Stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms

Stay at home if you have either:

• a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
• a new, continuous cough – this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly
• a new onset of loss of taste or smell

OR

A household member has the above symptoms.

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home.

Testing for coronavirus is not needed if you’re staying at home.

How long to stay at home

• if you have symptoms, stay at home for 7 days
• if you live with other people, they should stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person got symptoms

If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days.

If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible.

Read our advice about staying at home.

The guidance is changing on a daily basis. For the latest guidance, please check here.

Read the NHS advice about staying at home.

Urgent advice: Use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if:

• you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home
• your condition gets worse
• your symptoms do not get better after 7 days

Use the 111 coronavirus service

Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.

Further Information is available at gov.uk/coronavirus

Changes to how we will be providing services

Appointments:

Do not call the GP surgery unless you need to.

The surgery phone lines are facing high demand.

As first port, please register and use eConsult or use NHS 111 online tools to see if you can self manage first. eConsult is an online automated consultation tool to provide tailored health advice and can allow you to book a telephone appointment with a doctor if it determines this is still necessary.

DO NOT attend the surgery for any reason unless you have been advised to.  

If you are asked to come in, you may be asked to wear a face mask. 

Please take care to dispose these carefully into the provided clinical waste bins in the reception area.  

To request telephone consultations/request prescriptions/ check your results, please do so via NHSapp.

The identification process can occur completely online and you do not need to come into the surgery to do this.

For patients that are unable to use these online tools, and all self care measures have been exhausted or your symptoms are worsening or you have a significant health concern, please call the surgery. All appointments have been switched to telephone/video consultations and only patients that really need to be seen face to face after being assessed on the phone by a clinician will be.

The practice will continue to have processes to ensure childhood immunisation and other essential care continues.

If you are seen at the surgery your clinician may need to wear gloves, gown and mask so do not be alarmed.

Prescriptions:

We will no longer be issuing printed prescriptions, and all prescriptions will be sent electronically to your pharmacy to limit/stop footfall to the surgery. If you have not been setup electronically with your pharmacist, you will be asked on the telephone for your nominated pharmacy so that your prescription can be sent electronically there.

You can also put your requests in via NHS app or website form.

Fitness To Work Note Requests:

ou can self-certify if unwell for than a week and do not need a doctors note.

With Coronavirus self isolation guidance, if you are required to provide a note to stay at home, NHS111 Online should be able to provide one for you at https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note.

The current Government Guidance for employers and businesses on coronavirus (COVID-19) states;

“By law, medical evidence is not required for the first 7 days of sickness. After 7 days, employers may use their discretion around the need for medical evidence if an employee is staying at home.

We strongly suggest that employers use their discretion around the need for medical evidence for a period of absence where an employee is advised to stay at home either as they are unwell themselves, or live with someone who is, in accordance with the public health advices issued by the government.”

For Patients advised to Social Distance themselves in higher risk groups (those who broadly speaking comprise those elligible for annual flu vaccine), we recommend you seek the discretion of your employers and if they insist on documentation, we can provide you a summary of your medical conditions.  To ensure we have capability to manage the NHS workload in primary care, we will not be able to routinely offer fitness to work  notes/letters.

Those in highly vulnerable group (those the government has written letters to):

Your letters should be adequate evidence for employers. To ensure we have capability to manage the NHS workload in primary care, we will not be routinely offering fitness to work notes/letters.

If you need a fit note for other reasons, submit the request on the prescription request form in the additional section (please fill in “nil” for name of medication).

Important links:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

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