Helston Medical Centre & Porthleven Surgery

If you are attending the surgery for an appointment, please can we ask you to come wearing a mask or face covering.

We are open for business as usual, but please note that all requests for an appointment will be dealt with by telephone first. It is safe to come to the surgery if we ask you to however, as we have procedures in place to ensure that social distancing is respected and all clinicians will be wearing the appropriate PPE.

The best way to contact the surgery is by using eConsult - simply click on the link above or visit the NHS App. By staying away from the surgery sites, unless attending an appointment, you are helping to fight COVID-19.

If your child ever becomes unwell and is under 5 years of age, you may find the following link useful. https://newcastlegatesheadccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/08/Little-Orange-Book.pdf?mc_cid=f38b992c78&mc_eid=1fee1841ed 

Covid-19 Vaccination - How to get a booster - Please do not call the surgery to enquire at the present time.

If it has been 26 weeks or more since your second COVID-19 vaccination, then you can book your booster vaccine on the nhs website or ring 119.

It is important to have the booster to get the best possible protection against COVID-19. It will also reduce the risk of you passing COVID-19 to anyone else. 

By having the booster vaccine we can make sure that we provide the body with the best protection against the virus.

To make an appointment for your booster dose please call 119 or visit:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/ 

Cornwall is currently seeing an increase in the number of cases of Coronavirus. 

Please be vigilant and follow the government guidance of Hands, Face, Space. 

COVID19 symptoms: 

Please be aware that the new variant is presenting with more non-specific symptoms and some of these can be similar to Hay fever.  

If you develop any of the following symptoms please self isolate and arrange a test:  

1. Temperature 
2. A new continuous cough 
3. Loss or change to your smell or taste 
4. Headache  
5. Sore throat  
6. Runny nose / sneezing  

Lateral flow tests (LFT) are for people who do not show any symptoms of having coronavirus. A negative LFT in the presence of possible COVID19 symptoms can be falsely reassuring.  

If you have any of the symptoms of COVID19, you must self-isolate immediately and arrange a free PCR test. These are tests that are sent to a laboratory to be analysed. You can book a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test online, or by phoning 119. 

For all Coronavirus information please scroll to the bottom of this web page and click on the link 'coronavirus information'

Please do no call the surgery.

DATA SHARING UPDATE

General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR)

An important update about the sharing of your medical information has been announced by NHS Digital called GPDPR (replacing GPES). This has been developed in consultation with the BMA and RCGP over the past few years and recently a Data Provision Notice has been issued to GP surgeries meaning GP surgeries have a legal obligation to comply with this data sharing exercise.

However there has been criticism about the lack of information provided to the public and a very short timescale for patients to fully understand GPDPR. It is important that you are aware what sort of data is shared, why it is shared, and importantly how you can opt out of sharing your data should you wish to.

There is a very limited timeframe for registering your decision to opt out of data sharing (23rd June 2021) before the GPDPR comes into action on 1st July 2021. It will be presumed you are happy for your data to be shared unless you specifically opt out.  As a partnership we will be doing further work around how we ensure patients are aware of this change. 

To find out more please read the following privacy notice about GPDPR, this includes information about opting out https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/gp-privacy-notice

To opt out please complete a Type 1 Opt Out Form and return it to the practice, available here: https://nhs-prod.global.ssl.fastly.net/binaries/content/assets/website-assets/data-and-information/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/type-1-opt-out-form.docx  These can be returned to letters.helstonmc@nhs.net 

There is also a transparency notice

 Any temporary residents needing to be seen should call their own surgery first. The majority of patient consultations are being carried out by phone during the Covid crisis, so by calling your own surgery you will be dealt with by a clinician who has access to your full notes. Please note we are unable to provide electronic prescriptions for temporary residents although your own surgery should be able to do this, even for a pharmacy in Cornwall.