Patient Information – COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Preparedness

Changes to the way Bentley Village Surgery, Boundaries Surgery, Chawton Park Surgery and The Wilson Practice will operate from Monday 30 March 2020

As a result of the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, from Monday 30 March 2020, Bentley Village Surgery, Boundaries Surgery, Chawton Park Surgery and The Wilson Practice are making significant changes to the way we work.

Patients will still contact the surgery they are registered with, but our staff will be working as a single team, allocating activity across the four sites depending on clinical need. These changes are necessary to ensure we provide the best service for our patients in these unprecedented times.

The most important changes are:

• Access to all practice sites will be restricted.
• All patients will be asked to complete an e-Consult (on each practices’ website) rather than telephone their practice if possible. For those few patients who are not able to do this, practice receptionists will still be available to assist via the telephone. This is to facilitate prompt, effective triage of patient requirements and to streamline communication, especially as a patient may be dealing with a clinician from any one of the four practices.
• Boundaries Surgery (BO) will be reserved for patients who triaging clinicians believe have certain symptoms of any infection. The Boundaries dispensary will continue to operate but there will be no patient access inside the building. People who are well, and can safely collect their medication, will do so from the car park, to the right of the main entrance. Where collection is not possible, dispensary staff will discuss arrangements for delivery.
• Chawton Park Surgery (CPS) is hosting the home visiting service. Patients who feel that they require a home visit should still contact their own practice. There will be no patient access to this site. Boots Pharmacy at Chawton Park Surgery is independent of the Practice so please refer to their website for opening times.
• All appointments for essential blood tests, injections, midwifery appointments, baby checks, childhood immunisations and wound dressings will be held at The Wilson Practice (TWP), in Alton Health Centre. Patients who need to be seen for conditions unrelated to a potential infection will also be seen here. Patients should contact their own surgery to access these services, again ideally via e-Consult.
• Bentley Village Surgery (BVS) is our remote working site with no patient-facing appointments. The dispensary will remain open.
• The minor injuries service will only run out of TWP in Alton Health Centre. People requiring this service should telephone 01420 84676 before attending.
• The complexities of the IT changes we have had to make to enable these new arrangements mean that the text messaging reminder service will not be operating during this period.

Dr Natalie Smith, the A31 Group clinical director, Dr Melanie Way (BVS), Dr Jackie Over (CPS), Dr Philip West (BO) and Dr Andy Fellows (TWP) and the practice management teams have created an effective system to protect patients and maintain a safe clinical service for everyone in these unprecedented times. This plan is supported by practices’ patient participation groups.

The A31 Group practices are committed to supporting each other’s patients and all operate to high clinical standards. All clinicians have access to each patient’s individual medical record. Clinicians generally respond to e-Consults, and telephone calls from those unable to e-Consult, with a telephone call (or a text message if we have a patient’s mobile number and the response is simple). If a face-to-face consultation or a home visit is indicated, this will be arranged.

Please remember that if you suspect you are suffering from COVID-19, you should visit NHS111 Online in the first instance, or telephone NHS 111 if you do not have access to the internet.

The A31 practices are very grateful for the understanding of all patients in adapting to these temporary working arrangements. If there is a need to change these plans as the situation develops, we will communicate with you as soon as we are able.

Good Friday and Easter Monday have been declared normal working days for the NHS (assuming that we have suspended definitions of ‘normal’) – so we will be running with the plan as circulated throughout next week and the following week on all five weekdays.

At the current time – North Hants Urgent Care (NHUC) is still providing out-of hours cover (contacted via NHS111) as ‘normal’.

[Please note that this message is not posted on behalf of Bentworth Parish Council and does not necessarily reflect the Parish Council’s policy]