Who is considered a Front-Line Health Worker

Vaccine Guide for Adults

Why do I have to wait for the Vaccine?

We are pleased to announce our Covid Vaccination delivery sites will be going live in the forthcoming weeks.

Members of the Poole North Primary Care Network are working frantically behind the scenes to get our clinics up and running.

If you wish to volunteer to work at these clinics we would be very keen to hear from you.

If you are interested please email:

birchwood.reception@dorsetgp.nhs.uk

Alternatively, please telephone the surgery with your contact details.

THANK YOU

Covid Vaccinations

Who is considered a “Front-Line Health Worker”?

In order to help aid the mobilisation of the Covid Vaccination, practices have been asked to find out from their patient population which of them are a “Front-Line Health Worker.”

This document will help you decide if this applies to you;

You should read this document CAREFULLY and then, if your work fits any of the following categories you should TEXT back the word HEALTH from the text we sent you.

Please DO NOT call the practice to seek advice about this matter. WE WILL CALL YOU when the time arises. You will be asked to provide proof that you fit this employment criteria when we call and when you have the vaccination.

Front-Line Health Workers are:

Social care workers

This would include:

• those working in long-stay residential and nursing care homes or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality.

• social care staff directly involved in the care of their patients or clients

• others involved directly in delivering social care such that they and vulnerable patients/  

clients are at increased risk of exposure

Young people age 16-18 years, who are employed in, studying or in training for health and social care work should be offered vaccination alongside their colleagues if a suitable vaccine is available.

Younger people who are taking part in health and social care work as volunteers, interns or for the purposes of work experience, should make all efforts to avoid exposure to infection; vaccination would not normally be required.

Healthcare staff

All frontline healthcare staff who are eligible for seasonal influenza vaccination should be offered COVID-19 vaccine.

This includes the following groups;

• Staff involved in direct patient care.
• Staff who have frequent face-to-face clinical contact with patients and who are directly involved in patient care in either secondary or primary care/community settings.
• Doctors,
• dentists,
• midwives
• nurses,
• paramedics
• ambulance drivers,
• pharmacists,
• optometrists,
• occupational therapists,
• physiotherapists
• radiographers.
•  

It should also include those working in independent, voluntary and non-standard healthcare settings such as;

• hospices,
• Community-based mental health or addiction services.
• Temporary staff, including those working in the COVID-19 vaccination programme,

Students, trainees and volunteers who are working with patients must also be included.

Non-clinical staff in secondary or primary care/community healthcare settings;

This includes

• non-clinical ancillary staff who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in patient care (such as receptionists, ward clerks, porters and cleaners.)
• Laboratory and pathology staff
• Hospital-based laboratory and mortuary staff who frequently handle SARS-CoV-2 or collect or handle potentially infected specimens, including respiratory, gastrointestinal and blood specimens should be eligible as they may also have social contact with patients. This may also include cleaners, porters, secretaries and receptionists in laboratories.
• Frontline funeral operatives and mortuary technicians / embalmers are both at risk of exposure and likely to spend a considerable amount of time in care homes and hospital settings where they may also expose multiple patients.
• Staff working in non-hospital-based laboratory and those academic or commercial research laboratories who handle clinical specimens or potentially infected samples will be able to use effective protective equipment in their work and should be at low risk of exposure.

Please be advised this service has been temporarily removed until further notice. If you wish to make an appointment, please either use our on line Econsult service or telephone the surgery

Emergency Appointments

All emergency appointments will need to be triaged by a doctor before an appointment is made to come into the surgery.

The Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisations (JCVI) who advise the Government have published

their advice as to the order of priority for the Covid Vaccination Programme.

1. older adults’ resident in a care home and care home workers
2. all those 80 years of age and over and health and social care workers

The final decision on the prioritisation for health and social care workers will be dependent on vaccine

characteristics and the epidemiology at the start of any programme.

3. all those 75 years of age and over
4. all those 70 years of age and over
5. all those 65 years of age and over
6. high-risk adults under 65 years of age
7. moderate-risk adults under 65 years of age (6 & 7 may be combined)
8. all those 60 years of age and over
9. all those 55 years of age and over
10. all those 50 years of age and over
11. rest of the population (priority to be determined)

Dear Patient

We are all excited to hear about the progress on a Covid vaccine and that this should improve the quality of life for all of us.

We know that you, like us, are struggling with the confines imposed upon us all due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Everyone is trying to make the best of the situation and, as a practice, we are committed to caring for you in the best possible way whilst keeping both you and our team safe.

To keep you as informed as possible, we will update these messages frequently as we become aware of more information from NHS England:

• Some hospitals have now received the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine and are starting to invite patients in for their vaccine
•  
• Some GP practices will start to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine this week and are inviting patients in for their vaccine.
•  
• We will let you know the specific local Covid vaccination plans as soon as we can

• Please do not telephone us to ask when or if you are going to get a Covid Vaccine.
•  
• We will contact you individually if and when you are invited to have a vaccine and will keep this website updated.

• The vaccine will be given in order of priority to those at highest risk first.

• Please act on your invitation when it comes, and make sure you attend your appointments.

• It is essential, if you are given a vaccine, that you return for the second part of the vaccination on the date that you are advised to.

• Please continue to abide by all the social distancing and hand hygiene guidance, which will still save lives.

Meanwhile, we all need to keep to the advice of hand-washing, face masks and social distancing but we all look forward to the time when we will return to life as normal.

Thank you for your patience

Dr Goodworth and Partners/Practice Manager

14.12.20

When will the clinics be?

We anticipate to start rolling out our vaccination programme in January.

Who is carrying out the clinics?

We will be working alongside 3 other local practices to organise and run the clinics.

Which vaccine will I be given?

The initial vaccine that will be issued is the Pfizer vaccine.

Who will be given vaccines first?

Patients will be stratified according to risk, starting with those in the over 80s bracket.

I am housebound/in a care/nursing home – will I be vaccinated in the first wave?

Due to the instability of the Pfizer vaccine in relation to its suitability to be transported, we are awaiting further guidance on vaccinating patients who are housebound or in a nursing/care home.

Where will the clinics be?

Until our proposed site has been signed off, we are unable to confirm the venue but hope it will be local to us all.

How will you get in touch with me?

We will contact you by text, phone call or letter as appropriate.

We are aware that many GPs, nurses and other staff are willing to either return to the workplace or increase their sessions to assist with the covid-19 pandemic and in particular the extensive vaccination programme due to start later in December.

Each of our areas have developed a workforce centre for those who wish to help and support the programme.

Dorset have provided a weblink to an Expression of Interest form -  https://bit.ly/DorsetCovidVaccinator

If you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home, your condition gets worse or you do not get better after 7 days you should use the 111 on line Coronavirus service www.111.nhs.uk/covid-19/

Click on the link below for further information: