadmap to help our patients access our services, not just back to pre-COVID levels, but faster, easier, and better than ever before.

You have given us your feedback, and we have listened.

Changes of this magnitude cannot be made suddenly. We are working closely with our PPG to provide you with the service you want, while also continuing to provide the care that you need.

At Hughenden Valley Surgeries, we have a belief that communication is key to our success. We have a plan, and will keep you informed via our website, via social-media and via our PPG.

We are blessed with a particularly fantastic Patient Participation Group, who have also been working relentlessly to help you through this pandemic. Our vaccination efforts could not have succeeded as they have, without their astonishing support and volunteer workforce. We will continue to work with them throughout this next chapter and beyond.

Clearly there are challenging times ahead for us all, however, we are doing everything possible to see as many patients as possible as quickly and as safely as possible. Our trained Care Navigators will continue to allocate the resources made available to us on the basis of clinical need, so that we are here when you need us.

In January 2020 we initiated our Patient Shield, protecting you from a “new potentially serious, upcoming virus”. Our protective plans have worked. Our barriers and patient distancing measures are sound and reliable and will remain in place.

As the first wave approached, we gave you unprecedented 24h/day 7 days/week access to our Admin and Clinical Teams with eConsult, our Online Consultations platform and we have continued that same level of service throughout the entire pandemic. At Hughenden Surgeries, online GP access and eConsult are here to stay and are in addition to all other services that we offer.

You have needed to contact us in previously unimaginable numbers, and we installed a dozen new phone lines and expanded our Care Navigation Hub to take the strain, ensuring we could meet your health needs while also shielding you from the dangers.

We also brought you Video Consultations, SMS Consultations and Picture Message Consultations so that you can still access your GP without needing to leave the safety of your home. All of these services are here to stay.

For the very many people who have still needed to see a GP face to face, we have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep you safe whenever we visited you at home or have seen you in our surgeries.

Since January 2021, following the vaccination success in Chesham Town Hall and our Prestwood Surgery, we have been able to allow more people into the buildings at once. Our waiting room conversions also allow more people to wait safely at the same time and we continue to clean thoroughly between every patient contact.

At Hughenden Surgeries, we have never stopped seeing our patients; we will not stop seeing patients, and we are not slowing down now. Every patient that has needed to see a doctor for clinical reasons, has been seen by a doctor.

But there is more to come…

• Additional GP sessions
• More Appointments
• More calls answered simultaneously
• Improved Access
• Greater Flexibility
• Rapid Access Services

Watch this space, for the big reveal….

Keeping you safe,

Scott Ridley

Practice Manger

With the easing of lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions being lifted we will not be delivering medicines routinely as when covid-19 restrictions was in place.

Hughhenden Valley Surgeries 

Keeping you safe - Keeping you informed

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/problems/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/coronavirus-scam-calls-and-texts

COVID-19: NHS app to be used as coronavirus passport for international travel.

Access your NHS services

Use NHS App online to access services on your desktop or laptop computer, through your web browser. You do not need to install anything to get started.

Use this service to:

book and manage appointments at your GP surgery
order repeat prescriptions
get health information and advice
view your medical record securely
view your NHS number

At the moment it will not automatically show your vaccination status but NHS England are working in the background to fix this sometime in May.

My advice would be to download the NHS app before the 17th of May when international travel restrictions are due to end.

https://www.ourpractice.co.uk/online-access-2 

Keeping you safe - Keeping you informed

Scott Ridley

Practice Manager

Please be aware Chesham Town Hall will have NO MORE Pfizer vaccine deliveries after may 6th so if you are in need of a Pfizer 2nd dose (your fist does was a Pfizer) and you have not already booked please contact the surgery after 11am to book your appointment with out delay.

Good morning, we are currently experiencing connectivity issues with our clinic system. This is a national issue and is being worked on by our provider. We ask that whilst we are experiencing these problems please do not contact the surgery for routine matters. If you are expecting a telephone call from a clinician today please rest assured they will call but it may be at a slightly different time. We will keep you informed of any changes. Thank you,

 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/976880/PHE_COVID-19_AZ_vaccination_guide.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2-mNBSgDf2oIGht-qMA3crhqi7WF5x85pTuNCOQWvwTRR1M3Cr8E0EZv0 

I am pleased to confirm we have been given notice of the date 2nd COVID-19 vaccinations will start an this will be from Tuesday the 23rd of March 2021.

Some usual questions and answers

Question:
Should I call the surgery to book my vaccination?
Answer:
No we will contact you via text or telephone. (Also keep an eye on our website and Facebook group)

Question:
I have not had my first vaccination yet why are you inviting patients for their second?
Answer:
The NHSE guidance at the moment is for patients to have their 2nd vaccination on or around the 12 weeks mark.

