"COVID-19 SPRING BOOSTERS"

FOR 75 AND OVER AND 12 YEARS AND OVER WITH A WEAKENED IMMUNITY

Thousands of people are eligible for a Spring COVID-19 booster
have not yet come forward

The NHS in Sussex is calling for anyone who is now due a 2nd COVID-19
vaccination to book theirs this week

Latest figures show that 116,628 of those who are eligible have had their
Spring or 2nd booster, but 91,894 people are now eligible and
are yet to come forward or be vaccinated

With 100's of appointments available this week, people are being urged to
book theirs AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

People are eligible for a Spring or 2nd booster if they are aged 75 & over or they are aged 12 years & over and have a weakened immune system

***People living in older people's care homes are also eligible and specific visits are being planned in order to make sure these people get their vaccination***

In the majority of cases, people will receive the Moderna vaccination - one of the three approved vaccines in the UK widely used throughout the programme to date

People can book an appointment from 3 months of the date of their original booster

NO INVITE IS NEEDED

The NHS is also calling on family members and friends to make sure their
loved ones have received their vaccine if they are due

Call 119 from 8am-8pm or use the
National Booking Service Website to book a local appointment

WALK IN SESSIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE EVERY DAY

For the latest list of walk in sessions & more information about the vaccination programme visit: COVID-19 vaccination- Sussex Health & Care Partnership (sussexhealthandcare.uk)

"It may seem that COVID-19 has gone away but it is still in our communities
and we want to make sure our most vulnerable have this extra
protection for the coming months"

"By making sure that you have a Spring booster when you are due means that it will cover you over the summer and you have had it ahead of the Autumn"

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Engage Consult should not be used to request home visits or for medical emergencies.

We have introduced a new way to consult with your Practice or Health Professional on line –

Engage Consult allows patients to connect with their GP Practice and access services online from a PC, tablet or smartphone. Patients can access the Engage Consult application directly from our website (see above). Engage Consult provides:

Self-care information
An online consultation that involves answering simple questions about symptoms. Please fully complete the symptom questionnaire which is very useful for the GP or Healthcare Professional. A report is then sent through to the GP or other Healthcare Professional, who can respond with the best course of action - e.g. seeing the patient face to face or by video link, phoning the patient with advice or issuing a prescription.

This service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and consultations are reviewed every working day. If a patient sends a consultation outside the hours the practice states it can get back to the patient (the cut-off time), the patient will receive a response the next working day. Patients should only use the Engage Consult service to discuss routine medical problems. The service can also be used for administrative enquiries, medication enquiries, requests for a sick note or informing the Practice of change of address.

Click Here - Seaside Medical Centre Booklet

See our "You said we did" results for 2018

SEE A GP BY VIDEO WITH LIVI. EVEN AT WEEKEND.

Patients of Seaside Medical Centre can now see an NHS GP by video using LIVI. Get medical advice, prescriptions and referrals on the same day-even at weekends. The service is available during the hours of 7am-10pm Monday-Friday and 8am-4pm Saturday-Sunday. The service is provided free on the NHS.

You can download the LIVI app to your mobile phone or tablet, at the App Store of Google Play. Or visit www.livi.co.uk for more information.

LIVI GPs are all GMC-registered NHS GPs, who (with your consent) will be able to access your medical records and give you a considered, in depth diagnosis based on your medical history.

Get the LIVI app here: https://www.livi.co.uk

LIVI Patient Feedback

SHARING INFORMATION FOR CONSULTATIONS

Seaside Medical Centre have had to change the way they work due to COVID. Before a patient can see a GP/clinician in a face to face consultation it is now necessary to triage the calls and for the GP to speak to the patient on the phone before hand. Sometimes for the GP/clinician to triage and treat the patient it may be necessary to send a link to a patient to send in a photo that will help the GP/clinician with that call. It is important patients are aware of what is not acceptable when sending in a photo. We have put this simple diagram in place for patients to bear in mind What Shouldn't Be Shared

EVENING, WEEKEND AND BANK HOLIDAY APPOINTMENTS

Evening, weekend and bank holiday GP appointments are now available. Seaside Medical Centre now has access to an Extended Access Service. This service is for patients that need more flexibility to see a GP in the evening, weekend and bank holiday.

Appointments can be booked as normal through Seaside Medical Centre, although you will be seen at a different surgery and not by your own GP. When booking with this service you will be asked by the receptionist if you consent to the GP having access to your full medical records. Unfortunately if you do not consent to this, the service would not be available to you.

We hope our patients will find this additional service beneficial to them as we appreciate it may not always be convenient to access a GP during the day when they may be working.

