Our patient newsletter for 2021 is now available to view. Please click here to take a look.

Despite lockdown restrictions lifting in the community from 19 July, measures will remain unchanged in healthcare settings, including your GP practice. Please continue to help us to help you by wearing a face covering when entering our buildings, washing your hands using the facilities provided and maintaining social distancing.

Restrictions remain and inside all our premises and you still need to wear a mask, wash your hands and follow social distancing. Our practice has put in place comprehensive measures for staff and patients for the wearing of face masks and face coverings whilst at our surgery. All patients and visitors should continue to wear a face covering on entrance to our buildings and throughout the duration of their visit.

The face coverings can be a scarf, homemade face mask or one that has been purchased. The measures continue to be an important part, alongside social distancing, of reducing the spread of Covid-19 and to keep our patients and communities safe.

We do understand that it can be frustrating, but we do know that when patients come to see us they are often sick and vulnerable, so we feel it would be wrong to not take these small precautions that can protect people.

Here at Staffa Health we have been looking at new ways that patients can contact us.  We have introduced a new online way to get in touch, this replaces the previous online contact form which was more complicated. 

If you have a medical or administrative issue that you would like help with today or within the next 7 days you can contact us online by clicking here:

By answering 3 or 4 simple questions along with your details the new system generates a ‘request form’ which will be reviewed within 1 working day (but only during normal Surgery hours). We will then take appropriate action according to the urgency, which may result in a telephone call, email or text message response from us.

This new simple access method will offer an effective alternative to the busy telephone system and we would like all our patients to use this if they can.  

A full list of ways to contact us for the most common queries is detailed below:

• Non-urgent medical advice in the next 7 days – use the new Online Form.

• Non-clinical help (e.g. change of personal details, Med 3 fit to work notes, death certificates etc.) – use the new Online Form.

• Urgent appointments – use the new Online Form. (if it is an emergency please telephone us (option 1) or phone 999).

• Routine appointments (in next 7-28 days) – Telephone  us (option 2).  

• Test results –  use the new Online Form.

• Repeat prescriptions – Call the Medicines Order Line on 01246 588860 or use the NHS App to order

We do understand that not all patients have internet access and these patients are still able to call us if they do not have anyone who can complete a contact form for them.

Our hope is that more patients will use the new system which will make it easier for us to triage requests and provide patients with a timely and appropriate response.

Please click HERE to view the latest edition of our Patient Newsletter.

From 17 May 2021, people in England who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can demonstrate their vaccination status for international travel. A full course is currently two doses of any approved vaccine. Vaccine status will be available from: 

• the NHS App which you can download from app stores 
• the NHS website (from 17 May 2021)

It may take more than a week for your identity to be checked and verified so you can use these services.

If you cannot access these online services, and you have had two vaccines, you can request a paper letter from the NHS by calling 119. Only call 119 if you had your second dose more than five working days ago. It may take seven working days for the letter to arrive.

This practice is not able to provide you with a letter that shows your COVID-19 vaccination status.

When you’re planning your travel, check the latest information on demonstrating your COVID-19 status when travelling abroad on the gov.uk website. Make sure there is time to get  proof of your vaccination status before you leave.

You will have no doubt seen reports in the national press about changes to general practice appointments and access. Unfortunately these reports have misrepresented the current state of general practice and proposed changes and we, as the representative body of Derbyshire general practice, would like to clarify things.

General practice in Derbyshire has been open throughout the pandemic; providing patient care whilst delivering the largest scale vaccination programme in history. Our teams have followed NHS England protocols; moving overnight to use virtual consultations and triage. They have safely opened up more services as national guidance and the intensity of the pandemic allowed. During the entire pandemic, clinicians have continued to see patients face-to-face when clinically needed; always making sure that infection control and social distancing measures were in place to protect patients and staff alike.

The latest GP appointment figures in England showed that practices delivered almost 5 million more appointments in March than they did the month before, and nearly 3 million more than they did in the same month two years ago, long before the onset of the pandemic. Simply put general practice is working flat out. With this increasing patient demand, general practice will continue to work smartly to get the balance right; consulting with patients in the most appropriate fashion in as timely a manner as is possible. This means, as per the practice contract with NHS England, that it is for the surgery to determine the manner in which it sees its patients. Only by doing this can we ensure quality care is maintained for the many, rather than servicing the demands of the few.

We know it is hard to get an appointment right now. But the above figures explain that this reflects the large number of patients requesting care, not lack of activity within general practice. We are hearing increasing reports of frustration and abuse targeted at practice staff because of delays, and we are concerned that the recent media reporting will worsen this by fuelling inappropriate requests for face-to-face appointments that are not needed and cannot safely be accommodated. We would ask you all to treat each member of the practice team with respect and understanding; we will continue to support our practices and help them to take a zero tolerance approach to any forms of abuse.

We thank you for your patience and continuing to work with your surgery.

Please click HERE to view the latest patient newsletter for Spring 2020