Haddenham Surgery - Updated 26 January 2021

COVID-19 VACCINE

We will update our website as we receive information and the plans develop, so visit HERE for the latest news.

26th January 2021

Housebound patients and COVID vaccination

We are working with practice teams, our CCG and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust (CPFT) who are delivering COVID vaccinations for people who cannot attend the vaccination centres. Despite constraints around transport and delivery of these novel vaccines, they are now delivering vaccines to people in their own homes where essential.

WE have already completed a good proportion and are on track to ensure all patients within the priority groups will be vaccinated by the middle of February. If you are waiting for your vaccine and are housebound, expect a phone call from one of our team who will advise of our plans.

We are sorry if there has been any delay in getting a vaccine, but hope that you can understand the specific challenges around this part of the vaccination program.

Further information on Covid-19 Vaccination Programme can be found here… https://www.cambridgeshireandpeterboroughccg.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/covid-19-national-vaccination-programme/

25th January 2021

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Phew, well after a whirlwind of a week we thought we'd share some key numbers of where we are up to on COVID-19 vaccinations in Ely North and Ely South Primary Care Networks (i.e. for patients registered at Cathedral Medical Centre, St George's Medical Centre, St Mary's Surgery, Burwell Surgery, Haddenham Surgery, and Staploe Medical Centre):

9500 vaccines given so far - from 15th Dec 2020 to 24th Jan 2021
Cohort 1 (care homes) : 100% of all our consenting care home residents have been vaccinated
Cohort 2 (Over 80s): all invited, and approx. 90% vaccinated. If you're over 80 and have not yet been vaccinated, expect a letter in the post, or give your surgery a call - we will make sure you're vaccinated if you want to be!
Cohort 3 (Over 75s): all invited, approx 83% vaccinated.
Cohort 4 (Over 70 and clinical extremely vulnerable): all to be invited this week, approx 11% vaccinated so far (started late last week).

We have achieved this amazing result through 21 clinic days and over 3,500 hours of effort, 1,000 of which were provided by our incredible army of 117 volunteers. Wow!

The numbers speak for themselves - this has been a Herculean effort by literally everyone - and it continues to be! We simply would not be able to do this without the incredibly generous help of all the volunteers; or without the massive commitment of our staff who have worked so hard throughout this pandemic year. It continues to be a very special, heartwarming, and historic thing to be a part of, in it together, as a community, to get us all back to health and normality. We will be echoing Thank You for months and years to come, but it is meant with equal strength every time we say it. A special shout out also to Silver Oak coffee for providing vouchers for our lovely volunteers to say Thank You!

We know there are many more waiting in the wings who would like to help - and for that we are truly grateful. We are continuing to 'settle in' to how we run the clinics and will continue to work out how best to enable everyone who would like to take part to do so.

We also know there are many of you who are anxious to get your vaccine. We are doing our best to communicate as often as we can to keep you all updated, but as you'll have seen in the news things are changing very rapidly. Our priority is to ensure that we provide vaccination clinics on as soon as we have certainty over vaccine deliveries. We're excited to say that we are expecting deliveries that should enable us to almost complete cohorts 1-4 in the next 7-10 days. The clinics are going live shortly, so if you're eligible, please look out for the SMS to book yourself in, or wait for our call.

Meanwhile, it would help us enormously if you could please:

keep checking your practice website for more information
not call or visit your practice to enquire about getting your vaccination if you haven't yet heard from your practice. Please don't worry! You haven't been forgotten and you will get your vaccine as soon as possible.

Lastly - a reminder that we are here for you and your health as always. Under current lockdown rules it is better to contact us through Ask My GP or on the phone rather than coming in person, but please don't do nothing!

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17th January 2021

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While the Covid Vaccination Programme is running in Ely North and Ely South Primary Care Networks, we will try to update here weekly. Please feel free to share to other public fora as we would like our patients, our volunteers, and our wider community to know the latest news.

First, once again, a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all the volunteers who came out this week to help us at the Covid vaccination clinics. Thursday was brutally cold at Cathedral and we were all so impressed by and grateful for your stoicism and smiling faces - truly incredibly job. Staploe - equally awesome, with a slightly gentler ride weather-wise this week! As with last week, everyone was so professional, personable, and lovely to work with - it's such a great experience for staff and patients alike, and such a positive community thing, so thank you. 🌈

Second, the vaccination programme is ramping up nationally now. We are starting to see the pace picking up, so we wanted to say: this is a long-term thing. Volunteers, please pace yourselves! We will be expanding our volunteer base over the coming weeks, first by working through the 200 amazing offers of help we haven't yet used. If we need more, we will let you know.

Third, please all be reassured that all six practices are still open to serve you all for all your healthcare needs, alongside this. As always, it is easy to contact us online via askmyGP or phone and speak to our reception teams if you don’t have internet access.

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12th January 2021

We have now completed the first vaccines and are delighted that we were able to see so many patients and staff. A new appointment booking system has now been introduced which will help us reach more people, more quickly. Everyone who has a mobile telephone should receive a text message asking them to book their appointment directly. This will save many hours of staff time as previously each patient was telephoned individually to make the appointment.

Once the clinic is full, and you try to book your appointment you will see a message to say that no appointments are available - don't worry more will become available very soon. Please check your link every day, and you will be able to book your vaccine the moment a booking slot becomes available.

