IMPORTANT PATIENT NOTICE
BANK HOLIDAYS
IS YOUR PRESCRIPTION DUE FOR REPEAT?
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ORDER ON TIME
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SURGERY WILL BE CLOSED ON
THURSDAY 2nd JUNE 2022
FRIDAY 3rd JUNE 2022
AND WILL RE-OPEN AT 8:30 AM ON
MONDAY 6th JUNE 2022
IF YOU REQUIRE URGENT MEDICAL CARE
PLEASE CONTACT DALRIADA URGENT CARE ON
028 2566 3500
PLEASE NOTE - THIS NUMBER IS FOR
URGENT MEDICAL CARE
THAT CANNOT WAIT UNTIL CASTLE PRACTICE RE-OPENS, NOT FOR ROUTINE QUERIES OR
PRESCRIPTION ORDERS
COVID VACCINATIONS
Links to book an appointment at the
Mass Vaccination Centre, Seven Towers Leisure Centre, Ballymena and details of ongoing pop up clinics for
First doses for those aged 12 – 15
Second doses for those aged 12 – 17
Booster vaccines for those aged 16+
https://www.northerntrust.hscni.net/2021/07/20/covid-19-vaccination-programme/
https://covid-19.hscni.net/get-vaccinated/
Pop Up Clinics until the end of May 2022
Pop Up COVID Vaccine Clinics - May 2022
ADDITIONAL CONTACT NUMBERS FOR CASTLE PRACTICE
07851 962 861
07851 962 863
07851 962 864
07851 963 536
ALTERNATIVELY YOU CAN EMAIL US AT
admin.z00390@gp.hscni.net
CONTACTING US
DUE TO THE HUGE NUMBER OF TELEPHONE QUERIES AND REQUEST FOR GP SERVICES THE TELEPHONE LINES INTO THE HEALTH CENTRE ARE EXTREMELY BUSY
OUR LINES ARE NOT DOWN OR BROKEN - OUR STAFF ARE ANSWERING EVERY CALL THAT GETS THROUGH AS QUICKLY AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN
PLEASE USE OUR ONLINE SYSTEM TO ORDER PRESCRIPTIONS – MAKING SURE TO ADD YOUR CHOICE OF PHARMACY TO THE ORDER
ADDITIONAL CONTACT NUMBERS FOR CASTLE PRACTICE
07851 962 861
07851 962 863
07851 962 864
07851 963 536
ATTENDING A VACCINATION CLINIC?
THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- All Vaccination Clinics will be held at the back of the Health Centre at the Barn Road end of the building.
- You can only gain access to the clinics at the back door.
- Car parking will be available at the back of the Health Centre and at the Barn Road Car Park entrance, these areas will be the best for patients attending vaccination clinics.
- There will be no admittance from the front door of the health centre.
- A member of staff will meet you at the back door, COVID regulations will be in place and we ask that you comply with any instructions that staff give you, they are there for your safety and to help with any queries you may have.
- THERE WILL BE NO ADMISSION TO ANY VACCINATION CLINICS WITHOUT A FACE COVERING!
- For your own comfort please remain in your car until your appointment time.
- Arrive ON TIME for your appointment - do NOT arrive too early, you may end up queuing outside as we need to monitor the number of people in the building at any one time.
- Please DO NOT come to your vaccination appointment if you have any COVID symptoms. If you cannot attend for any reason contact the Practice via telephone or email and we will be happy to make another appointment for you, please remember someone else could use the appointment.
- Please try and attend the appointment on your own.
Condition Management Programme - Health, Work and Wellbeing
Please click on the image below for further information
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/condition-management-programme#toc-0
ADDITIONAL CONTACT NUMBERS FOR CASTLE PRACTICE
07851 962 861
07851 962 863
07851 962 864
07851 963 536
YOU MUST WEAR A MASK IF YOU ARE ENTERING THE HEALTH CENTRE
The Partners of Castle Practice regret that we must post this message. The majority of our patients are kind and considerate and understanding of constraints upon the current system however a growing number of incidents of aggressive behaviour towards staff members in Castle Practice has prompted us to remind those patients who are not that we have Zero tolerance in this respect.
The Castle Practice Patient Notice
We aim to provide high quality healthcare and we will treat all patients with respect and dignity.
In return, we expect all our staff to be treated with respect.
We will not tolerate abusive language, threatening or aggressive behaviour against any member of staff.
Such behaviour may result in being denied access to the doctor and/or further measures as appropriate.
INFORMATION ABOUT COVID
SYMPTOM CHECKER?
HOW DO I GET TESTED?
CLICK HERE https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/
An update on our current services
Please be aware it will not be possible for us to return to normal patient services until further guidance has been issued by the PHA and Government departments however in the meantime we are trying to facilitate your requests as best we can within the current social distancing guidelines
Face coverings must be worn in the Health Centre
We are unable to provide these for patients.
