News

Saturday vaccination against Flu clinic

The surgery will be holding a drop-in surgery for vaccination against flu, on Saturday 23rd November between 8.30am and 12.30pm.

No appointment is required.

This surgery is only for patients:

• aged 65 and over;
• aged 18 to 64 inclusive, in a 'at-risk' group (patients deemed 'at-risk' are commonly those with a long-term condition, but please Contact us online to check if you are eligible)

Emergency prescriptions

If you have medication on repeat prescription and have run out, if the surgery is closed, you can use the 111 online service's 'Emergency prescriptions' facility. This will enable you to obtain a limited supply of the medication you have run out of (exceptions apply). For more information and to access this service, visit https://111.nhs.uk/emergency-prescription.

Pain Management Service – Rehab Direct

What is persistent pain?

Chronic or persistent pain refers to pain that lasts for more than 3 months, despite medication or treatment. Unlike acute pain, which serves as a warning sign of injury or illness, chronic pain persists after the initial cause has healed. Sometimes, pain can manifest without any history of an injury or operation.

Chronic/persistent pain can significantly impact your life, both physically and emotionally. It can:

• Limit your ability to perform daily activities
• Interfere with sleep
• Lead to fatigue
• Affect mood and mental health wellbeing
• Strain relationships

What is the Pain Management Service?

The remote service provides easy, direct access to experienced professionals who are specifically trained in pain management.

This service is appropriate for patients over the age of 16 presenting with pain that has persisted for 6 months or more.

The programme aims to:

• Support you with specialist Pain Practitioners and personal Health & Wellbeing Coaches
• Help you understand how chronic pain develops and persists
• Show you ways to manage your pain
• Support your independence
• Improve your quality of life
• Help find the best medicines for your pain

Patients are offered a 16-week programme where they can explore a range of modules and tools to help manage their own pain. This service is not suitable for patients awaiting investigation or treatment for their pain, or patients experiencing complex mental health issues.

LINK TO INTRODUCTORY VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ehtw-d9W7m4

How do I access this service?

Woodlands Surgery, Rugby Road Surgery, The Old Cole House, Bulkinton Surgery, Bedworth Health Centre, Manor Court Surgery, The Grange Medical Practice, Chapel end Surgery, Arbury Medical Practice, Stockingford Medical Centre, Camphill Health Centre, Red Roofs Surgery, Riversley Road Surgery, Queen’s Road Surgery, Old Mill Surgery and Chaucers Surgery have access to the Pain Management Service. Please speak to your practice or GP for more information.

Information about a software issue that prevented documents from being visible to patients

We understand that some of our patients may have been unable to view certain documents (e.g. letters from the hospital) when using online services due to a software problem with some of our clinical computer systems. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are pleased to inform you that this issue has been resolved; any new documents added to your electronic GP health records will be visible and it may take up to a month for older, affected documents to become visible.  

Your GP team will have been able to access the letters, so your care will not have been affected during this time.

Important note: The surgery would like to make it clear that this problem was not the doing of the surgery and that this was a software problem between our clinical computer system and our electronic document management system, neither of which the surgery have any control over.

Ordering medication on repeat prescription

The surgery is pleased to announce, following on from our previous website news article and social media post, that, given the impending closure of the POD service (what patients have previously used to order medication on repeat prescription over the phone), which is due to close on 28th March, we have upgraded our phone system to allow callers to order medication using their phones keypad. This service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We hope that this system is simple to use; it works as follows:

