While covid restrictions will end in many settings in England from Monday, we ask for support from patients in continuing to wear face masks, respect social distancing and the continued systems we have put in place at Chelford Surgery.
We at Chelford Surgery are proud of how, as a community, we have handled this dreadful pandemic and continued to look after each other and all our families to minimise the risk of infection.
In our area we have a high proportion of vulnerable patients due to our practice demographics and it is important we continue to provide a safe process for patients to attend the practice for care and medication.
We must also stress how important it is that we endeavour to keep staff safe, so as to prevent avoidable situations that could potentially lead to staff sickness and serious disruptions to providing necessary GP services.
Although many people in Cheshire have been vaccinated, it is still possible to catch and spread Covid-19, even if you are fully vaccinated. Covid-19 will be a feature of our lives for the foreseeable future so we need to learn to live with it and manage the risk to ourselves and others.
We are still providing face-to-face appointments, however, we have introduced new ways of working so your initial appointment is likely to be with a clinician on the telephone or via video call. This is likely to remain for the foreseeable future. The care navigator who answers the telephone will ask for a brief reason for your call so that they make sure your appointment is with the most appropriate person to help you.
We want to ensure that our GP practices are safe places for everyone – that is our absolute priority and we ask that you do all you can to help us help you.
Everybody needs to continue to act carefully and we thank you for your support – we’re in this together.
This decision is supported by our colleagues at NHSE and amongst councils across Cheshire and further information can be found in the links below.
Click here for an NHSE media release announcing that NHS patients, staff and visitors must continue to wear face coverings in healthcare settings.
Click here for Cheshire East Council’s release on the same subject.
Click here for Cheshire West and Chester Council’s release.