Penicuik Medical Practice Update (Coronavirus)

With immediate effect and in ALL cases, DO NOT attend the Medical Practice unless you have called first AND been told to attend.  To help protect patients and our team, we are changing to Telephone triage of all patients.  When you phone, we will advise what to do when we speak to you.  We will be asking questions when you call to help us help you in the best way.

If you have any of the following  symptoms:

•  Fever
• Cough

Please go to NHSinform.scot or phone 111 do not call the Practice in relation to Coronavirus as 111 are managing all contacts centrally. 

If you have a pre-booked appointment they have been changed to telephone appointments and we will be contacting you soon to advise what next. 

If you have a repeat prescription, please use the letter box at the front double door or use the "contact us" section on the website.
We will not be calling chronic disease patients or carrying out routine procedures until further notice. 
Thank you, we will provide regular updates on Social Media and our Website.  We appreciate your support at this time as we all look to help our community.

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19#stay-at-home-advice

COVID-19 and Patient/Employer Requests for Sick Notes (the MED3 ‘Fit Note’)

All guidance below as per Government advice from (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-employers-and-businesses-on-coronavirus-covid-19)

 If you are a patient personally affected by possible COVID-19 and isolating for seven days:-

Patients can and should self-certify for the first seven days as normal if they are unfit to work. You do not need to contact the practice, although your employer is advised to make a note of absence for Statutory Sick Pay purposes.

2. If you are a patient personally affected by COVID-19 and remain unwell for over seven days:- 

Employers have been advised by the Government to exercise discretion and not request sick notes. This is to allow GPs to focus on caring for patients. You do not need to contact the practice, although your employer is advised to make a note of absence for Statutory Sick Pay purposes.   

3. If you are isolating for 14 days as per government advice (because of a household contact possibly affected by COVID-19), or you are a member of an 'at risk' group who is also following government advice:-   

Employers are responsible for putting in place arrangements for home/remote working where this is possible. Where it is not possible, the employee may self-certify and return to work after the absence, which the employer can authorise as per government advice. If a patient becomes unwell during or after this time, point 1 and 2 then apply. You do not need to contact the practice. 

If you need paperwork for this, you can get an isolation note from https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/ by filling in the online form. You do not need to contact the practice.

4. Those patients in full time education:

There is no NHS requirement to issue certification to schools or colleges to confirm absence. These organisations must work with parents and students directly to ensure that any absence is appropriately recorded. This gets rid of the need a ‘doctor’s note’. You do not need to contact the practice.

Statement on behalf of:

Eastfield Medical Practice

Penicuik Medical Practice

Lloyds Pharmacy

Rowlands Pharmacy

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this unprecedented time.   I’m sure it wont surprise you to learn the sheer scale of the situation is putting significant strain on your Community Health Care teams.  All are working hard to keep delivering the best service possible amidst a number of challenges.  The teamwork and cooperation shown by all is outstanding, against a back drop of never seen before workloads, personal sacrifices, rapidly developing guidance  and reduced workforce.

We all recognise the strains on these vital teams has an impact on our patients as you try to get access to services or prescriptions (currently taking 10 days from ordering).  Your role is as vital as the teams as we ask that you have patience in these challenging times, only engage with the services when really needed and avoid the temptation to put additional demand into the network e.g. requesting prescriptions weeks in advance or calling the Practices rather than consulting the website www.nhsinform.scot

While we are forced to keep physical distance between us all, it is only by working together and displaying the best of human spirit that will speed up a return to normal life.

We all thank you for your continued support.

                Eastfield Medical Practice

                                Penicuik Medical Practice

                                                Lloyds Pharmacy

                                                                Rowlands Pharmacy

• We provide the best medical care we can, for all our patients equally.
• We are committed to teaching, Audit and research.
• We aim to be accessible, patient focused and to work sustainably, within the available resources.
• Please note that all calls are recorded for quality and training purposes.

With patients' needs at the heart of everything we do, our website has been designed to make it easy for you to gain instant access to the information you need. As well as specific practice details such as opening hours and how to register, you’ll find a wealth of useful pages covering a wide range of health issues along with links to other relevant medical organisations.