• Call the normal surgery number (02476 315432) and press option 2 for Prescriptions (some callers may have previously called our dedicated Prescriptions number, which took them straight to the aforementioned option 2 (02476 640268) – this number is still in use).
• Enter your date-of-birth in six digits, followed by the star key (for example, for 10th November 1957, enter 101157*).
• Enter the last six digits of any number that the surgery have recorded in your medical record (i.e. landline, mobile, work), followed by the star key (for example, if one of your numbers was 02476 132645, enter 132645*).
• Enter your six digit PIN, followed by the star key (for example, if your PIN was 798312, enter 798312*) – the first time you use this system you will be able to create your PIN (if you’re unable to do so, please contact the surgery using the Contact us Online form on our website).
• After choosing to order medication on repeat prescription, your medication will then be read out verbally, giving you options of ordering, skipping to the next medication, and submitting once you’ve ordered all the medication you wish to (important: if you do not submit the medication you’ve ordered, it will not be received by the surgery).
• If you wish, you can record a message of up to one minute, although this is not mandatory (this is useful for those patients who are ordering medication early for any reason for example).

As with any other method that medication is ordered via, the surgery will process this within two working days.

If you have a medication query, please submit this via the Contact us Online form on our website.

Important news – ordering of medication

As you may have heard the POD (the service allowing you to order medication over the phone) is closing on 31^st March. 

To order medication you can:

1. Use GP Online Services (the most commonly used provider of these is the NHS App, but other providers (such as Patient Access) are available).
2. !!!COMING SOON!!! – the surgery are in the process of upgrading our phone system to allow you to order medication using our automated system (currently used for the managing of appointments); we intend to have this in place by 1^st April.

NHS App

Did you know you that you can Order Repeat Prescriptions, Book Appointments & View your Records through the NHS App? 

Find out more about the NHS app here

Talking Therapies – female only online course – anxiety & low mood due to menopause

The NHS Talking Therapies service will be hosting an eight-week online course for women who are experiencing anxiety and or low mood due to menopause.

The course will provide information and teach skills to help understand how mental health might be impacted by the menopause, and how low mood & anxiety is maintained. The course will also provide useful information about how this can be changed using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques.

The course begins on Monday 26th February at 5.30pm.

It will then take place every Monday (with the exception of Easter Monday (1st April)) for eight weeks, ending on 22nd April.

To register for the course, self-refer either with Talking Therapies online or by calling 02476 671090.

COVID-19 vaccinations

From 15th December, the facilities to book COVID-19 seasonal vaccinations both online via the NHS App and over the phone by calling 119, will no longer be available. Some community pharmacies may still be offering the vaccination. To check, please use the NHS’s ‘Find a pharmacy offering COVID-19 vaccination services‘ web page – please do not call the surgery.

Healthy Living for people with type 2 diabetes

Active Sky Blues

Published on 27th Sep 2023

Surgery ‘POD’

For some time now, the surgery has had digital scales, a blood pressure machine and a computer in our Reception area for use by patients – this is known as our ‘surgery POD‘. We are eager to increase usage of this, not least to avoid patients having to make an appointment with our Nursing team for things that our surgery POD can do (e.g. to check blood pressure). By using the equipment in our surgery POD, rather than having an appointment to do so, this frees up appointment time for things that the surgery POD can’t do. The surgery POD is located in the top left hand corner of the ‘Zone B’ waiting area (on the left hand side as you enter the Health Centre building where the surgery is based). By using the computer in the surgery POD, any measurements you take of yourself (e.g. weight & blood pressure) will automatically be saved to your medical record. The surgery POD also allows you to record other things such as: your levels of physical activity, your alcohol consumption habits, your smoking history and or habits, and, if you suffer from Epilepsy, your recent history of seizures.

We hope that patients find the surgery POD self explanatory (you simply need to enter your year of birth, month of birth, day of birth, surname and first name) however our Reception staff or surgery IT Lead (Ross) will happily assist you to use it if needs be.

NHS proxy application service

Do you need help managing your healthcare? 

If you’re both patients at our practice, your trusted person can apply to have access to online GP services on your behalf. 

Invite your trusted person to find out more about applying for access to another patient’s GP services on the NHS website.  

This service is designed and run by the NHS, so your personal information is safe. 

NHS App messaging

The surgery is excited to announce that it has been selected as an ‘early-adopter’ practice for an exciting new innovation.

