Appointments will be available from 1 August 2018
Mid Essex CCG closure Wednesday 1st August 2018
The Surgery will be closed from 12.30 for training purposes. There will be no medical staff available. Please call 111 for medical advice and 999 for any medical emergencies.
Staff Leaving
Dr Andrew Burgess will be leaving Rivermead Gate Medical Centre at the end of July.
We would like to thank him for being a dedicated member of our team and are sad to see him go.
It is with warmest regards that we wish Dr Burgess every success as he assumes his new position.
Hot Weather Advice
Public Health England have produced a leaflet to help patients stay well in the hot weather.
The document can be viewed using the following link: Beat The Heat Hot Weather Advice
Free Weight Loss Programme
Do you want to lose weight and get fitter for free? Click on the link for further information: ACE Lifestyle
Amended Opening Hours at Wood Street
The practice will be changing the access hours at the branch surgery at Wood Street following discussions with NHS England. With effect from Monday 27th November 2017 we will be closed all day Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday, and all services to Wood Street patients will be provided from our main site Rivermead Gate Medical Centre.
The opening hours have been approved by the Joint Primary Care Commissioning Committee of Mid Essex CCG and NHS England.
Why have we taken this decision?
This decision has been taken due to the difficulties the practice is facing in providing adequate clinical provision and services at the site every day of the week.
Opening hours from 27th November:
Monday 8.00am to 12.30pm and 3pm to 6.00pm
Wednesday 8.00am to 12.30pm
Friday 8.00am to 12.30pm and 03.00pm to 6.00pm
The telephone lines will be diverted to our main site when the branch site is closed where calls will be handled. You may choose to call Rivermead direct: 01245 348688
The doctors and nurses will be working at Rivermead Gate and will provide services to Wood Street patients from there. Patients will be able to book appointments as normal and see their usual GP. The number of appointments/appointment types will not be reduced, all other services provided to patients will remain the same and we will continue to send prescriptions to patients preferred pharmacy.
Patients should submit prescription requests and arrange for collection within these times or ask staff to send them direct to their preferred pharmacy.
Patients may find it easier to attend our main site on a regular basis. If patients would like us to transfer care to Rivermead Gate Medical Centre, a form is available to complete at our reception and we will amend records accordingly.
Feedback comment forms are available from reception.
Flu Clinics
Flu Vaccinations
If you are in one of the at risk catagories or would like to enquire if you are entitled to a free vaccination please call the surgery you are registered at (see the list below for catagories).
We run Saturday clinics during September, October and November. Appointments can be booked from August. If you are seeing the nurse for regular monitoring you can ask the nurse to give you the vaccination at the same time.
Flu is a highly infectious illness that spreads rapidly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are carrying the virus.
If you’re at risk of complications from flu, make sure you have your annual flu vaccine, available each year usually from September onwards.
- ADULT flu clinics are held on Saturdays at both of our sites
- CHILD vaccinations are only carried out Monday to Friday
- If you are at risk please and eligable for a free vaccination call the surgery to book your appointment.
- When you attend please romove coats & jumpers and have you arm ready to help us run our clinics on time.
Should you have the flu jab?
Book an appointment if you’re 65 or over, or if you have any of the following problems (however old you are):
- a serious heart complaint
- a chest complaint or breathing difficulties, including asthma, bronchitis and emphysema
- serious kidney disease
- diabetes
- lowered immunity due to disease or treatment such as steroid medication or cancer treatment
- if you have had a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
- if you have a problem with your spleen or you have had your spleen removed
- Ask our staff if you are elligible
For further information and advice about flu and the flu vaccine Click here
Free Weight Management Programme
“There is now an award-winning programme of one-to-one and group support for weight management available free to patients. To register, call the weight management helpline on 0800 022 4524 or e-mail acecic.weightmanagement-adults@nhs.net. Successful, evidence-based programmes are available weekdays, evenings and at weekends in your local area. You can find out more at http://acelifestyle.org/weight-management.”
What is Care Data
care.data – What is care.data? The NHS is changing and services are being restructured. These reforms will impact on the way that clinical data are collected, shared and analysed. Under the powers of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (HSCA), the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) can, under certain circumstances, require Personal Confidential Data (PCD) from GP Practices without seeking patient consent.
One of the first initiatives using these new powers is the Care.Data service. This service has been commissioned by NHS England and will be delivered by the HSCIC. The HSCIC is England’s central authoritative source of health and social care information.
In general, such data will only be made available to accredited third parties in anonymised, pseudonymised or aggregated form. The default position for all patients is that PCD will leave the practice where there is a legal basis.
Patients CAN object to this it is important that your wishes are respected. If you object to your data being extracted you should let us know in writing so that we can update your records. Further information is available at www.england.nhs.uk/caredata Click on the patient button for details.
Online Facilities
We are currently receiving requests from patients for access online to online viewing of their Full Clinical Record and Detailed Coded Record and Questionnairs.
We are unable to administer this service for the time being but will review patient accessibility by the end of March 2016 as per government guidelines. We apologize for any inconvenience and will keep you informed as to when this service is available.