Recovery will take time. The length of time needed will vary from person to person and it is important not to compare yourself to others. Ongoing symptoms could last for several months after you contract COVID-19 and this can be perfectly normal.
The link above provides some information and advice designed to support your recovery from COVID-19 and features pages on: general advice, diet and lifestyle, exercises, and ways to help your mental health.
This link is best viewed on a desktop computer or laptop.
Please be aware that all visitors who enter the surgery must be wearing a face covering before they can be let in the building.
The Doctorlink App is now live!
As part of our effort to improve our services we would like you to join Doctorlink where you can access advice, check symptoms, and request appointments online.
Further information on Doctorlink
Dear Patients,
First of all we’d like to say thank you to all of you who’ve helped to keep the surgery a safe place for patients who have needed to come see a member of the team. Telephone and video consultations have been a learning curve for all of us, especially for those of us who are technically challenged, but they have revolutionised how we can deliver care safely. Unfortunately Covid-19 is going to be around for the foreseeable future. For those under 40 years old and who are well, it is often a mild disease with no complications but, for the elderly and those with chronic disease, it can develop into life threatening complications. Because of this we do need to continue to make the surgery a safe place for patients and colleagues alike. Telephone and video consultations will continue and for those of you with hospital appointments these too are likely to be telephone based where appropriate. We will always see people face to face where this is necessary to help with diagnosis and care; at present this involves wearing PPE and cleaning rooms after every patient. This is time consuming but necessary to protect the most vulnerable.
We are using new technology to help us contact you, during consultations and for health reviews. You may be asked to email or text us photographs, eg. for rashes, and our care navigators may ask you to do this before a consultation. If you have a yearly review it’s possible some of it may be over the phone. You will get a message to inform you of this so please keep us up to date with correct telephone numbers. We have found it really helpful when people have been able to check their own blood pressures at home. This prevents a trip to the surgery, reduces risk to you, and blood pressures taken at home give a better indication of normal blood pressures than those done in the surgery. If you would like to buy your own blood pressure machine please see the suggestion below.
British and Irish Hypertension Society - BP Monitors for home use
It is also useful to have a thermometer at home and if you have asthma, a peak flow meter (available at the chemist or on prescription if needed).
As the risk of Covid-19 reduces, routine blood tests and medication reviews will resume. There will be a backlog so please bear with us as we catch up.
We are adding more self-help advice and disease information to our website. For example if you have children ‘When not to worry’ is particularly good and we’d recommend you take a look. We have some links to Metal Health websites including the local NHS helpline and mental health charities working in our community.
Lancashire and South Cumbria - NHS Fondation Trust
You can now refer yourself directly to physiotherapy for back, neck, shoulder, elbow/wrist, hip, knee, ankle, and foot issues. The physiotherapy team are also doing a lot of their work over the phone at present.
Central Lancashire Moving Well
Please continue to follow the up to date government advice the link is below. If you are concerned you may have Covid-19, your first port of call continues to be 111, and you can arrange testing yourself on the government website.
Coronavirus (Covid-19) Getting Tested
Finally, during this crisis our staff here at Ryan Medical Centre have been amazing and I’d like to say thank you to them and all the other keyworkers on our patch.
The GP Partners, Ryan Medical Centre
🚨 CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 🚨
NHS advice on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Government advice on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
If you are concerned that you may have Coronavirus, or may have come into contact with someone who has, the NHS 111 online service has created Coronavirus pages that tell what you should do based on your particular circumstances. Please do not visit the surgery until you have contacted NHS 111.
We can offer social support to those who feel they are struggling during this uncertain and worrying time. If you feel like you would benefit or would like to enquire about this service please call the practice.
B12 INJECTION - SWITCH TO ORAL MEDICATION FOR THOSE WITH A B12 DEFICIENCY INCLUDING PERNICIOUS ANAEMIA DURING THE CORONA PANDEMIC
We have numerous patients receiving B12 injections every few months, many of whom are themselves at high risk. We do not want to put such patients at further risk by asking them to come and visit the practice. We also wish to protect our frontline staff from unnecessary contact to help keep our essential services going.