If you are a user of the NHS App online services provision (commonly used to manage appointments, prescriptions and to view your medical record), via an ‘app’ on either a mobile phone or tablet, and are consented to the text messaging service, you will now receive certain messages* via the NHS App rather than via a text message. Text messages sent by the surgery incur a cost to the NHS and by sending them via the NHS App, this cost is reduced. To ensure you receive messages in this way, please turn on notifications for the NHS App. More information about Messaging in the NHS App is available on the nhs.uk website.

For those patients who do not use the NHS App, have not enabled notifications for the NHS App, or have not consented to the text messaging service, you will continue to be contacted by the surgery in the way you currently are.

*Please note: not every message sent by the surgery will be received this way, you may still receive messages in the way you currently are.

Gambling Harms clinics

For those who are 18 years old and above, who are registered with a Warwickshire GP, who have problems with their gambling resulting in harm to themselves and other people, and to those affected by gambling addiction and gambling problems, clinics that provide specialist addiction therapies, treatment and recovery, are available.

Eligible patients can find more information, self-help materials and information and support for families and carers on the Midlands Gambling clinic website, where you can also self-refer. This leaflet also provides more information on these clinics.

GP Online Services

The Online Services page has been completely refreshed and provides a comprehensive guide to:

• registering for GP Online Services;
• linking existing Online Services accounts from previous surgeries to Bedworth Health Centre;
• accessing your medical record via GP Online Services; and
• having another patient added to a GP Online Services account, allowing the account holder to make appointments, order prescriptions and, on request, view the medical record on behalf of another patient.

We encourage all patients who have the ability to do so, to use GP Online Services to manage appointments and prescriptions wherever possible. We know that some patients are frustrated at having to wait to get through to the surgery on the telephone, therefore if patients who can use GP Online Services do, those patients that cannot use them for any reason, can get through on the telephone to speak to someone quicker.

Specialist Wound Care Service now open for patients across North Warwickshire

Primary Care Warwickshire Federation, in partnership with Nuneaton & Bedworth Primary Care Network and Coloplast UK has launched a specialist wound care support service for patients across North Warwickshire, in a unique collaboration.  Primary Care Warwickshire Federation consists of 25 GP practices within three Primary Care Networks (PCNs): Rural, North Arden and Nuneaton and Bedworth, all of whom will be able to refer patients into the specialist Wound Care ‘Hub’ based in Nuneaton and Bedworth PCN.

The Wound Care Hub will run clinics twice a week from two ‘hubs’ at Manor Court Surgery and Stockingford Medical Centre in Nuneaton. This service supports the existing tissue viability services in the wider Warwickshire area, providing a seamless and aligned experience for patients. Patients whose wounds have not shown signs of healing progression after two weeks, or who are already seeing their Practice Nurse for wound care treatment more than twice a week, can be referred into the service by their GP or nurse, where they will be seen by a specialist Tissue Viability Nurse.

This is an example of partnership working between the NHS and the private sector, which will deliver improved patient outcomes, while also freeing-up appointments and saving NHS resources. Laina Tebbutt, Project Manager, Nuneaton & Bedworth Primary Care Network and Primary Care Warwickshire Federation said: “The people of North Warwickshire will benefit significantly from this new specialist Wound Care Hub. We are delighted to have a service that can refer patients living with wounds to specialist Coloplast wound care nurses in our community.”

If you are living in the area and dealing with wounds, please speak to your GP practice to see if you meet the criteria for referral to the Wound Care Hub.

Appointment reminder text messages

The surgery have recently re-enabled our appointment reminder text messaging service.

Whilst also reminding patients of their appointments, the service also allows patients to cancel their appointment via text, which will hopefully reduce the did-not-attend rate of appointments.

Initially, text messages will only be sent to patients who have a ‘pre-booked face-to-face’ appointment. 

