The UK government has announced that it will be moving to Step 4 of its Roadmap on Monday 19th July. Although this means that many parts of society will appear to be “back to normal”, we hope you will understand that as a GP surgery we cannot revert to pre-Covid mode at present. Rates of infection continue to increase, and because people coming into the surgery building are more likely to be unwell than those attending a shop/pub/restaurant, the risks of Covid transmission are higher. We have therefore decided that for the time being we will continue to operate in the same way that we have done since April 2020. In other words,
- Staff at the surgery will continue to wear masks when in close contact with others,
- Patients attending the surgery will also be expected to wear a face covering (unless exempt) for the safety of our staff and other patients,
- Our waiting room will remain closed in order to minimise the risk of infection transmission,
- A system of “Total Triage” will remain in operation, so that all consultations will be by phone in the first instance,
- Patients will be invited to attend the surgery if a clinician feels that it is necessary in order to make a clinical assessment.
Thank you for your continued understanding.
Dr Evans & Dr Bishop
New Wokingham Road Surgery