Second Lockdown

We understand that with the announcement of a new lockdown there are going to be a number of patients concerned about the situation, especially those in very vulnerable risk groups and also those with children attending educational settings. The current government advice about high risk groups is available under the “Protecting people more at risk from coronavirus” title on the Gov.uk – New National Restrictions from 5 November page.

Further publication is due today (02/11/20) and the Government will be writing to any affected patients directly. The current guidance for protecting extremely clinically vulnerable groups is available for you on the ‘Guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19’ page on the Gov.uk website. It will most likely be updated in the coming days once further information has been confirmed.

At this stage, we have no additional information except what has been reported or available on the links above. As soon as we have any further, health specific, information then we will update the news page of our website. So do please check back regularly.

Can I attend work?

If you are concerned about attending work you will need to discuss this with your employer or occupational health department. We are unable to help with requests for sick notes or other letters in such circumstances.

Should I send my Child to School (other educational settings)?

If you are concerned about children attending educational settings; we understand and sympathise with your concerns, especially if a household has extremely vulnerable members. As a practice we are sorry but decisions about children attending school are not ours to make. We would suggest a discussion between the people involved and the school to decide on the best course of action about attending school or other educational settings.

Do I still need to attend a booked appointment?

Unlike the lockdown in Spring, you are still advised to attend all health appointments if they are already booked. This may be subject to change at short notice should guidance be updated. Within the practice we will still carry on with the COVID measures we have in place. These include:

  • appointments will be triaged and only following triage by a Dr or nurse will a face to face appointment be booked
  • temperature checking prior to entry;
  • face coverings need to be worn;
  • hands need to be sanitised on entry;
  • patients will be escorted directly to the consulting room(s);
  • staff will wear approved PPE in line with national guidance;
  • one way system is in operation.

Please do not attend the practice unless you have an appointment. Further FAQs on how we are working during this global pandemic can be found on the ‘Castle Update and FAQ’s for Patients’ page.