In preparation for this, some text messages have been, and will continue to be, sent to the following patients who have previously consented to receiving text messages from the surgery, over the next week:

– Patients over 13 who share a mobile number – the surgery’s opinion was that our previous text message consent form, and our bulk opt-in text message sent in summer 2021, did not address the risks involved of sharing a mobile number (i.e. everyone who has access to that number may see messages sent to it); these patients need to re-consent to sharing a mobile number; if these patients do not respond by the end of January, they will be blocked from receiving text messages until they have consented.

Moving forward, the surgery will also be sending text messages, in most cases at the start of each month, to the following patients who have previously consented to receiving text messages from the surgery:

– Patients who will be turning 13 the next month – these patients need to re-consent to receive text messages – at the age of 13, patients are deemed competent to decide whether or not they want to receive text messages, so if a parent / guardian consented on their behalf when they were under 13, that consent expires at 13; if the patient does not respond by the end of the month in which the text message is sent, they will be blocked from receiving text messages until they have consented.

*N.B.: Advice from our external Data Protection Officer was that it was best practice to do this, even if patients had previously consented to receiving text messages from the surgery.

Pregnancy / antenatal care

There has been a small change to how you make your first appointment with a Midwife, after finding out you are pregnant. More information is available on the Pregnancy and Maternity Services page on our website.

Group A Strep & Scarlet Fever

What is Group A Streptococcus?

Group A Streptococcus is the name given to a type of bacteria sometimes found in the throat or on the skin. Group A Streptococcus usually causes mild illness like sore throats and skin infections. Rarely these bacteria can cause severe and life threatening illness called invasive Group A Streptococcal disease.

How could I catch Group A Streptococcus?

Many people carry Group A Strep harmlessly and do not develop illness. It can be passed from person to person by close contact such as kissing or skin contact. Most people who come into contact with Group A Strep remain well and symptom free, some get mild throat or skin infections. Contracting invasive disease from a relative or household member is very rare. You can reduce the risk of picking up Group A Strep by always washing your hands thoroughly. Pregnant women or those having gynaecology treatments are advised to wash their hands before and after going to the toilet. It is also important to dispose of tissues after use and to wash your hands when you have a cough or cold.

What are the symptoms?

Group A Strep can cause throat infection, scarlet fever or skin infections such as cellulitis or impetigo. These infections are usually treated with antibiotics. Very rarely it can cause severe illness when the bacteria get into parts of the body that are usually free from bacteria such as the lungs, blood or muscles. This is called invasive Group A Streptococcal disease. Invasive disease happens when the bacteria get past your body’s immune defences. This can happen when you are already ill or are on treatments, such as some cancer treatments, that affect your immune system. Two of the most severe types of invasive disease are necrotising fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome.

Am I at any increased risk of invasive disease?
Those at an increased risk of invasive Group A Streptococcal disease include people
who:

• are in close contact with someone who has the disease
• are over the age of 65
• are diabetic, have heart disease or cancer
• have recently had chickenpox
• have HIV
• use some steroids or other intravenous drugs.

What are the signs of invasive disease?
The symptoms can include:

• fever (a high temperature above 38°C (100.4°F))
• severe muscle aches
• localised muscle tenderness
• redness at the site of a wound.

You should contact your GP or get medical advice straight away if you think you have any of the signs and symptoms of invasive disease. Tell your doctor if you have been in contact with someone who has had Group A Strep recently. Your GP will most likely ask you to come into the surgery to be examined.

NHS 111 Online:

Telephone: 111 (when it is less urgent than 999)
Calls to this number are free from landlines and mobile phones or via the website at NHS 111 Online

Scarlet Fever | Healthier Together (sybhealthiertogether.nhs.uk)

Scarlet Fever NHS UK

Self Care

How to treat a sore throat yourself

To help soothe a sore throat and shorten how long it lasts you can:

·         Gargle with warm, salty water (children should not try this)

·         Drink plenty of water

·         Eat cool or soft foods

·         Avoid smoking

·         Suck ice cubes, ice lollies or hard sweets but do not give young children anything small and hard to suck because of the risk of choking.

