Beware of Impersonation Scams

Impersonation scams happen when someone tricks you into making a payment by pretending to be from a trusted organisation, such as your GP, the police, your bank, a utility company, or even a government department. 

The Practice accept payments for non-NHS work i.e. medical reports, private medical examinations etc. but WE WILL NEVER ASK FOR YOUR BANK DETAILS.

With so many fake health products available online, it's crucial to be extremely careful when considering any new medicine or healthcare product. Always proceed with caution and do your research to protect yourself.

You can report a scam to Lincolnshire County Council using the following link: Report a scam – Lincolnshire County Council

Alternatively, you can:

• call Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133
• report it to Action Fraud or call 0300 123 2040
• pass on your knowledge to friends, neighbours or relatives

If you know the scam has come from abroad, report it to econsumer.gov.

If you would like to say Thank You to our Practice, click here to download the form.

This campaign will run until the end of March 2025.

New guidance states that once a child reaches the age of 11 years, they are entitled to either give or withhold consent for parents/legal guardians to be able to access their online records.

In the eyes of the law a child is a child until they reach their 18th birthday. For the purposes of medical treatment, the boundaries are different and in some circumstances a child younger than 16 years may access medical services without the knowledge of their parents.

In those cases the patient is entitled to retain their confidentiality. In light of this and in all cases online proxy access will be withdrawn once the patient reaches their 11th birthday. This does not remove parental/legal guardian consent or involvement in their child’s medical health care.

Our team have been reviewing records with Proxy Access and contacting those are require a review - You will receive a letter if this is relevant to you. As a parent/legal guardian, you may continue to act on behalf of your child, where this is in their best interest or involves learning disabilities etc or with the child's consent.

Alternatively, if your child wishes to set up their own access to their record (age 11 and over) you can contact reception team to arrange. 

Birchwood Medical Practice is preparing for the winter vaccination programme, which this year includes a new vaccination for patients turning 75 yo from 1st September, and there is a catch up programme for those already 75 - 79 years old to protect them from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

Three vaccinations will be offered by the practice this year, to protect patients against RSV, seasonal flu and COVID and the practice is asking patients to familiarise themselves with who is eligible for which vaccination and how this year’s vaccination programme will work. 

We strongly encourage all our patients who are eligible for the three different vaccinations this year to book their vaccine appointments, so they can protect themselves from potential serious illness.

The practice is asking patients to please bear the following important points in mind: 

• If you are eligible for a vaccination, the practice will get in touch with you. Please wait for us to contact you. 
• If we have your mobile telephone number we will send you a text including a booking link, which you can use to make your appointment. If you need any help, speak with our reception team
• If you do not have a mobile phone, the practice will contact you by letter or telephone call to arrange your appointments
• Our nursing team will contact housebound patients and patients in care homes to arrange their vaccinations
• If you are eligible for the flu vaccination and COVID vaccination we can give you both these vaccines at the same time, but the RSV will be a separate appointment. 

Click on here for more details

Order your JAM card here!

All the staff here at Birchwood Medical Practice are currently in the process of completing new training on Learning Disabilities and Autism. This training (The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism) is to help us ensure that we can support and care for autistic people and people with a learning disability with safe, compassionate and informed care.

After listening to people with a learning disability and who are autistic, who were part of the training programme, it was agreed that we would look at how we could make changes within the surgery to make it more welcoming, calming and feel safe for our patients who have a learning disability and who are autistic. We have now made a new Calm Corner in our Reception Waiting Area and have also put up a new display in that area which gives information about how we can support our patients who have a learning disability and who are autistic.  We hope that this new area will help those who need a calm space to wait to see a GP or Nurse feel more at ease.

Feel free to take a look at the new display which shows other ways we are continuing to support our patients with a learning disability and who are autistic. If you have any other suggestions please feel free to speak to a member of staff.

If you think you may be at risk of Hepatitis C infection following an historic blood transfusion, it is possible to order a free and confidential home-testing kit for Hepatitis C - click here to order.

There are other options available for testing, including sexual health or GUM clinics, community drug services, as well as some pharmacies.

Here are our latest results from the National GP Patient Survey 2024

Thank you to the patients who were selected to complete the survey this year - we are very proud of our results.

Patients should call 999 in emergency for life threatening medical assistance. Call 111 for urgent advice/treatment that cannot wait until the Practice re-opens.

Pharmacies should be able to assist with minor ailments and medication advice. 

We will be closed on the following Bank Holidays in 2024:

• Wednesday, 25th December 2024
• Thursday, 26th December 2024

Bank Holidays for 2025:

• 1st January 2025
• 18th April 2025
• 21st April 2025
• 5th May 2025
• 25th August 2025
• 25th December 2025
• 26th December 2025

You may have noticed that the Boots Pharmacy, located in our building has recently changed hands to Lincolnshire Co-op.

Along with the Co-op Pharmacy at the bottom of our carpark, they plan to run both services side-by-side and we have been informed that the pharmacies will see no changes to their service for the foreseeable future. They will continue to pick up their medication from their nominated pharmacy, either Birchwood Pharmacy or Birchwood Health Centre.

Do you want to use the NHS App but struggling to get registered?

Book a one-to-one appointment with a member of our admin team who will help you get set up. Please remember to bring with you to your appointment:

• The device you wish to log on with
• Your photo ID - your email password (to receive verification messages)
• Your mobile phone (to receive verification messages)
• (iPhone/Apple users only) Your Apple ID password

Speak to our reception team to make an appointment

Avoid the telephones and Contact Us Online

You can contact us about a medical, administrative or prescription issue by clicking HERE   https://florey.accurx.com/p/C83082

Also available on the NHS App.

Easy to complete free-text forms with no need to register or download an app to request medical guidance online.  Patients can send photos as relevant or receive advice, questionnaires or leaflets to help with their enquiry. Answer a few short questions and we will get back to you within two working days.

Please do not use this online form for urgent or emergency requests.  The submitted form will only be read during between 09.00am- 17:30pm Monday to Friday. The forms will NOT be read on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) or on Bank Holidays.  Please contact 111 during Out of hours when the Practice is closed and ring 999 for emergencies.

Proxy Access allows someone other than the patient to access and manage parts of their GP online services account. The proxy is given their own online access account (rather than using the patient's login details).  

We are the only Practice in Lincoln that are currently trialling this service. 

The two posters directly below will take you to separate application pages - one is for adult patients and the other is for children. Please click on the posters to find out more about this service, and check if you are eligible to apply. 

Care Homes provide an important role in supporting our local people to live better in communities. The NHS has a vision of enhanced care and support to Care Homes as part of bringing the Care Home sector into the wider NHS family. As part of this service GP surgeries are being aligned with specific Care Homes to promote consistent good relationships between GP Practices and Care Homes. It is the aim of the service to improve the quality of care for patients who reside in Care Homes.

Birchwood Medical Practice is aligned to the following Care Homes:

St Clare's Care Home         LN6 0QT

White Gables Care Home   LN6 5SA

Swallow Lodge                   LN6 8UZ

The Orders of St John Care Trust - Hartsholme House   LN6 0EA