Important Message For All Patients And Visitors Posted or Updated on 15 Feb 2022

THE Prime Minister has announced that from Monday, July 19, mandatory social distancing and the wearing of face coverings imposed under Covid regulations will no longer be required.

The Government also announced that it expects and recommends masks to continue to be worn in crowded and enclosed spaces and in specific settings.

We are still seeing rising cases of Covid-19 in our communities and in Admission to hospital so despite the easing of restrictions in our daily lives, we can’t afford to become complacent in terms of the rigorous processes we follow as health and care staff to keep our patients, and indeed each other, safe.

As health professionals, it is our duty to ensure patients and our staff remain protected.

With this in mind, we wish to make it clear that despite the changes coming into force next week, the current IPC guidance will remain in place in all our primary care practices.

It will also be a requirement in other NHS settings in Lancashire and Cumbria.

Therefore please could all patients and visitors to all our surgeries continue to adhere to the following protocols:

Wear a face covering (surgical mask) on entry and at all times.

Use hand sanitisation gel on entry.

Stay at least 2m away from other people wherever possible.

As a this is a healthcare facility – with other patients at risk to exposure  – self-declare exemptions are not applicable. Should you feel you are unable to wear a mask, please contact the surgery beforehand by telephone to discuss alternative options.

Please note any aggression or abuse directed towards our staff will not be tolerated and any incident will be dealt with under NHS Zero Tolerance processes.

We are sure you understand the reasons for applying the above conditions and we would like to thank all our patients and other visitors to our surgeries in anticipation of your co-operation and support.