Update from the medical Practice
General information
Unfortunately there is little by way of good news as far as Covid-19 is concerned.
You will all be aware of the increase in Covid-19 being seen across the country and the re-imposition of both national and local restrictions. Details of these can be found at the Scottish Government Website
https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-measures/
You will also be aware that the Covid-19 guidance and regulations change from time to time. For the most up to date and comprehensive advice, it is best to go to the NHS Inform website.
https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19
If questions arise regarding the Covid-19 situation that are not easily answered by the information at these sites, then please do call and we will help where we can. We know that these are stressful times for many, and if what you need is advice from a human being and not a website, please do call. We will be very happy to hear from you.
Testing
If you have symptoms of possible Covid-19, we will provide you with a test. The symptoms are:-
- a high temperature or fever
- a new continuous cough
- a loss of, or change in sense of smell or taste
Please note: A new, continuous cough means coughing for longer than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours.
Test kits can be obtained by contacting the surgery on 01879 220323. Unlike mainland locations, these cannot be posted to the lab. The Medical Practice will organise air shipment to the lab for processing.
Temporary residents
It is likely that some part-time residents will be staying for the whole winter this year. We stress that we are committed to offering a good medical service to everyone who is here. We would however, ask a few things of those ‘wintering over’and are not permanently registered with the practice:-
- Could you please make arrangements with your home practice to receive sufficient supplies of your regular medications to last for the duration of your planned stay.
- If you have any investigations planned, such as X-rays, scans or blood tests, or reviews of your medical care with your GP or local hospital, could you please make arrangements for that with your medical team at home.
- We will be allocated just enough flu vaccine to offer vaccination to our ‘at-risk’ population, and uptake is likely to be very high. We do not receive any additional allocation to vaccinate temporary residents. For that reason, we are only able to offer vaccination to those permanently registered with us. Your regular GP will be able to advise you if you are in a target group for vaccination, and you may need to either return home for vaccination or make private arrangements on the mainland.
Flu vaccination
The process of seasonal flu vaccination for permanently registered patients will soon begin. We are very grateful to Cairin for all her hard work in organising this and so much else over this extraordinarily challenging year.
Finally
We would finally like to thank everybody for their continued patience with the restrictions that Covid-19 has imposed upon the Medical Practice. Your help is appreciated. We would like to stress that any medical problem you may have, however minor it may seem will still be dealt with. So please don’t put off calling us if you need to be seen.
Thank you for your understanding.
TIREE MEDICAL PRACTICE.
English