We have made a practice decision to stop the B12 top up injection at present so patients will have their injections delayed for at least 3 months. It is perfectly safe to delay the B12 injections in this way. When starting B12 injections patients receive a loading dose (6 injections over 2 weeks) approximately 50% of which is stored in the liver for the body to use when needed rather than being used immediately. The 3 monthly injections are therefore just top ups and patients already have plenty of B12 to last several months through this crisis from the injections already received.
If you wish it is possible to take B12 orally and when taken in large doses (1mg = 1000ug a day) it is absorbed into the body to correct a deficiency. Even in those with pernicious anaemia, where the body loses its ability to absorb vitamin B12 efficiently, some oral B12 is still absorbed. In the UK we have traditionally treated B12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia with an injection but other countries use high dose oral vitamin B12 tablets and a recent study confirmed its effectiveness.
Further Information on B12 Study
Although we cannot prescribe vitamin B12 tablets you can buy it quite cheaply both at local chemists and on the internet (eg. Amazon , Holland and Barrett). The dose is 1mg (=1000ug) a day and you should start taking this on the day your next vitamin B12 injection is due.
After delaying your injection for 3 months even if taking tablets it may be sensible to check your B12 levels so please contact the surgery at this point.
When life returns to normal after the corona pandemic we will return to 3 monthly injections if that is your preferred option.
Thank you for working with us during this difficult time.
Dr Helen Sture
To help further reduce footfall through the surgery and further protect our staff we will no longer be accepting paper requests for prescriptions. We will only accept online or telephone requests.
To minimise the risk of infection and to accommodate this we have temporarily extended the prescription telephone line opening hours. The telephone hours are now 8:00am - 12:00pm and 2:00pm - 6:00pm
We can now contact you by text message. Let us tell you about:
• Regular check-ups
• Medication Reviews
• Vaccination reminders
• ..and your appointment
From 1st May all patients telephoning to make an appointment with a GP will be asked the nature of their problem. Based on what you tell the Care Navigator you will then be advised of the most appropriate contact type in the most appropriate time frame.
Be assured that the decisions as to who you see and when you are seen are NOT being made by the Care Navigators but have been made by the doctors and the staff are referring to the guide issued by the GP’s. The reason for commencing this service is to ensure that our patients are seen by the most appropriate health care professional in the most appropriate time frame. We would also like to stress that everyone that works at the practice is bound by the same confidentiality rules as GP’s and nurses and anything that you say to them will be kept in the strictest of confidence.
If you have any questions regarding these changes please do not hesitate to ask.
Dr’s. Howell, Waide, Sture, Livesey, Wong, Finan, and Akinduro
We have introduced an exciting new project to offer you more bookable GP and nurse appointments 7 days a week. Further information on 7 day access.
The options when phoning the surgery have changed
Did you know we have a Patient Participation Group?
The purpose of the Patient Participation Group is to help us access and use your ideas for new projects, and gaining your views as to how the practice can improve and develop.
Patient Group Page
'Choose' Well by choosing the right service. Further details can be found on the Choose Well leaflet. The short video below is all about Choosing the Right Service.
You can now view your medical record, book your next appointment, or order your repeat prescription online using Patient Access. Available 24 hours a day, whether you're at home or work, it's especially useful when the practice is closed or telephone lines are busy. Register online or use the service (Click the Register - Create an Account option.).
111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It's fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals.
How likely are you to recommend this Surgery to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment? Please spend 2 minutes to take the Friends and Family Test.
View our results
The NHS website. Take control of your health and wellbeing. Get medical advice, information about healthcare services and support for a healthy life.
Patient is one of the most trusted medical resources online, supplying evidence based information on a wide range of medical and health topics to patients and health professionals.
Stay at home to stop coronavirus spreadingPlease remember you should continue to observe social distancing guidelines when you are outside your home, including ensuring you are 2 metres away from anyone outside your household.
A high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
To protect others, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. Stay at home.
