Summer is just starting to fade and now that time of year is fast approaching, we wanted to share our plans with you for the coming Autumn. For the past 18 months, our practice, worked with the other four practices in the North Cotswolds to deliver the Covid-19 vaccination programme from the North Cotswold Community Hospital. We are very proud to say that it was one of the most successful programmes in Gloucestershire.
We are pleased to advise our patients that we are, once again all working together to deliver the Autumn vaccination programme of Covid boosters and Seasonal Influenza vaccinations. We understand that we are most likely to be vaccinating with the mRNA bivalent vaccine alongside the age-appropriate seasonal influenza vaccinations.
The team, based at the North Cotswold Community Hospital site is made up of staff from our practice at Campden Surgery along with colleagues from Cotswold Medical Practice, Stow Surgery, White House Surgery and Mann Cottage Surgery. They work alongside colleagues from the Primary Care Network and our wonderful volunteer workers.
The clinics where patients can get their Autumn Covid Booster and their Flu vaccination at the same time, will start at the hospital, towards the end of September. We will be first visiting our most vulnerable patients in local care homes around mid- September then working in our clinics which will be during Saturdays and Sundays mostly during October and November.
During the week the hospital and the surgeries will be working as usual and so there will not be any vaccinations or staff in the hospital during the working day so please do not drop in this time!
Children’s nasal flu vaccinations will be carried out in the practice but all of our other flu vaccinations will be going to the hospital for our patients to have along with their Covid boosters.
Our practices will be inviting patients, from our joint appointment booking hub once again and the volunteer workers will be back in the hub, from week commencing 22nd August, to start booking your appointments in accordance with the recommended priority groups. We will give an update shortly as to the times the hub will be operational for queries but if you could initially await your telephone or text invite, it really will help make the process as speedy as possible.
We would be very grateful if our patients awaited their invitation and contacted the hub telephone number with queries about these vaccinations. This will help us to keep the surgery telephone lines and our receptionists free for our routine daily work. It is our aim to get everyone booked in for their appointment before we start vaccinating and to do this, we will need your patience to get through everyone in turn. We will also in due course send out reminders to those who have not booked and update on any changes regularly via the website.
You may receive an invitation from the National Booking System starting from 5th September. Unfortunately, we are unable to be on the National Booking System as a booking option, so as previously, please disregard this invitation and await your invite to the local service at North Cotswold Hospital from the practice hub team. You do not have to travel out of the area to get vaccinated, there is local provision for local patients.
We wish you a very healthy time for the remaining days of the summer and look forward to seeing you in the vaccination clinics to ensure you are safe and protected for the coming winter season.