·         Rest

You can ask your pharmacist about ways to relief the pain and discomfort of a sore throat.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sore-throat/

Covid-19 vaccination update

The NHS vaccination programme will offer every adult the chance to book a covid-19 booster vaccine by the end of the year to protect the nation against the Omicron variant.

As part of the biggest and fastest vaccine programme in health service history, online bookings will be available to everyone aged 18 and over from Wednesday 15th December.

The best way to get your vaccine is by booking online at www.nhs.uk or by calling 119 – please do keep checking availability as appointments are loaded onto the system every day. The website and phoneline are understandably very busy and we thank you for your patience when booking.

The NHS is prioritising bookings for boosters and is urging people to book a slot to guarantee their vital jab. Some sites offer walk-in appointments where no appointment is needed. Please check here for clinics with walk-in availability and their opening hours www.happyhealthylives.uk/vaccinationdrop-ins

GP teams have been asked to clinically prioritise their services to free up maximal capacity to support the covid-19 vaccination programme, alongside delivering critical appointments such as cancer, urgent and emergency care. This might mean that for some people, routine appointments are postponed as part of the national mission to roll out boosters.

Scientists are very concerned about the spread of Omicron due to the speed with which it spreads and because two doses do not appear to provide much protection but thankfully, a booster dramatically improves this.

That is why the Government has asked the NHS to prioritise boosters over other routine care.

General Practice is still open for urgent care. Our staff are supporting the COVID vaccination programme so there is likely to be a delay in getting a non-urgent appointment.

Eligible patients can now book their Covid-19 Vaccination online at www.nhs.uk or by calling 119.

We appreciate your support and understanding – and urge you to come forward for your vaccination as soon as possible.

Date of GP study afternoon in 2024

The following date is set by Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (C&W ICB), when the surgery will be closed for GP study. This date is a Wednesday. The surgery will close at 12.30pm on this date.

20th November

If you have a problem that you deem will not wait until we re-open at 8.00am the next working day, but that doesn't require attendance at A&E:

• between 12.30pm & 6.30pm: call 0300 130 3040
• after 6.30pm: call 111

In all cases of an emergency, regardless of time, call 999.

When we are closed, and as during our normal opening times:

• appointments for GPs can be booked / checked / changed / cancelled, and checked / cancelled for all other healthcare professionals, for the next two weeks using our phone system's automated appointment management service (call 02476 315432, listen to the message and follow the instructions) or, for the next six weeks, via GP Online Services - if no appointments are available, this is NOT a fault, it simply means there are no available appointments to pre-book, within the specified timeframes;
• medication on repeat prescription can also be requested using our phone system's automated ordering service (call 02476 315432, listen to the message and follow the instructions) and GP Online Services.

C&W H&C Partnership ICR

Please see the following poster regarding the Coventry & Warwickshire (C&W) Health & Care (H&C) Partnership, Integrated Care Record (ICR). An information leaflet is available at the bottom of the page, as is an easy-read version of the leaflet. A useful video explaining more about the ICR is also available here.

ICR Information leaflet

ICR easy-read information leaflet

Information for users of the ‘myGP’ app

After careful review by Coventry & WARKS. Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), in consultation with the Local Medical Committee (LMC) and the Information Governance Arden and Gem Commissioning Support Unit (CSU), to control data-security risks and to improve and unify the patient experience across Coventry & WARKS., for those patients who use the ‘myGP‘ app to make appointments, order prescriptions and view their medical record, from 6.30pm on Friday 22nd October, you will be automatically logged out of the app. You can re-login using an ‘NHS login’ if you have one. If not, you will need to create one. Specific details about creating an NHS login via myGP are available at https://www.mygp.com/nhs-login/. The ‘NHS login’ is a set of login details that allow you to securely access health websites and apps, with just one username and password.

How is my General Practice working?