Question:
Have you stopped giving the 1st vaccination?
Answer:
At the moment we are still continuing to do 1st vaccinations

Question:
I have not been invited for any COVID-19 vaccination but normally I receive a Flu jab I must be in the wrong group should I write or call you to ask you to check my group?
Answer:
We are unable to change your group NHSE and our software providers setup the group lists and can not change them so please do not contact us to make a change.

Question:
I have been sent a text to ask to book but it must be wrong as I am fit and healthy, I do not want to take someone else’s vaccination should I contact the surgery to cancel. (We all need a vaccination at some point)

Answer:
No please do not contact the surgery as this will take up valuable care navigation or clinical time that could be used to help other patients with other non COVID-19 problems.

We are now 1/3 of the way through the Covid-19 vaccination programme and still have a long way to go, We thank every one of you for standing by us and helping us drive our COVID-19 vaccination Bus on our journey to a if not the same destination as before a better place than we are in now.

I would also like to thank all the surgery staff including Admin, Dispensary, Care navigation, Pharmacy and clinical team that without them this exit strategy would not be possible.

Also a big thank you to Elizabeth Carless and the PPG family that send teams of volunteers out in all weathers to help.

I would also request that any patients with any conditions they are worried about please do not put off coming to see the surgery team as we are still here and open for other conditions that are not COVID-19 related.

Scott Ridley
Practice Manager

1. your age
2. Your medical record

1. your GP surgery will send you a text invite.
2. your GP surgery will telephone you.
3. NHSE will send you a letter (these are not from your GP surgery)

1. Your GP surgery
2. A Primary Care Network (Group of local surgeries)
3. NHSE in mass vaccination centres
4. Local Pharmacy

*** Vaccination appointments available NOW Group 1-6 and not had your first jab please call us NOW***

Hughenden Valley Surgeries are happy to confirm we are able to offer the Astra Zeneca vaccine at our Chequers drive site in Prestwood once again on Friday the 12th of March 2021.

We are thrilled to be able to offer the vaccine to our patients locally.

What are the Groups?

Priority Risk group

1 Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults

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 (not including pregnant women and those under 16 years of age)

5 All those 65 years of age and over

6 Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group (see clinical conditions below) [footnote 1]

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

10 Rest of the population (to be determined)

Clinical conditions list:

• a blood cancer (such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma)

• diabetes

• dementia

• a heart problem

• a chest complaint or breathing difficulties, including bronchitis, emphysema or severe asthma

• a kidney disease

• a liver disease

• lowered immunity due to disease or treatment (such as HIV infection, steroid medication, chemotherapy or radiotherapy)

• rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or psoriasis (who may require long-term immunosuppressive treatments)

• have had an organ transplant

• had a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA)

• a neurological or muscle wasting condition

• a severe or profound learning disability

• a problem with your spleen, example sickle cell disease, or you have had your spleen removed

• are seriously overweight (BMI of 40 and above)

• are severely mentally ill

Further detailed information on priority groups is available in the COVID-19 Green Book, chapter 14a.

1. At the same time as adults under 65 years with long-term conditions, the vaccine will also be offered to unpaid adult carers – 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. ↩

Vaccine deliveries are sent to our Chesham main site based on stock levels at the main distribution centres (Hughenden Valley Surgeries or the Chesham Main Site do place orders) and when any Vaccines arrive our PCN grouping jump into action and administer them post haste.

(our number one priority is never to waste time or vaccine)

We will not be posting figures of how many left in each group to be vaccinated as we believe clock watching is not helpful to our patients and it is also not helpful to add more pressure to our workforce.

2nd Vaccine

We do not have any details of when these will take place this is directed by NHSE and when we have vaccine stock.

We would like to thank the PPG for arranging volunteers for our vaccination clinics and the continued hard work from the staff in the enormous task of vaccinating our patients.

Hughenden Pharmacy is in the process being vetted to deliver Covid-19 vaccinations from Hughenden.

Please see any previous frequently asked questions in previous posts and please join us on Facebook for updates

https://www.facebook.com/groups/430238914377799

I CAN  !!! 

(eat well, exercise well and live well)

Can you ? 

Please join me on a ZOOM meeting to look at LIVING WELL to STAY WELL.

Friday 26th March at 10.30am. A Zoom link will be sent from your GP surgery prior to the event.

Joining me will be ;

Hannah                 Live Well Stay Well                                                                         “What’s the point ? “

Tejal                       Buckinghamshire Healthcare                                                     Good eating habits & “Food for Mood”

Benson                 The Fitness Garden                                                                         Some gentle exercise

LEAP                                                                                                                                      Learn more about this new initiative

Fiona                      Simply Walks                                                                                      Get involved as a walker or a VOLUNTEER

PLUS Food and exercise challenges

I look forward to seeing you there. June ( Community Link Worker for Mid-Chilterns PCN )

Hughenden Valley Surgery

Chequers Surgery

John Hampden Surgery

Prospect House

Amersham Health Clinic

Rectory Meadows Surgery