Don't worry if you can't make the appointment yourself, someone from the surgery will contact you - we will know if you haven't made your appointment. Likewise if you have no mobile number, we will know that also and we will call you. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE SURGERY TO MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT. Only call the surgery if you wish to CANCEL your appointment.

Please be aware that once you have received your vaccination you must still follow Government guidelines and stay at home and keep your distance. The vaccine should give YOU protection from Coronavirus, but you could still carry and pass on the virus to other people and they could get seriously ill.

5th January 2021

WARNING: COVID-19 Vaccination Text Message Scam

Please be aware that there are currently scam text messages circulating saying that you are "now eligible to apply for your vaccine" and they give you a link to a web page which then asks for bank card details to prove your identity. This message is not genuine. You will never be asked for any money or bank details to get your COVID vaccination as it is being provided free of charge.

For more information please click here.

4th January 2021

Following the national announcement that the second COVID-19 vaccinations will now take place within 12 weeks and not the original 3 weeks - WE WOULD LIKE TO CONFIRM THAT IF YOU ALREADY HAVE AN APPOINTMENT FOR TUESDAY 5TH, WEDNESDAY 6TH OR THURSDAY 7TH JANUARY YOU SHOULD STILL ATTEND. The new interval arrangements will commence with our second round of vaccinations.

29th December 2020

Now that the infection numbers are rising in our area and we have moved into Tier 4 we must Stay at Home. Take care of yourself, your loved ones and the wider community. Follow the guidance and see the New Year in at home.

22nd December 2020

CLICK HERE to see the leaflet for patients with suspected Coronavirus, who have NOT been admitted to hopsital and will be isolating at home.

Having Coronavirus can be very worrying as it is likely you have never had it before and don't know what to expect. This leaflet contains information on your symptoms and how to manage them and when to get more help.

It would be helpful to read it now - before you need it!

14th December 2020 (2)

Patients are asked not to contact the surgery regarding COVID-19 Vaccinations.

The NHS has started to vaccinate the most at-risk priority groups including over-80s and social care workers. Eligible patients will be contacted direct to arrange an appointment. As soon as more vaccines become available, they will be offered to other people at risk as soon as possible. Please don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine before then.

If you have not yet been approached about having the Covid-19 vaccine, please read the information: why you are being asked to wait.

More patient information on the Covid-19 vaccine is available here.

Please continue to abide by all the social distancing, wearing of face masks and hand hygiene guidance, which will still save lives.

14th December 2020 (1)

The NHS has started to vaccinate the most at-risk priority groups including over-80s and social care workers in local hospital hubs.

You may have received a text, letter or have been called by Addenbrookes’ or Peterborough City Hospital to ask you to book an appointment at one of the first clinics at the hospital sites. You can choose to accept this appointment or wait until more clinics and locations are available in the community.

Please be aware that the NHS will never ask for payment for the Covid-19 vaccination and any text message requesting payment should be ignored.

When more vaccines become available, the vaccines will be offered to other people at risk as soon as possible. Please don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine before then.

8th December 2020

Ely NorthPCN and Ely South PCN will be joining forces to deliver the vaccination programme.

For this first batch of vaccines, there are very strict guidelines that must be followed. The first group of patients will be over 80 years old. DO NOT CONTACT THE SURGERY we will telephone you when we can offer you the vaccine.

Click here for the

COVID-19 Vaccination - Guide for Adults

2nd December 2020

It has been announced today that the first coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine has been approved for use in the UK and the vaccine has met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Whislt the vaccine will be made available from next week, the roll out will follow a strick cohort list and will not be available in General Practice just yet. We will keep you updated.

Click here for further information.

18th November 2020

From the outset of the current COVID-19 pandemic there have been many pharmaceutical companies working to develop an effective vaccine. We have now reached the stage where successful trials are being reported and the NHS has been asked to prepare mass vaccination programmes that can be put into practice as soon as the vaccines are approved.

GP practices around the UK are now looking at all of the requirements and working out how such a vaccination programme can take place. At this stage this is all that we can report as so much about the vaccine is still unknown, indeed we don't even know which of the candidate vaccines we are likely to be using.

This is going to be a huge undertaking and unlikely to be done at local practice level and more likely to be done by groups of practices where large numbers can be vaccinated in single sessions.

"Mereside Medical Group" (Staploe Medical Centre, Cathedral Medical Centre and Haddenham Surgery) is working hard to put ourselves in a position to be able to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations to all of our populations. The (provisional) priority groups are listed below (click here for full report).

There are many hurdles for us to work through not least the cold chain. Mereside Medical Group is very keen and excited about the vaccination programme and want to deliver this to our population as soon as possible whilst business as usual continues at all sites.

A provisional ranking of prioritisation for persons at-risk is set out below:

older adults’ resident in a care home and care home workers
all those 80 years of age and over and health and social care workers
all those 75 years of age and over
all those 70 years of age and over
all those 65 years of age and over
high-risk adults under 65 years of age
moderate-risk adults under 65 years of age
all those 60 years of age and over
all those 55 years of age and over
all those 50 years of age and over
rest of the population (priority to be determined)

25th September 2020

The Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation (JCVI) published updated interim advice on priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination. Click here to view this report.