Please click here for further information in relation to face coverings. https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-face-coverings
PLEASE CONTINUE TO SEEK ADVICE REGARDING MEDICAL PROBLEMS – Your call will be “Triaged” by a GP or Nurse Practitioner and where possible we will try to help you remotely, by telephone, video call or if necessary, only by GP arrangement, by asking you to come to the Health Centre at a specific time.
AN ARRANGED APPOINTMENT – Should this happen and the GP asks you to attend the Health Centre:-
The GP or Nurse arranging the appointment will ask you to remain in your car in the Health Centre Car Park, at the time of the allocated appointment.
The GP or Nurse will then ring you when they are free to see you and ask you to proceed to the front entrance of the building.
Please do not leave the car or approach the building before receiving this call.
We will then screen all patients entering the building by asking questions in relation to Coronavirus and we will ask to take your temperature with an infrared "No Touch" thermometer prior to entering the waiting room.
Please understand this is a small way of ensuring that you can be seen safely by a clinician and you're helping us to keep the area free from the spread of Coronavirus.
Your clinician will be wearing PPE for all face to face consultations.
We would respectfully request that all patients attending the Health Centre for consultations with any clinician wear a facemask.
ORDER PRESCRIPTIONS – ONLINE, TELEPHONE or BY PHARMACY - please remember to nominate a pharmacy when you order - you will not be able to collect prescriptions at reception.
COVID SYMPTOMS - Patients’ with COVID symptoms should contact NHS 111 in the first instance and isolate at home where advised to do so. Other patients will be asked to contact their GP Practices for clinical management and this may result in a referral by your GP to the local COVID Centre. Patients can also contact NHS 119 directly to arrange a COVID Test if necessary.
REFERRAL TO A COVID CENTRE - follow this link or information regarding visiting a COVID centre
SELF ISOLATING - We will not be issuing sick lines – employers are aware of this. If you need to self-isolate PLEASE DO NOT phone the practice requesting a sick line. You should visit this website where you can obtain an Isolation Note
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL BEING DURING THIS TIME
Northern Emotional Wellbeing Service LINKS counselling service - If you are feeling anxious, low in mood or suffering from mild to moderate mental health difficulties, we're here to help. To set up an appointment for telephone or video counselling, complete our on-line referral form at: Links Counselling Service or give us a call on 028 38 342 825.
You do not have to speak with your GP to arrange this.
The Minding Your Head website contains information to help you look after your own mental health and to support others. It contains a directory of mental health services in Northern Ireland, as well as links to online support such as the HSC Apps Library, which provides a range of safe and approved apps for you to download for support with issues such as stress and sleep management.
Free online Stress Control classes are also available for everyone. Each session repeats four times to enable ease of access, with the latest block of classes starting on 8 June 2020. For further information visit:
If you are concerned about your mental health and would like to speak to someone, you can talk to your GP, or if you are in distress or despair, you can call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 where you can speak to a trained counsellor. This service is available 24/7 and is free from all NI landlines and mobiles.
FREE ONLINE STRESS CONTROL COURSE - please see the link to the next stress control online course 6,000 people attended the first online run with great feedback from attendees. Anyone can register for the course for free at NI Stress Control
HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS
Your GP cannot effect change in relation to waiting times for appointments, x-rays, reviews. We understand this can be worrying and frustrating but you will be contacted by Hospital appointments when things change in this regard.
PATIENT TESTING – To improve surveillance of COVID we advise all patients with symptoms to request a test. Tests can be arranged - click on NHS - Ask for a Coronavirus Test. There is further information on PHA website. Patients can also ring 119 directly to arrange a coronavirus test.
TEST TRACE PROTECT –
Throughout the pandemic, your support in following public health guidelines has been vital in reducing the spread of coronavirus. By doing so, you have saved lives. As ‘lockdown’ restrictions are eased, we face the risk of a second wave of infection. We can all help minimise that risk by continuing to support public health measures to control the spread, such as testing and contact tracing.
The Public Health Agency will launch a new public information campaign TEST TRACE PROTECT on Monday 6th July 2020. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the symptoms of Coronavirus and encourage individuals who are symptomatic to follow the appropriate steps including:
Helping with contact tracing
Self-isolating when advised
CASTLE PRACTICE STAFF CAPACITY
In line with social distancing rules we must work within appropriate sized teams across the opening times of the Practice and unfortunately this reduces our staff capacity to deal with your requests – we ask for your patience and understanding.
The Doctors, Nurses and Admin staff appreciate your support and thank you for your kind actions and the grateful words of encouragement we have received during this time.
Samantha Bailey
Practice Manager
(Site updated 18/05/2022)