England's Chief Nurse has today reminded the public that everyone accessing or visiting healthcare settings must continue to wear a face covering and follow social distancing rules.

Covid restrictions will end in many settings in England from Monday 19th July 2021.

However, Public Health England's infection prevention control guidelines and hospital visiting guidance are set to remain in place for all staff and visitors.

This means NHS visitor guidance will stay in place across all health services including hospitals, GP practices, dental practices, optometrists and pharmacies to ensure patients and staff are protected.

Staff, patients and visitors will also be expected to continue to follow social distancing rules when visiting any care setting as well as using face coverings, mask and other personal protection equipment.

The NHS will continue to support staff in ensuring that the guidance is followed in all healthcare settings.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, how you contact us will be different at the moment.  This is to limit face-to-face contact whenever possible and help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Please ring the practice for any queries.  Please do not come to the practice unless you have an appointment.

There are mail boxes at the front door for posting letters, samples and prescriptions.  Please ensure all details are clearly marked on all samples because if they are not these will be rejected and further samples will be required.

If you are waiting for a check-up, please be assured we will be in touch

Appointments are being delivered face-to-face, online and over the telephone.  If you are asked to come to the practice please remember to wear a face covering.  Measures are in place to keep you safe from infection during your visit to the surgery.

Face mask exemption letter

Whilst we appreciate that these are challenging times for our patients, it is not the responsibility of a GP to issue an exemption letter to an individual from not wearing a face mask within various public settings. We issue this advice as the official representative body of GPs across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Government guidance regarding exemptions suggests there is no requirement for an individual to produce evidence of exemption, such as a letter from a GP and therefore should be sufficient for an individual to self-declare this. In these circumstances, it is not a medical reason that requires a written letter from the GP for those who do or do not, fall under the list of exemptions.

Do not contact your GP surgery about your COVID-19 vaccination status. GPs cannot provide letters showing your COVID-19 vaccination status.

Through the NHS App

You can access your COVID-19 vaccination status through the free NHS App from 17 May. You can access the app through mobile devices such as a smartphone or tablet. Proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status will be shown within the NHS App. We recommend that you register with the app before booking international travel.

By calling 119

If you do not have access to a smartphone and know that the country you are travelling to requires COVID-19 vaccination status, 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 working days after you’ve completed your course of the vaccine. We expect the letter to take up to 5 working days to reach you.

The letter will be sent automatically to the address registered with your GP. The 119 call handler you speak to will not be able to see your address to check this with you. If you’ve recently moved house, make sure you’ve given your new address to your GP practice before calling 119.

• uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers#exemptions-face-coverings
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own
• org.uk/advice-and-support/covid-19/gp-practices

We will continue to ensure that the healthcare needs of our patients continue to be met in accordance with NHS and Government guidance.

We hope that this guidance provides some reassurance for you on this issue.

Practices have been receiving requests from patients for Med 3s or letters for their employers, when the patient has been notified that they (or a member of the household) need to self-isolate for 14 days prior to elective admission to hospital. This is actually nothing to do with GPs and unless the patient is ill a MED 3 should not be issued. We do recognise that these requests are coming in and we therefore advise:

• The admission letter from the hospital should be sufficient evidence for an employer.
• The patient should contact NHS 111 to self-declare and apply for a self-isolation note. They should answer yes to the question: “Have you been told to self-isolate by an NHS service or a healthcare professional?” and if they then tick the box that says “I have been told to self-isolate by a test and trace service” they will be able to get a self-isolation note sent to them.

We have produced a template letter for patients to print off for their employers. Self-Isolation letter for 14 days before elective admission