PATIENTS REGISTERED WITH SEASIDE MEDICAL CENTRE

At Seaside Medical Centre we have a policy regarding changing doctors within the Practice. For more information please click the link below

Policy regarding requests to change your GP

SEASIDE MEDICAL CENTRE COMES OUT ON TOP AT 92.2%

If you have every been worried about visiting your local GP Practice, knowing other patients have had a good experience can help to set your mind at ease. Thanks to data gathered in the GP Patient Survey you can check how your GP surgery ranks in your area. Twice a year more than a million adults who are registered with a GP in England are sent this survey. Ratings are based on experience of access, making appointments, quality of care, patient health and experience of NHS services when a patient's GP practice was closed. Patients are also asked how likely they are to recommend their practice to others. As headlined in the Eastbourne Herald, Seaside Medical Centre has come out top in this survey with an astounding 92.2% of patients that would recommend the surgery and the care they receive. This information is available on the NHS Choices website. You can read this report also by visiting https://www.gp-patient.co.uk/report?practicecode=G81017. Or you can view your local surgery rankings by entering the location, town or postcode and filtering the list based on NHS Users Ratings, visit https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/gp/locationsearch/4

GET THE NHS APP - GET MORE CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH AND CARE

A simple and secure way to access a rang of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet. The NHS App is the first app from the NHS for people across England. You can use it wherever you are, at any time of the day or night.

READ MORE ABOUT THE NHS APP

CONSENT FOR ONLINE ACCESS TO YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS

You can now view your coded GP medical record. If you would like to have secure online access to your records, we need to make sure you understand what this involves.

All applications for medical record access must be authorised by a GP or other designated member of the practice team before this is enabled for a registered online user. A GP may wish to review the record and discuss the content with the patient prior to authorising access. Record access will not be enabled for any individual registered with the practice for less than three months except by approval of a GP partner. All patients wishing to see their coded medical records should come into reception and complete the relevant form. We would require photo ID as part of this application. By signing this form you will be giving us permission to proceed with setting up this service for you. If you decide not to join, or wish to withdraw, it will not affect your treatment in any way. Access will be withdrawn to patients that do not use the system in a responsible manner and it is the patient's responsibility to keep their username and passwords secure. Please remember that this process will take 21 days from submitting the relevant form.

DO YOU THINK YOU COULD BE PREGNANT?

We are often asked what you need to do if you think you are pregnant. The GP no longer tests for pregnancy, the patient needs to buy a pregnancy test from a chemist to determine if they are pregnant. If you find that you are in fact pregnant you do not need to see the GP to be referred to the Midwife, you can now self refer. This will enable you to get a faster appointment to see your midwife who can give advice and who will be able to book you in for your first dating scan.

To make contact with the midwife please visit the website www.esht.nhs.uk/maternity/referral. Just fill in your details and click submit. Your Community

CQC RATING

Seaside Medical Centre has been given a stamp of approval by inspectors after a visit from the Care Quality Commission in February. The Practice was found to be good for being caring, effective, safe, well led and responsive. The CQC team found an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. Risks to patients were assessed and well managed and staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to provide effective care and treatment. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. Read the full report HERE.

DISABLED ACCESS

There is good access for the disabled to all of our consultation rooms, we have a lift to all floors. The surgery has a ramp and wide doors to allow for wheelchair access. If you require help getting through the doors please let us know you are coming so we can assist you.

BREASTFEEDING FACILITY

The Practice offers the facility to breastfeed in private. Please ask for assistance at the reception.

CONDUCT WITHIN THE PRACTICE

We ask that our patients refrain from eating and drinking whilst in the Practice. All mobile telephones and electronic devices should remain on silent and children should be supervised at all times.

NHS 111

When the Practice is closed the out of hours service has been replaced with NHS 111. If you ring the Practice when we are closed and need medical attention a message will be given along with instructions to ring 111. All calls made to this service from any landline or mobile telephone will be free of charge.

So for medical care when the Practice is closed please call 111.

National GP Survey Rankings 2019

DENTAL HELPLINE

For further information, please CLICK HERE

'MAKING INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE TO YOU'

This information can be made available in alternative formats, such as easy read or large print, and may be available in alternative languages, upon request.

THIS PRACTICE IS LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY

We at Seaside Medical Centre are committed to improving access to and experience of healthcare for LGTBQ people across Eastbourne. We will not discriminate against any patient regardless of their sexuality or gender orientation. We will provide information and signpost to further resources whenever possible. We will strive to use inclusive language in all communication. We will respect your confidentiality.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Seaside Medical Centre is required to provide a statement of purpose to the Care Quality Commission:

CONFIDENTIALITY

All our staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the Doctors and Nurses

CARE QUALITY COMMISSION

The Care Quality Commission has been set up to ensure that a wide range of health and social care services in England are meeting national standards of quality and safety. All GP Practices will be regulated by the Care Quality Commission from April 2013. If you would like to contact the CQC on 03000 616161 or at enquires@cqc.org.uk if you would like to share an experience or a concern.