In September and October 2020 Newbury Green will be changing and updating our practice clinical software. This is a behind the scenes change to help us continue to provide the best patient care possible but it does mean that there will be some short term disruption to normal procedures whilst all parts of the system are switched over.
What does this mean for me as a patient?
There are several areas where this could affect our patients.
GP Appointments
At the moment, for COVID19 safety reasons, we are primarily booking on the day appointments only and all GP appointments are initially a phone call to allow the GP to decide the best course of action for each individual patient. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, however we will have to make some temporary changes during the computer switchover period.
From 28th September to 8th October we will only be offering medically urgent appointments.
From 9th October we will once again be offering routine on the day telephone appointments as well as emergency appointments. We will also be opening a limited number of phone calls which can be booked up to four weeks in advance for routine reviews.
Nurse appointments continue to be booked as normal. However please note that there will be reduced appointment numbers in late September and early October to facilitate flu vaccination clinics.
Prescriptions
If you are on a regular prescription which is issued on a weekly (or more frequent) basis you will be given post-dated paper prescriptions for a short period of time whilst we switch the computer system. These will be set up so that you can claim your medication from the pharmacy on a similar schedule to usual.
Any prescription issued between 28th September and 6th October (whether for regular medication or a one-off treatment) will be a paper prescription for you to take to the pharmacy. From 7th October onwards we will be issuing electronic prescriptions again.
Online Services
All online services (appointment booking and prescription requesting) will be deactivated from 28th September. The system will be reopened on 7th October; however each patient will need to individually activate their own account on the new system. The instructions for this will be emailed to the address used to register for online services. Please note that as we have to first reactivate every individual account manually from the surgery, this may take some time to process as we currently have over 2000 patients registered for online services. In the meantime you can request prescriptions through the practice website or by emailing salccg.ngmpscript@nhs.net and can book appointments by telephoning the practice as normal.
Do I need to do anything?
If you usually order your prescriptions or book appointments online or using the myGP app, from 28th September onwards you will need to request your prescriptions by visiting our Prescriptions and Medicines Centre or email your requests to salccg.ngmpscript@nhs.net including your name, date of birth, and list of requested items including dosage. To book appointments, please telephone reception on 0161 983 0800.
Some time after 7th October you will receive an email with instructions on how to activate your new online account. Once you have done this you will be able to continue using online services as previously.
You do not need to order your repeat prescriptions early, or request extra items, as the only difference during the switchover is that prescriptions will be issued on paper instead of being sent electronically. In all other ways they will be processed and issued in exactly the same way as they are at present.
If you have not already signed up for online services, you can collect a form from reception and we will process this when the new online accounts are set up later in October.
Please remember that anyone entering the surgery building is required to wear a face mask or other covering.
Please take this opportunity to confirm we have up to date contact details for you and your family by completing our Change of Personal Details form.