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.
FLU VACCINATIONS 2021
We have been advised by our Flu Vaccine supplier that our first delivery of vaccines has been delayed due to transport/HGV driver shortages/difficulties. This is a national problem, and all local surgery’s seem to have been affected. In view of this, NHS England have advised us NOT to book our flu vaccine clinics at this stage.
We apologise for this situation, however it is out of our control. As soon as we receive a new delivery window we will be inviting eligible patients as quickly as we can, and have planned for 2 large vaccination clinics at Clifton Hampden Village Hall. Many of you attended these last year which were very successful and allowed us to vaccinate the majority of eligible patients very quickly, so we hope you support these again this year.
We will be in touch as soon as we have clinic dates available to book.
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. If you already have access/ login details for patient online services, for example “Patient Access”, you may use this.
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/
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.
