NHS researchers in the UK are working together to help find a vaccine against COVID-19.

Many possible COVID-19 vaccines are being tested in the UK. Different vaccines may work better for different groups of people. It’s important we include people from all backgrounds and ages in our research. This gives researchers an understanding of how well each vaccine may work.

To sign up and for more information visit www.nhs.uk/researchcontact

We are letting you know about a very useful website called Germ Defence which was created by a team of doctors and scientists to give you advice that has been proven to reduce the spread of viruses in the home. It can help you plan how to protect yourself and members of your family from infection by COVID-19 and ‘flu.

It’s easy to use and only takes 10 minutes – just click on this link: 

www.germdefence.org/index.html?src=A88003

(If this link does not open when you click on it, please copy and paste it into your web browser.)

Please pass details of the Germ Defence website to your friends and family.

There’s a button at the bottom of the Germ Defence website for sharing by social media.

If you’d like to know more:

• Over 20,000 people previously took part in research about Germ Defence
• People who followed the advice in Germ Defence had fewer and less severe illnesses – and so did the people they lived with
• Results of the study were published in The Lancet medical journal
• Germ Defence has been updated with COVID-19 advice to help prevent a wave of COVID-19 and ‘flu this Autumn/Winter
• Information about how the Germ Defence website is being evaluated is available here.

Over the last few months you are likely to have noticed a difference in the way things are being done in general practice as we manage coronavirus (Covid-19).

Thank you for adapting so quickly to these new ways of working following national guidance from NHS England. Our approach has had to change to ensure the safety of our patients and our staff whilst ensuring our patients get the care they need.

To slow down the spread of coronavirus, we have worked to reduce the number of people coming into the practice but when clinically appropriate and safe we see patients face to face and have been doing so throughout the pandemic.

We need the help of our patients to look after the Practice resources to protect us all during the pandemic and the coming winter months, which are always very busy.  We expect that there will be times when we have staff shortages and this will make it more difficult that it has been in the past for us and our patients.  With this in mind we would ask our patients to consider the options below in order to preserve the appointments available for those most in need at the time.

In preparation for the anticipated increase in service demand we wanted to share all of the options available to our patients to ensure you get the help you need from the right person at the right time.

• E-consult – ask a question at your convenience 24/7 on our website and receive a timely response.  We ask all patients to request Fit notes using this service
• GP2Pharmacy – book directly via the practice to have an appointment at a time and pharmacy convenient to you
• Think Pharmacy First – drop in to your local community pharmacist who is a trained medical professional who can provide free advice on the best treatment for a wide range of illnesses and minor ailments.
• We have a wide range of local practitioners who specialise in a number of areas.  Our team will ask you about your problem and then navigate you to the appropriate service which may not be at the practice.

We would like to assure our patients that we have been open throughout the pandemic and our staff  have never worked harder.  We have and continue to make huge system changes to follow ever changing advice from NHS England with the aim of keeping our local community safe.

South Tyneside Local Restrictions