Norton Brook Medical Centre covers a large rural area in the South Hams; the practice boundary is a five mile radius around Kingsbridge. Our friendly team includes 9 GPs, 3 practice nurses, 2 HCAs and a phlebotomy team. Our non-clinical team consists of our practice manager and large helpful team of reception, administration and secretarial staff. 

Change of Location for COVID Vaccination Centre

Thursday 1st April 2021

We have been working hard behind the scenes to expand the success of the vaccination service provided from St Boniface House, Ashburton.

From Wednesday, April 7th, all COVID vaccinations (including 2nd doses but excluding any done in the surgeries) will take place in Follaton House, Totnes. The service will no longer be provided from St Boniface House. If you have an appointment up until April 5th, please continue to attend St. Boniface House.

We will release further details for Follaton House shortly. 

The move has several benefits to both patients as well as the service:

• The car parking has increased to over 100 spaces.
• We will be able to increase the amount of people vaccinated per day.
• The location is moving closer to several of the 9 other surgeries we are working with, reducing the travel time for many patients.
• The space is much larger, therefore we can see an increase in social distancing.
• Queuing outside will be reduced for those busier times.
• The observation area will also be within the building and not a marquees solution.
• Staff welfare will be better catered for.

The St. Boniface site can be seen as a triumph, we have vaccinated over 30,000 patients at this site. We are very grateful for all of the help we have received from the Dioceses of Plymouth and our dedicated volunteers.

Covid Vaccinations Update 

As of 11th March 2021 we have now attempted to contact all of our patients in cohorts 1-7, which includes anyone aged 60+ and any adult in an at-risk group to offer a vaccination appointment. If you are in cohorts 1-7 and we haven't been able to reach you, or if you have previously declined and have now changed your mind and would like a vaccination, please call the practice and we can arrange this for you over the next week. Once you receive an invite, the text link is live for you to book an appointment as soon as you receive it.  If you cannot book within 48 hours we will send another text out at a later date so we don't miss you out.

For those aged 55+ (cohort 8) you can now book your Covid Vaccine online, please click here to do this.

We are pleased to say that 42% of Norton Brook patients have now received their first vaccine. This has been due to the huge effort of the 10 GP practices across Totnes and the South Hams, working collaboratively to deliver this service at St Boniface for nearly 3 months. We are all extremely grateful for your kind words and letters of support at this time.

We are working with the South Dartmoor, Totnes & South Hams Primary Care Network (PCN) - a group of 10 GP surgeries - alongside a group of fantastic volunteers to deliver vaccines whilst running our surgery as close to business as usual.

Patients in cohorts 1-7 (as outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) include anyone aged 60 and over, frontline health and social care workers, clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged over 16 with underlying health conditions which are considered a higher risk of serious disease and mortality. 

At-Risk Groups

There are some underlying health conditions which put one at higher risk of serious disease and mortality. These patients fall within Cohort 6. Cohort 6 also includes all unpaid carers as well as those with a learning disability.

The list of risk factors for Cohort 6 is as follows:

• chronic heart disease (and vascular disease)
• chronic respiratory disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and severe asthma
• chronic kidney disease
• chronic liver disease
• chronic neurological disease including epilepsy
• Down's Syndrome
• severe and profound learning disability
• diabetes
• solid organ, bone marrow and stem cell transplant recipients
• people with specific cancers
• immunosuppression due to disease or treatment
• asplenia and splenic dysfunction
• morbid obesity
• severe mental illness

We strongly urge patients who have received a letter from NHS England to follow the instructions on their letter and make an appointment at one of the mass vaccination centres. 

For more information and further updates on the pandemic, please visit the Gov.uk website.

Booking Your Appointment

As we have our vaccination delivery schedules confirmed we are sending out text messages to those with mobile phones. You can click on a link in the text message to book your first vaccination appointment, this is the quickest way to book your appointment. Where necessary we are phoning patients to invite them for their appointments and also writing to patients where required.

Vaccinations at St Boniface

For an instructional walkthrough of the Vaccination Centre at St Boniface, please watch the following video.

If you have an appointment booked for your vaccination at St. Boniface House, you can find directions here.

Please do not attend St. Boniface without a booked appointment.

What to Expect After Your Vaccination

Please visit the Gov.uk website for information on what to expect after your first vaccination.

Booking your 2nd Dose

We are aware that some patients will already have an appointment booked for their second dose whilst others are waiting to hear. Please rest assured that we will be making contact with you in due course if you are still waiting for a second dose appointment. 

Regardless of the vaccine you have had, as soon as we know when the vaccine is available we will make contact with those who are due to inform them when an appointment for the 2nd dose can be made. Because of the complicated logistics we are unable to provide flexibility on these dates to fit personal preference. As the Pfizer vaccine needs to be used within 3 days of delivery we cannot confirm dates for second doses until we have confirmation from NHS England.

Thank you for your patience and support during this busy time.

Transport

If you are having difficulty finding transport to your vaccination appointment you can call 0808 196 3646 to self-refer for a GoodSAM volunteer who can make arrangements to help with your transport needs.

Norton Brook Coronavirus Update

Firstly, thank you for your support by following the stay at home and social distancing advice.

We have made a few changes to how patients access medical care, but we are still here for you when you need us!

We are managing most issues over the phone where possible, instead of seeing patients face to face - this is both to protect you and the staff at the surgery. We may offer you a video consultation where necessary if you have a smart phone, which involves being sent a link by text message which then connects you to the doctor. Your phone must have an internet connection and a camera for this to work. If the doctor feels you need to be seen face to face, an appointment will be offered (or a visit if absolutely necessary). Please bring a face covering with you if you have one. You should not have any contact with any common surfaces or anyone else. 

Data Sharing

The Practice may collect, hold and share information about you in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to plan and manage services, check that care is being provided and prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

Information about your COVID-19 status may be shared within the NHS and with other partners involved in your care and treatment, along with:

• NHS England
• NHS Digital
• Public Health England
• CCG
• The Department of Health
• Other Government Departments where it is legally required, or where it is necessary for the protection of public health or management of the outbreak.

We do not need your consent or agreement to do this.

More information can be found at https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/data-and-services-supporting-coronavirus and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notifiable-diseases-and-causative-organisms-how-to-report

Read the GP Practice Transparency Notice here.

Your Data Matters to the NHS

Information about your health helps the NHS to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. Read NHS Your Data Matters Leaflet or visit nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters.

Norton Brook Privacy Notice June 2021 Click link to access Practice's privacy notice which explains how we collect and use personal data

Access

Our surgery is accessible to patients using a wheelchair. We also provide free parking spaces outside our practice. This includes a number of dedicated disabled spaces which are reserved for patients displaying a disabled badge. All of our consulting rooms are based on the ground floor.

For the hard of hearing, we have a Hearing Loop. If any disabled patient has a problem getting access to the medical centre or using our facilities, we are anxious to be told.

Patient Participation Group

For more information please follow the link PPG

Norton Brook Patient Support and Transport

For more information please follow the link Patient Support