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We are encouraging all our patients over the age of 70 to book their Covid-19 vaccinations. You can now book directly at https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/nottinghamc19vpatient.php or call 0115 883 4640 between 09:00-17:00

Can you help? All our over 80s have been sent an invitation to book letter. This weekend we are really pushing to increase vaccinations in our over 80s. We have created additional availability across the county for >80 vaccinations this weekend so can I ask that you use your professional and person networks to share the booking link?

Only people over the age of 80 are able to book through this link.

Booking is quick and easy via computer or smartphone but we recognise some need support booking.

They can also book by calling our Booking Line on 0115 883 4640 between 09:00-17:00 Monday to Sunday. The Booking Line is still fielding significant call volumes of people that aren’t eligible so waiting times can be long, online booking is therefore recommended wherever possible.

Many of our people aged 75-79 will have also received invitations to book; they will be able to book from Thursday 28th onwards through this link.

If you are over 75 and have not received a COVID vaccine appointment as yet, you can book via swift link below.
There are appointments this weekend at the Forest Rec site.
Hope this is helpful for patients as we know there have been a lot of enquiries about this.

All welcome to this practice Q&A on zoom organised by our PPG with Dr Nightingale and our practice manager Simon Jones

Thank you to our fantastic patient participation group for producing our Winter 2020 newsletter.

Unfortunately, we are very short-staffed on reception due to sickness and self-isolation.
We anticipate there will be a long wait on the phones, which only two people will be manning across both sites tomorrow.
Please only call with urgent issues tomorrow.
Thanks so much for your patience and understanding.

In response to our increasing patient list, this is our lovely new clinic room at Mapperley, made by knocking through two store cupboards downstairs.

Help us to help you.

We are aware how busy the practice is at the moment and that it is very difficult to get through on the phone.

Today we had two receptionists covering the Mapperley surgery for most of the day. They were on the phone for 9 hours of our 10.5 hour working day. They did not stop answering the phones, as well as trying to keep on top of prescriptions, scanning and queries from patients coming up to the desk. The average time for the phone to be answered was three minutes, this is incredible considering the pressure they are under.

We unsurprisingly have staff shortages at the moment. Three of our doctors are self-isolating because either they or a family member are unwell. It has been very challenging for them to access a COVID test, and there have been delays in receiving the results of these. So if you are struggling to get an appointment, we can only apologise. It is not our receptionists’ fault.

Following a Practice meeting last week, we are now increasing our “same day” urgent appointments to try and meet the huge demand at the moment. We hope that this will help you to get an appointment more easily.

In the mean time, please can you help us to help you by doing the following:

1. Only call in the mornings for urgent issues. If you need to book a routine appointment, or enquire about a referral or a test result, please phone in the afternoon.
2. Consider whether anyone else can help. Could you see a pharmacist for a minor injury or illness? If you have a musculo-skeletal problem, a Physiotherapist may be the best person to assess you. You do not need a GP referral for this. If you wish to refer yourself for counselling or other talking therapies for stress, anxiety and depression, you do not need a GP referral for this.
3. If your problem is routine, we can usually get an appointment with a doctor within a week or two. If you wish to see a particular doctor, this might be more like a 3-4 week wait. However, should things become more urgent, please phone as early as possible after 8am when we will try and get an appointment with the triaging doctor.
4. Use both sites if you can – it is often quicker to get an appointment at Victoria then Mapperley.
5. We cannot perform or chase COVID swabs within the practice. Please call 119
6. Please do not take your frustrations out on our amazing receptionists, who continue to answer calls all day, even when somebody upsets them. They have nowhere to hide.