Welcome to Sibford Surgery

Our small, friendly practice was first established in the village of Sibford Gower more than 100 years ago. We have two doctors and a full complement of ancillary staff working from the surgery. There are facilities for the disabled, and a dispensary to supply medicines to most of our patients.

This website has been produced to welcome you to the practice and is designed for the benefit of present and prospective patients, to inform you of the services which we provide and how you may make the best use of them.

Please help us to offer you the best possible service by reading the information.

Important Patient Notices

Please be aware that we can no longer organise your covid vaccination. In order to book yourself in, please do so online or by contacting 119.

It is very important that you let our staff know if you have travelled anywhere outside of the UK recently. Please inform staff of your recent travel history, and do not attend the surgery if you have travelled outside of the UK.

Urgent work is ongoing to fully understand how the Omicron variant may change the behaviour of the virus with regards to vaccines and transmissibility. We will update you when we have more information. Vaccines continue to remain the best line of defence. The Government has good reason to remain confident that our current vaccines will provide protection against the new variant but the extent of this continues to be investigated.

All adults who have not yet received their first or second dose of the vaccine, or those who are eligible for their booster are encouraged to come forward to help protect themselves and others. This can be done through the national booking service, please call 119 as Sibford Surgery CANNOT currently facilitate your booking.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) now advises:

• All adults aged 18 to 39 years should be offered a booster dose, in order of descending age groups, to increase their levels of protection.

• Booster doses should be given no sooner than three months after the primary course.

• All severely immunosuppressed individuals should be offered their booster dose no sooner than three months after completing their primary course of 3 doses.

• Young people aged 12 to 15 years should receive a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, no sooner than 12 weeks after their first dose. The booster will be offered in order of descending age groups, with priority given to the vaccination of older adults and those in a COVID-19 at-risk group. This will accelerate the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and raise levels of protection across the population. The NHS is working on the plans to offer the booster to the new groups above. But please note that this is not available yet. We will update you as the service develops but please remember the NHS will contact you when it is your turn. Please do not ring the GP practice.

Blood Tests

A supplier to the NHS has advised us of a global shortage of some equipment used for taking blood tests. Anyone who needs a test for urgent health problems, will still get one but where your clinician recommends that it’s safe to do so, then you may be asked to come back for a test at a later date, or your appointment may be rescheduled. Given the nature of the shortage, we cannot give an exact date for when the test will be rescheduled, but please be assured that if your condition or symptoms require it, then you will get a test, and we will be re-booking your test when supplies become more easily available. If your condition or symptoms change or get worse, please contact the NHS as you would normally.

Covid

Regardless of the easing of restrictions commencing on the 19th of July, Sibford surgery will continue to uphold the following in order to ensure that patients and staff are protected from the virus as much as possible:

Patients are still required to wear facemasks when entering the building for any reason, unless a valid exemption applies.

Physical distancing of 2 metres remains in place as standard practice in all health and care settings, unless providing clinical or personal care and wearing appropriate PPE.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU INFORM RECEPTION WHEN PHONING THE SURGERY IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH CORONAVIRUS. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND THE SURGERY IF YOU HAVE ANY SUCH SYMPTOMS.

Thank you for your continued understanding and cooperation.

COVID VACCINATION

The COVID-19 vaccination programme is open to anyone aged 18 and over. There are currently two vaccines being used locally in Oxfordshire:

• Pfizer/BioNTech

• Oxford/AstraZeneca

The vaccines are allocated nationally and local centres do not have any influence over which they receive. You cannot choose which vaccine you have. When you book, you'll only be offered appointments for vaccines that are suitable for you.

Most people can have any of the COVID-19 vaccines, but some people are only offered certain vaccines. For example, if you're pregnant or under 40 you'll usually only be offered appointments for the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

You should have the same vaccine for both doses, unless you had serious side effects (such as a serious allergic reaction) after your 1st dose. These are very rare reactions and if affected, you will be informed by your GP or hospital clinician, that a different vaccine is necessary for your second dose.

Minor side effects after having any of the vaccinations are common and not a cause for concern. These are usually mild and should not last longer than a week, such as:

• a sore arm from the injection

• feeling tired

• a headache

• feeling achy

• feeling or being sick

We have had several patients ask us to be added on to a waiting list for last minute/unused covid vaccinations, please be advised that we have no access to any such list. Please do not contact the surgery about this.

Regarding certificates or evidence about your COVID vaccination status.

We are unable to issue this certificate at the practice.

Please see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstrating-your-covid-19-vaccination-status-when-travelling-abroad for further information.

Proof of your vaccination status will be available in the NHS app from 17th May 2021, and in some of the other apps that provide you with Patient online services.

The NHSapp can be downloaded from:
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nhs-app/id1388411277 for iPhone/iOS
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhs.online.nhsonline for Android.

If you have not used it before, there is a self-registration process within the app to create an "NHS login" as per https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/online-services/nhs-log-in/

If you already have access/ login details for patient online services, for example "Patient Access", you may use this.

Alternatively, you can call the NHS helpline on 119 (from 17 May) and ask for a letter to be posted to you. This must be at least 5 days after you’ve completed your course of the vaccine. The letter may to take another 5 days to reach you, or more if postal services are affected. Please take account of this when making your plans.

If you do not want covid vaccination please also let us know as this will save us time trying to contact you.

You will be called for your second vaccination by text message 11 weeks after the first. If you have not been contacted by 12 weeks then please ring reception.

Please ensure we have your current mobile number on your medical record as otherwise this could delay your invitation.

Greenbook Chapter 14

Covid Vaccination Clinics Important Information

Health Questionnaire - V3

equipment