Covid 19 Frequently asked questions

Useful information

Please follow the links below to access the most up to date on the Government and NHS websites.

• Government -  https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
• NHS - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Helpful resources during Covid-19

Please see below for a list of resources available, including mental health support.

• Covid-19 resources
• NHS support information after Covid

You will be aware of the very difficult situation we find ourselves in with COVID-19 at the moment and we hope you are safe and well.

At the moment the Government is advising all of us to stay at home as much as possible to limit contact with other people and in that way help to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.  If you do have to go out please remember to keep 2-metres away from anyone even if you go into a shop or if you come to visit us in the surgery.  This applies to people you know and those you don’t know.  We would recommend you wear a facemask when you do go outside - please refer to the 'Staying safe outside your home' page on the GOV.UK website

We would also recommend:

Controlling diabetes, weight and blood pressure is especially important at this time. If you need any guidance please contact us at the surgery.

We would also like to encourage you to follow official advice to take Vitamin D all year round to support your health. The recommended dose is 10 micrograms per day. You can get this from a chemist or supermarket.

Finally, just to remind you again about current COVID-19 advice.  If you have a high temperature, a new and continuous cough and/or can no longer taste or smell things properly, then you may have coronavirus. Please stay at home and phone NHS 111 who will be able to help you.

Please do not hesitate – the NHS is here to help you and is open for business.

Click here to get an isolation note

If your employer is asking for a note from your GP surgery, please read below:

The government’s rules around issuing a sick note are that medical professionals can only issue one when an individual has had more than seven continuous calendar days off sick due to an illness (including weekends).

For any period of illness less than seven days, you are able to complete a self-certification certificate and provide this to your employer. In the unlikely event that your employer does not accept a self-certification, your doctor may be able to issue a private sick note for which there will be a charge and quite possibly a long delay.

In light of the current Coronavirus situation, it is inevitable that a number of employees may be required to quarantine themselves at home, for example due to the nature of recent travel, even in the absence of any symptoms of an illness. In these cases, your GP will NOT be able to issue a sick note as the time off work is not due to an illness, and isn’t affecting your ability to work, but rather is a precaution to avoid transmission of any illness that is yet to produce symptoms.

We therefore expect your employer to be sympathetic if you are required to self-isolate for 14 days and to understand that the reason for this is to protect the welfare of your work colleagues and the wider community. We understand that you may also be able to call NHS 111 to request an email confirmation of the suspected Coronavirus diagnosis, to show to your employer if needed.

Whilst we appreciate this may cause some difficulties between you and your employer, equally GPs have a responsibility to prioritise the assessment and management of the healthcare needs of patients who are actually unwell, rather than spending time dealing with requests for sick notes, particularly when they aren’t in a position to issue one.

If your employer is asking you for a sick note, please print off this letter to give to them.

Click here to get an isolation note

Insurers and travel companies will issue refunds on advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Public Health England, not letters from GPs. We CANNOT issue holiday cancellation letters for patients choosing not to travel due to the outbreak.

The introduction of the requirement for people to wear face covering in shops is intended to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

There are certain groups of people who are exempt from this requirement and they include:

• children under the age of 11,
• people with disabilities 
• those with breathing difficulties or
• those who are travelling with someone who relies on lip reading.

These groups of people, their parents or guardians are able to indicate the reason, if required, as to why they are not wearing a face covering.

General practice is under considerable pressure as a direct result of the current challenges they are faced with delivering a service to patients at the same time as coping with the consequences of this virus. 

There is no requirement for general practice to issue letters for patients who are unable to wear face coverings, as the Government have clearly defined the exemptions to this requirement.