Appointments

To keep our staff and patients safe we are operating a closed door policy. Please DO NOT come into the surgery for any enquiries, instead please call reception. We have had to temporarily close our Tuffley Branch Surgery, which will re-open once the pandemic has resolved.Please do not post any samples/letters or prescription requests

If you have been allocated an appointment by one of our clinical staff you will need to go to the entrance doors and use the intercom, where a Care Navigator will check you do not have any Covid-19 symptoms and allow you entry. Please keep 2m back from the reception desk and from other patients in the waiting area.

For patients being seen at our Hot Saintbridge Covid-19 Hub please wait in the car, across the entrance to the shelter to the left of the pharmacy building. Saintbridge Surgery is not open for any other problems. Please do not post any samples/letters or prescription requests.

For patients who have been advised to shield and are being seen at our Isolation clinic at the Aspen Centre, our HCA will call your mobile and come and open the doors to bring you in at your appointment time. Please remain in your car until you are called. Please call reception to change your appointment if you or a household member becomes unwell with covid-19 symptoms.

If you are unable to travel to the shielded clinics or Covid-19 Hub in your household car, please ensure reception or the clinician is aware of this when offering you an appointment.

The Doctors are now running a full telephone triage system.Our Care Navigators will ask for some details so they can ensure that the correct clinician can call you back. Please ensure we have the correct contact details and have your phone nearby.

The clinician calling you will either admit you to hospital, deal with your issue over the phone, ask you do to do a video consultation or send in a picture or document by text if needed.

Some patients will need to be seen face to face for urgent conditions and depending on your symptoms you will be triaged to either the cold hub at the Aspen Centre, or the hot Covid-19 hub at Saintbridge Surgery. Please DO NOT bring friends/family with you in to the surgery

Cancelling An Appoinement

Please cancel any pre-booked appointments by phone or text, if you have cough, cold, sore throat, flu like symptoms or fever. This is to minimise exposure to other patients and staff so that we minimise sickness and disruption to work force. With no staff we cannot treat sick patients.

Clinics and Services

Please also be aware that the hospitals are not seeing an routine cases or doing non urgent blood tests or X-rays or CT scans. Routine referrals are held by the hospital until after the Pandemic. Where needed there will be a limited availability of advice and guidance by the hospital which may help until you are seen or may resolve the problem.

Physiotherapy is no longer accepting referrals but please see our Joint Pain section in Wellbeing for links to suitable exercises which will help.

Let’s Talk are still accepting self referrals for patients suffering with stress, anxiety and depression. Please also see our wellbeing section for additional support available, including those relating to the pandemic.

We are presently, where possible, doing annual reviews for medications, COPD, Asthma, Fraility, Dementia and Mental health over the phone or by text, along with HRT and contraceptive Pill checks.

Support for those following our Eat Real Food program is still available online or via a telephone call with our diabetic nurses.

Urgent bloods,urgent ECG’s, INR’s, dressings, Smears, immunisations and Mother and Baby 8 week post natal checks will continue to be seen at the Aspen Centre.

You can also message in clinical and non clinical queries via our website and our team will respond to these within 48 hours. Please DO NOT use this method for urgent medical advice.

Repeat Prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions can be requested in the following ways:

• Via the NHS App
• Online via our website
• Calling your pharmacy who will order it on your behalf if you do not have online access.

We thank you for your support and understanding during these unprecedented times.