COVID-19 CLINIC
Following extensive trials, the first safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine has been approved in the UK and is now available to priority groups.
Vaccinations are being delivered according to priority groups identified by the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The vaccinations may not take place at your GP practice, but rather a local vaccination service (led by GPs, practice nurses and community pharmacists) who are responsible for delivering the vaccine to people in your community.
When it is the right time for you to receive your vaccination, you will receive an invitation to come forward. This may be via the phone, or through a letter either from your GP or the national booking system.
We know lots of people will be eager to get protected but we are asking people not to contact us to get an appointment as you will not be able to get one until you are contacted.
Phases of the COVID Vaccination Programme
This is the official NHS information on the phased approach to the COVID Vaccination Programme.
Phase 1 - direct prevention of mortality and supporting the NHS and social care system. JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age. The order of priority for each group in the population corresponds with data on the number of individuals who would need to be vaccinated to prevent one death, estimated from UK data obtained from March to June 2020.
It is estimated that taken together, these groups represent around 99% of preventable mortality from COVID-19.
This is what we are following at Brannam Medical Centre along with all practices in North Devon. Each category has thousands of patients in and we are on categories 1,2, 3, 4 & 6 at the moment.
We will contact patients directly to invite you or you may now receive a text message (please see below for more information on text message invites), these appointments will be held at either North Devon Leisure Centre or at Brannam Medical Centre.
COVID-19 Vaccine Update
We have now completed our initial round of vaccinations for those in care homes and over 80’s and those registered at the surgery on our system as ‘housebound’. We have sent letters to those patients over 80 who we have not been able to contact by phone. We have invited our 70-79 year olds and those at high risk. If you think you or someone you know has been ‘missed’ please be assured that we are sending letters to those who we have not been unable to contact by telephone. Please ONLY contact the surgery if you are over 70 and wish to have a vaccination on 01271 329004.
We are currently inviting patients who are aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions.
Some of our patients might be receiving letters asking them to call 119 to book their COVID vaccines. This is the NHS England line for Pharmacy and Mass vaccination sites. If you choose to, you can respond to these invitations and go to those sites, but we are still offering vaccines as an ongoing process and our current appointments will continue as planned.
If you choose not to go to another site and instead want it with us in Barnstaple then you don't respond to the national booking team and instead wait to hear from us.
Please DO NOT call the surgery trying to book after receiving the NHS England letter (even if they advise this), as the booking system is different to ours and we are contacting patients directly.
Thank you!
Online Booking System for COVID Vaccinations
We are continuing to work with other GP Practices to invite individuals to the Barnstaple Leisure Centre for their COVID vaccinations. We are working our way through the cohorts, as set out by the national team. From next week we will start to send invites via SMS (text message) rather than telephone calls, if you have registered a mobile phone number with us. This will include a link to book your appointment directly through a system called Accurx. The SMS (text message) will say.....
Dear *Patient name*
You have been invited to book your COVID-19 vaccinations. Please click the link to book your vaccination times *link to site*
Brannam Medical Centre
If we do not have your mobile phone details you will be contacted by telephone by one of our team, but please ensure we have your up to date details on record.
Invites to the mass vaccination centres at Exeter, Taunton and Wadebridge as well as Westward Ho! are also being sent out by a central national team and we do not have the facilities to book for those. We are working hard to vaccinate as many of our patients as quickly as we can and we hope that this service will be easier for patients to book in when is most convenient for them.
Frontline Workers
Frontline workers are eligible for the vaccine. For all of the roles listed below, photo ID and evidence of employment will be required. These are the 3 distinct groups;
Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust Staff
- NDHT employed staff
- NDHT volunteers/bank/agency/locums
- Sodexo staff working at NDHT sites
- Devon Partnership Trust staff for Northern Locality
- SWAST staff for Northern Locality
- Staff from other Acute Hospital Trusts
If you are one of the above you need to contact NDHT on ndht.queriescovidvaccinationteam@nhs.net
Other Healthcare staff working in the Northern Locality NOT in the above group
This includes dentists, opticians, chiropodists or anyone in a healthcare role. Ideally through your manager, you need to contact d-ccg.covid-staffmassvaccinationbookingsystem@nhs.net
Other Social Care staff working in the Northern Locality NOT in the above groups
For anyone in a social care role. Ideally through your manager, you need to contact MassVac-CareProvision@devon.gov.uk
FLU CLINIC
People who should have a flu vaccine
The injected flu vaccine is offered free of charge on the NHS to people who are at risk. This is to help protect them against catching flu and developing serious complications.
You should have the flu vaccine if you:
- are 65 years of age or over
- are pregnant
- have certain medical conditions
- are living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility
- receive a carer's allowance, or you are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill
- live with someone who's at high risk of coronavirus (on the NHS shielded patient list) or you expect to be with them on most days over winter.
Frontline health and social care workers are also eligible to receive the flu vaccine. It's your employer's responsibility to arrange and pay for this vaccine.
For more information on the free NHS vaccination please visit www.nhs.uk
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? This question raises a great deal of discussion. To find out what a group of international scientists and experts of the immune system have to say about it, take a look at this short and informative animated video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRyDSqlnaBY
Flu Clinic 2020/2021
We are now taking bookings for flu vaccinations.
CHILDREN'S CLINICS
PLEASE NOTE THESE APPOINTMENTS ARE FOR THOSE BORN BETWEEN 1ST SEPTEMBER 2016 - 31ST AUGUST 2018 ONLY
We currently have no clinics
OVER 65's CLINICS ONLY
PLEASE NOTE THESE APPOINTMENTS ARE FOR THOSE BORN BEFORE 1ST APRIL 1956 ONLY
We currently have no clinics
UNDER 65'S AT RISK CLINIC ONLY
PLEASE NOTE THESE APPOINTMENTS ARE FOR THOSE UNDER 65 YEARS WHO ARE 'AT RISK' To see if you are eligible please click here.
We currently have no clinics
50-64 YEARS CLINIC
We currently have no clinics