Covid-19 Help & Advice

Following the outbreak of Covid-19, the surgery has made a number of adjustments to the building and to our working ways to enable us to continue to provide healthcare to our patients in the safest way possible. Here are some of the ways we have changed our ways of working and what to expect when visiting the surgery.

Symptoms & Advice on when to contact the surgery

The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:

> a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)

> a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

> a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

If you have any of the main symptoms of coronavirus:

> Stay at home (self-isolate) – do not leave your home or have visitors. Anyone you live with, and anyone in your support bubble, must also self-isolate.

> Get a test – get a test to check if you have coronavirus as soon as possible. Anyone you live with, and anyone in your support bubble, should also get a test if they have symptoms. Order a test online or by dialling 119.

Please read online for further reading and advice in the first instance. If you feel you or your child is unwell and is struggling to manage symptoms at home, please contact the surgery for advice or treatment.

Telephone Consultations

We have moved to a telephone triage appointment system whereby calls are triaged by a clinician in the first instance. A large number of consultation can be dealt with over the telephone as well as using video consultation. If the clinician feels you need to a face to face appointment, they will book this direct from the initial consultation. Please see our appointments tab for more information.

Adjustments To The Building

We have made a number of adjustments to Westend Medical Centre in partnership with Rhoslan Surgery;

> We have introduced an intercom system to enable us to close our front door in order to control the number of patients in the building at one time & to encourage telephoning and emailing the surgery to correspond in order to protect all patients and our staff.

> The surgery ask that wherever possible you visit the surgery by yourself. We understand that this is not possible for patients with disabilites or children.

> The surgeries have limited the number of chairs in our waiting room to ensure 2m social distancing is observed. We ask that you observe social distancing at all times whilst you are visiting.

> Antibacterial Gel is placed at the front door. We ask that you use this on entering the building and before you exit and use our hand washing facilities when necessary.

> We ask that only one patient uses the stairwell and lift in the waiting area at one time. This does not apply to carers and a parent attending with a child.

Cleaning & Personal Protective Equipment

All clinicans seeing patients in the surgery will wear Personal Protective Equipment. After a patient has visited, the clincian will clean sufaces in the room that the patient has had contact with ready for the next patient visiting. Patients that have symptoms relating to Covid-19 will be seen in the Local Assessment Centre.

Local Assessment Centre

All patients presenting with Covid symptoms that require an appointment will be seen in the Local Assessment Centre located to the rear of the Westend Medical Centre. The Local Assessment Centre is segregated from the remainder of the building and has a separate entrance to gain access to. Patients asked to visit the Local Assessment Centre will be given a timeslot to visit and the following advice:

> Arrive five minutes prior to the appointment. Where possible travel alone and bring your mobile phone.

> Pull into the temporary parking area on Conway Road. Do not park in the regular Westend Medical Centre car park.

> Remain within your car until the clinician phones you and instructs you to make your way into the designated entrance.

> The clinician will assess you in PPE. Once the assessment has been completed the clincian may ask you to return to your car and will phone you with the outcome of their assessment.