General practice is still open, but due to the coronavirus outbreak, how you contact your GP surgery will be different at the moment.

Your NHS services have a range of measures in place to keep you safe from COVID-19 including regular cleaning of patient areas and social distancing. Please ensure you wear a face covering to your appointment.

Face-to-face appointments are available to all patients where there is a clinical need. You will be asked to first discuss your conditions over the phone or online with a member of the healthcare team to assess what would be most appropriate for you and which practice member would best provide it.

Most GP practices are also offering online consultations and video consultations, as well as telephone consultations. These can be convenient and flexible ways to receive healthcare. Where patients need to be seen by a health professional face-to-face, this will be arranged. If you have a preference about how to access care you can discuss it with your practice. General practice continues to offer care based on clinical need. General practice continues to offer cervical smears and childhood immunisations.

Your practice is delighted to be undertaking the largest vaccination programme in the history of the NHS. They are balancing this programme with continuing to be open and managing your other clinical needs. Please do be reassured that if you need medical attention, your practice is here for you and will determine how to best support you, based on your symptoms.

The NHS is vaccinating those people who experts have agreed will benefit from it the most. A vaccination programme of this size and scale will still take some time to roll out in full. Please be assured that everyone who needs the vaccine will be offered it. The NHS will be in touch with you when it is your turn to be vaccinated. Please don’t call us before you are invited. In the meantime, you can get information about the COVID-19 Vaccination online at NHS: Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination.

It is important to register with your local GP. Anyone in England can register with a GP, without needing to show proof of address, ID or immigration status. Find out more about how to register with a GP.

Please be polite and respectful, your GP and practice team are available and working hard to support you, your family and friends health and care needs. Visit the local pharmacy for clinical advice on minor health concerns Four ways to seek healthcare advice from a GP.

• Visit your GP surgery website and complete a confidential online form to request advice or treatment. You will receive a response as soon as possible, usually within two working days. Online forms should not be used for very urgent medical problems.
• Call your surgery to arrange an appointment. You will usually be assessed by a clinician on the telephone first, with face-to-face care arranged if clinically needed. If you have a preference about how to access care you can discuss it with your practice.
• For urgent issues or out of hours, you can also call the NHS on 111 or go online to seek NHS advice www.111.nhs.uk
• Download the NHS App to order repeat prescriptions and get health advice. Example website and newsletter copy – non-vaccination site