Coronavirus FAQs

Have your dispensary opening times changed?

No. Coed y Glyn is open to collect medicines from 9am to 6pm every day. Glan Menai is open as follows;

Monday and Tuesday: 9:00 – 12:30pm and 3pm – 5pm

Wednesday and Thursday: 9:00 – 12:30pm

Friday: 9:00 – 12:30pm and 2pm – 4 pm

We have started to deliver medicines to some patients to whom we dispense, but we currently do not offer this service to all patients. Please do not contact us to enquire about this: if we expand the service we will contact patients individually to offer.

When can I call to speak to a doctor?

Our phone lines open at 8am. After 12:30pm we deal with emergencies only. We would be most grateful if you could call as early as possible to request a callback. This is so that we can arrange to see the patients who need seeing, both in the surgery or at home, arrange further care if required, and make sure prescriptions can be issued.

Should I come to the surgery?

We are trying to get as few patients as possible into the surgery, in order to protect patients, our staff, and prevent possible contamination of the building. We are still seeing patients when absolutely necessary. This includes nurse appointments for essential blood tests and injections, childhood immunisations, and doctor appointments if needed after a telephone triage. We are seeing many patients by video consultation, which seems to be working well. Do not come in to the surgery to request a doctor phone call or to make an inquiry – please call for this.

Is the surgery delivering prescriptions to people who need to practise social distancing and self isolation?

We are working with local organisations to organise deliveries of medications, meaning that no-one will have to leave their home to come to the surgery. Hopefully this will be running soon, and we will post details here. Various organisations and volunteers have already mailed out pamphlets offering help with collecting medications and shopping etc. This is a good option until our plans are formalised.

I have a health condition and have decided to socially distance myself and stay at home. Do I need a note?

There has been some confusion about the guidelines for social shielding for 12 weeks. This is for patients with specific health problems which makes them very vulnerable. The NHS is sending letters to these patients with information. These letters are for medical advice and nothing to do with employment.

The full list of conditions and further details are in the ‘terms explained‘ section. It includes COPD and asthma only if severe, and does not include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, arthritis etc.

Patients with other medical conditions should practise social distancing (as should everyone). With regards to work this means ‘work from home if possible’. If you can’t work from home, your employer is not under obligation to allow you not to work and stay at home. If they do allow this it is by mutual agreement, so you do not need a note.

I’m worried about coming to the surgery with my repeat prescription. Is there another way for me to organise this?

We have moved the repeat slips box to the lobby outside the main waiting room, so you don’t need to come in to the surgery. If you collect your repeat from a pharmacy you can nominate them to request repeats on your behalf – speak to them about this. If you have lost your repeat slip please do not call the surgery, as we do not routinely accept repeat requests over the phone. Write your request on paper and post it into the repeat box. During this emergency we have decided to accept prescription requests via the website.

I’ve heard that you give steroid rescue packs for people with asthma. Is this true?

We do not offer rescue pack for patients with asthma, because it is essential that you speak to a doctor if symptoms worsen. Asthma UK have made a statement supporting this.

Are you postponing childhood immunisations?

NO. It’s extremely important that we continue vaccinating children as usual. It will protect children against diseases that are potentially much more dangerous to them than coronavirus.

Are you still giving vitamin B12 injections?

We strongly advise patients who usually have B12 injections to defer further injections until the emergency has passed. We believe that catching coronavirus at the surgery (and carrying it to others) would be much more dangerous than the delay. If you understand this, and still want to continue, you must speak to a doctor.

I have a pre-existing medical condition – how does this affect work?

At the moment, for some people with specific medical conditions, you should practise social distancing. This mainly means avoiding large groups of people. If you interact with many people in work you should speak to your employer about the possibility of changing your duties or being able to work from home. Of course this is not possible in many jobs so it will be a decision for your employer about whether or not you stop going to work. At the moment employers are not obliged to allow this. Please do not call the surgery to discuss this with a doctor – this is the only information we can provide. Some patients are particularly vulnerable due to specific serious underlying health conditions. Click here to read more.

My employer wants a sick note to cover my isolation period. How can I get one?

There is an online tool to generate isolation forms which you can then print out. Click here to go there. Please do not contact us for sick notes for anything to do with the coronavirus emergency.

Will you supply letters to employers confirming I have a medical condition?

Due to the current pressures on our services we will not be providing such letters. Our doctors and administrative staff are very busy with clinical issues and as such we don’t believe that this would be an efficient use of our time. Please feed this back to your employers – we urge them to apply common sense when discussing social distancing with their employees.

Will you supply letters to support travel insurance claims?

We don’t think this is an efficient use of our time, and so will not be offering this. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) support us in this. There is a link to their statement in our Facebook feed.