Medical Centre

New Out of Hours Medical Help/Advice Arrangements from 17 July

Hodnet Medical CentreHodnet Medical Centre’s website provides the following information about imminent changes to the provision of out of hours medical help or advice. From 17th July, the NHS 111 service will replace the current out-of-hours GP telephone access service provided by Shropdoc in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. See below for more details:

NHS 111 service to take calls out-of-hours across Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire
From Tuesday 17 July 2018, patients across Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire who need urgent out-of-hours medical help or advice will need to call 111.
The NHS 111 service will replace the current out-of-hours GP telephone access service provided by Shropdoc in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin in line with national policy to provide a consistent, integrated approach to urgent care; but any patients that need to see a clinician out-of-hours will still be seen by a local GP or other appropriate clinician.
NHS 111 is much more than a helpline – if you’re worried about an urgent medical concern, you can call 111 to speak to a fully trained adviser.
Depending on the situation, the NHS 111 team can connect you to generalist and specialist nurses, or even a GP or pharmacist, and can arrange face-to-face appointments should you need one.
It is free and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
There is also a new ‘ASK NHS’ app that has been designed that provides improved access to NHS 111 and other local NHS services. Advice is delivered by the virtual clinician ‘Olivia’ and she takes you through the steps of the symptom checker which can result in the booking of a GP appointment, access to NHS choices, a call back from a clinical expert or access to self-care.
You can download the ‘Ask NHS’ app via Google Play (for Android phones) or Apple App Store (for iPhones). If you need more guidance on how to download the app please click here
If you are a patient living in Wales you should continue to use the Shropdoc number.

Hodnet Medical Centre – Half Day Closure 26/06/2018

Hodnet Medical Centre has announced in the news section on its website home page that it will be closed on the afternoon of Tuesday 26 June:

Half Day Closure 26/06/2018
Half day closure The surgery will be closed for half a day on: Tuesday 26th June 2018 from 12.30pm To allow all Practice staff to take part in a protected learning time training session. All surgeries within the North Shropshire area will be closed this afternoon for training purposes. This is in line with the Government’s directive to improve training and education within the NHS, and to give all practice staff the opportunity to participate. If you require medical treatment while the surgery is closed on the above afternoon – please call shropdoc on 0333 222 66 55 Thank you for your support.

Hodnet Medical Centre

Hodnet Medical Centre – Patient Access Problems

Update August 2018 – We understand that this problem has now been resolved.


Earlier today (7 June 18) posted this announcement on its website:

Patient Access Problems (Posted on 7 Jun 2018)
Please be aware that Patient access is currently experiencing problems which affects the online prescription ordering system.  This does not seem to affect patients newly registered to Patient Access.  Patient Access have informed us that this may take up to two months to rectify.  Please do not nominate another pharmacy from the list as we do not have the facility to manage this electronically and your order will not be received.  In the meantime please order your prescription by ticking the items on your repeat prescription slip and dropping this into the surgery.

The reason for the problems seems to be that the Patient Access service has moved to a new website (and app) which has enhanced features (use the old link and you will be redirected to the new one). This includes patients being able to nominate a pharmacy to collect their repeat orders from – many doctors do not have their own pharmacy even though it is increasingly common for one to be located adjacent to the practice.
If you want to find out more before you access the new website, you can obtain information from its help section. It includes a page which describes what to expect when you “Sign in for the first time as an existing user”.

Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin CCGs – Extended Hours Survey

Last week Hodnet Medical Centre published details of its Extended Opening Hours arrangements. Today, (9 May 18) it has published details of a survey which is currently being carried out by Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).
The survey opened on Monday, 30 April, and closes on Friday, 25 May at 5pm.
All patients who are over 16 and registered at a practice listed with either Shropshire CCG or Telford & Wrekin CCG can take part in the survey. It takes between five and ten minutes to complete.
Participate in the survey
Further information about the survey is available from the following pages:

GP Extended Opening Hours

This week (4 May 18) Hodnet Medical Centre has added information to its website about extended hours in which patients can make midweek evenings and weekend appointments with GPs and nurses.
The information which is in the form of the graphic below, states the extended hours service is operated by Shropdoc, and can be routine appointments can be booked by calling 0333-222-6649.
If you want to know more please ask at the Medical Centre.

Hodnet Medical Centre – Telephone failure 2 May 2018

Hodnet Medical Centre is again experiencing problems with its telephone system. Earlier today they have posted a notice on their website which states:

Telephone failure

We are currently experiencing a problem with our telephone system. The engineers are working to address the problem, and expect the system to be up and running as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Hodnet Medical Centre

Medical Practice Half Day Closure – 17 April 2018

Hodnet Medical Practice has recently announced that the surgery will be closed on the afternoon of Tuesday 17 April. The notice, which can be found on the home page of the Practice’s website reads:

Half Day Closure 17.04.2018
Half day closure The surgery will be closed for half a day on: Tuesday 17th April 2018 from 12.30pm To allow all Practice staff to take part in a protected learning time training session. All surgeries within the North Shropshire area will be closed this afternoon for training purposes. This is in line with the Government’s directive to improve training and education within the NHS, and to give all practice staff the opportunity to participate. If you require medical treatment while the surgery is closed on the above afternoons – please call Shropdoc on 0333 222 66 55. Thank you for your support.

Hodnet Medical Centre

National Vaccine Shortage

Hodnet Medical Centre has posted a news item on its website concerning the national shortage of Hepatitis A and B vaccines. The announcement, which can be found at the foot of the front page, reads:

Vaccine shortage

There is a global shortage of Hepatitis A and B vaccines impacting severely on UK supply, This is due to intermittent manufacturing issues which have resulted in increased demand on all manufacturers’ supplies of vaccine.
We are also currently experiencing a shortage of Pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccine, and Revaxis (Diphteria Tetanus and Polio) vaccine. It is not clear when these vaccines will become available.

Hodnet Medical Centre

Facebook page for Patient Group

Patient Participation Groups are a requirement for every medical practice in England. The function of such groups varies according to practice and locality, but one of their aims is to help medical centres communicate with their patients about new patient directives such as the flu jab.

The new ‘Hodnet Medical Centre Patient Participation Group’ Facebook page has been created by your local group to provide Hodnet Medical Practice patients with this type of information. Please ‘Follow’ this page on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest health awareness information and Hodnet Medical Centre updates.

Find us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/HMCPPG

‘Likes’ & ‘Shares’ of posts will help the Group to become more aware of the type of information most important to Hodnet patients. The PPG will also post about general health issues and health initiatives from other local organisations. At this stage the page is only informative rather than interactive.

To contact the PPG, see the “About” section of the Facebook page or please email.

Update Dec. 2017: The PPG now also has its own page on this website.
Hodnet Medical Centre