Coronavirus   (COVID-19)

COVID19 ALERT – CORONAVIRUS – IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Dear Patients,

Castlepollard Medical Practice is running a “CLOSED DOOR POLICY” as and from Monday 16/03/2020.
We will strive to deal with everyone’s queries, but mainly via telephone.

We will only see emergency cases, and this may need to take place in your car outside the surgery grounds.
Please be patient with reception staff who will need to ask you important questions over the phone, and you may experience longer waiting times to get through to reception staff.

Patients with Respiratory Symptoms;
If you have a fever and/or cough, you should stay at home regardless of your recent travel or contact history. There is helpful advice on www.hse.ie or phone the surgery on 044 9661235 if you need to speak with medical staff.

Those who require testing for Covid19 do NOT need to come to the GP surgery. A member of staff will talk to you over the phone, and book the test if clinically indicated. You will be contacted to arrange testing by the National Ambulance Service, or be asked to attend a designated test centre.

All People in the Community
People are advised to reduce all social interactions. If you are out in the community, be mindful to keep a distance of 2 metres between you and other people. Do not shake hands or make close contact if at all possible.

Appointments
Other medical conditions are obviously active too and we will strive to ensure that patients with non-respiratory illnesses are cared for also. Patients are requested to give information about respiratory symptoms before getting an appointment. Patients may be reviewed using a phone consultation, or seen in person if deemed an emergency.

Prescriptions and Forms/Paperwork
We ask that you only request prescriptions over the phone, only if you are running out of tablets. We ask that you do not attend in person to request and collect prescriptions from us. If you are unwell, please ensure that a family member collects your medication from the pharmacy on your behalf, once they have been given consent to do so.
Forms from the Department of Social Protection or other paper work can be dropped into the surgery letter box and will be ready for collection after 7 days.
We would appeal to all members of the community to defer any non-urgent queries/examinations/tests until after this worrisome time has passed.
We encourage everyone to stay safe, and thank you for your support during this very stressful time. The situation is changing rapidly, and we will update our notifications as and when any changes arise.

Many Thanks – Dr Emma O’Hara – GP Principal.