GP practices, including Bedworth Health Centre, have been working hard throughout the pandemic to continue delivering services to patients. To continue to protect patients, staff and the wider community, and following national guidance, we continue to ensure safe infection control and minimise unnecessary physical contact. This means that routes of access to their GP surgery, that patients are used to, have changed. To help patients understand these changes and the reasons behind them, an information poster has been created.

Online ordering of prescriptions

The surgery launched a new website on Monday 11^th October.

In line with other North WARKS. surgeries, from this date forward, the facility to order prescriptions through our website, is no longer available. If you still wish to order your prescriptions online, please use a GP Online Services provider, such as the NHS App. This can be accessed via the browser on your desktop or laptop or on your smartphone or tablet through the ‘App Store’ or on ‘Google Play’.

If you have any questions or difficulties, please call the surgery on 02476 315432 and ask to speak to Ross, surgery IT Lead.

Dentistry information leaflet

For information on how you can access dentistry services during the covid-19 pandemic, please see this Dentistry Services leaflet.

COVID-19 Vaccinations

COVID-19 vaccinations are not carried out by Bedworth Health Centre. 

The appointments for the COVID-19 vaccinations are not booked by Bedworth Health Centre.

Please be patient and wait to be contacted. This will be a letter sent out by NHS England and NOT by Bedworth Health Centre. 

Please check the COVID-19 vaccination first phase priority groups to see if you are now in a group that is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

You can visit the the NHS website to book or manage your coronavirus vaccination.

You will only be able to book an appointment if your are in a group that is being vaccinated now. 

COVID-19 has meant some changes to the way the practice operates

Please do not attend the surgery unless you have a booked appointment.

All queries and requests must be made by telephone (024) 76315432.

We currently are not offering a “face to face” reception but our operating hours remain the same 8.00 am until 6.30pm

If you are asked to attend the surgery you must wear a face covering.

Important Information about face-to-face appointments

How to chase a hospital appointment or referral

Sometimes you may get referred for an appointment with a service based at a hospital or other provider. This is called ‘being referred‘ and is usually done through an electronic system called the NHS E-Referral service (previously called Choose and Book).

If you need to chase the status of your referral to another service, or if you have any questions for the service you have been referred to, you should contact them directly. The two most common services that we refer to are: University Hospital in Coventry (also known as ‘UHCW’ and formerly known as ‘Walsgrave Hospital) and George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton. They can be reached as follows:

University Hospital (UHCW) booking phone number: 0800 252 060

George Eliot Hospital outpatient booking phone number: 02476 865050 or via the ‘Contact us‘ page on their website.

COVID-19 Vaccine Passports

If you do want to travel and require confirmation that you have had a COVID vaccination this can be found on the NHS App. The app will also provide data on recent COVID testing. 

This is the COVID-19 vaccine passports discussed in the media.

If you do not want to download the NHS app, you can obtain the required paperwork by phoning 119.

NHS Digital’s daily collection of GP data

• In the media, there have been plans by NHS Digital to extract data from GP patient records.
• This is happening suddenly, and we want to make sure you are all aware of this, and have enough time to think about it, and make an informed decision on how your data is used.
• You can get more information from the NHS Digital website.
• If you wish to opt-out of sharing your data then please go to the NHS Make your choice webpage or phone 0300 3035678. 

Military veterans

Please have a look at our Military Veterans page for more information on the benefits of telling the practice if you have previously served in the Armed Forces.

Friends and family test

The Friends and Family Test (F&FT) page on our website has been updated. This is really important tool for patients to give ongoing feedback on the service we are providing and for the practice to know how satisfied our patients are. Please click here if you would like to take the test.

Patient participation group

The Patient Participation Group (PPG) page on our website has been updated. Please click on the Patient Participation Group page for more information on what PPGs are and how you can help!

Parkrun certified

Bedworth Health Centre is proud to announce that we are now a certified parkrun practice. Parkrun are free, weekly 5K events, open to all. More information surrounding the benefits of regular exercise, volunteering and the parkrun initiative itself can be found on the ‘PARKRUN PRACTICE‘ page on this website.