We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our patients and families a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

 

In the face of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant we would also like to reassure you that here at The Brook Surgery we are continuing to look after our patients to the best of our ability and are aiming to provide safe, ongoing care throughout the holiday period.

 

Some important changes to note if you need to access our services:

 

● The Surgery will continue to remain open throughout the coming weeks with an on-call service at weekends and on the Bank holidays (see Opening Hours below).

 

● Face-to face consultations will still be available for non-infective patients, however we will be asking you to take a lateral flow test before entering the surgery.

 

● All patients entering the premises must wear a mask at all times and use the hand sanitisers provided. Please come to the surgery unaccompanied unless absolutely necessary.

 

● All infective presentations including those for cough, fever, sore throats and runny noses (even if your Lateral flow test is negative) will, in the first instance, be offered a video or telephone consultation. A clinician will offer a “Hot” consultation based on assessment of clinical need. It’s useful to note that the Omicron wave in vaccinated populations is typically characterised by symptoms more like the common cold.

 

● Patients who are given “Hot” appointments will receive specific instructions as to how this will be managed. Blood tests will be available at the face-to-face consultation.

 

● We would ask patients who have tested positive to email us as early in the disease as possible, so that we can update our records. We would also encourage patients to manage themselves or family members according to the sensible advice on the NHS website. We are, of course, available to support patients who are unwell, or feel it is important to discuss their symptoms.

 

● Patients requiring medication should call or email the dispensary in advance to avoid unnecessary waiting on the premises. A courier service can be arranged if necessary.

 

● The NHS website provides an excellent summary of symptoms, access to support tools about managing the symptoms, when to worry, as well as where to access local or postal testing. The Brook Surgery can also arrange self-administered PCR tests with results arriving reliably the following morning.

 

● Management of unwell Covid patients becomes more pressing after the first week, especially if breathlessness, chest pain, low oxygen saturations, persistent fever or dizziness are present. In this case, please call or email the clinic to speak to a GP.

 

● There remains no private hospital access to either in- or out-patient services for patients with acute Covid-19 in the first 10 days of infection. However, the NHS hospitals are offering a good service, assessing patients via A&E, arranging tests and either admitting patients or sending them home with medication/advice.

 

● Private hospitals currently remain open for non-Covid presentations, although capacity is becoming increasingly problematic.

 

● For Jewish patients in North London, Hatzola is a charity-run ambulance service providing a superb alternative of assessment at home as well as transport to hospital.

 

● The NHS in North Central London is now offering Monoclonal Antibody Treatment (hospital infusion) or an oral antiviral to patients in the highest risk groups if they present within 5 days of new symptoms with a positive PCR test (not lateral flow). The list of the criteria fulfilling “highest risk” is detailed here.

 

● Regrettably, during this escalation, we have chosen to close our list and will not be seeing new patients. We also reserve the right to cancel some scheduled routine work if it becomes necessary to manage extra capacity.

 

We are confident these changes will allow us to continue providing high-quality medical care and support over the festive season and into the New Year. We are confident these changes will allow us to continue providing high-quality medical care and support over the festive season and into the New Year.

 

Thank you for your continued understanding.

 

Wishing you all happy and safe holidays.

 

The Brook Surgery Team

 

If you would like to join the practice, please book an appointment first and hen complete a registration form/s and email it to us by clicking the button below. If you are unable to do so, it would be helpful if you could come in a few minutes before you first appointment to do so.

Please note you will need one form for each family member.

At The Brook Surgery we recognise that you can’t control when you fall ill. We provide round the clock care 365 days a year. This is provided by the doctors at The Brook Surgery during the working day, and most evenings and weekends. Overnight and on other rare occasions the surgery is covered by Doctorcall. Please note that the surgery number will always be diverted to an on call doctor or Doctorcall.

Doctorcall are a leading London Private out-of-hours service and are contracted by The Brook Surgery to prioritise our patients:  www.doctorcall.co.uk.

For patients who have suffered a minor accident out-of-hours necessitating either x-rays or wound closure, we are happy to endorse colleagues at the private casualty departments at either the Urgent Care Centre at The Princess Grace Hospital or Casualty First at Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth.

Websites including their opening hours are available below:

www.urgentcarecentre.co.uk

www.casualtyfirst.co.uk

In the case of major accident or life threatening conditions, we believe that the NHS provides the best and most comprehensive service and would suggest dialling 999 for an ambulance and immediate transfer to Hospital. When the relevant hospital feels that the patient is medically stable we would be happy to help coordinate transfer into the private sector.

Results from pathology or radiology tests organised within the surgery are normally given over the telephone or by email by the doctors between surgeries on the day that they are received by the surgery. If you have not received a result, please contact the surgery. The results of investigations organised by specialists tend to be returned directly to them in the first place, and we would expect them to speak to you directly.

Results can only be given to the person they relate to, unless prior consent has been given or it refers to a child under 16 years of age.

The Brook Surgery is a dispensing practice. We stock most commonly used medication, which will normally be dispensed as needed during your consultation. When an item is not in stock we will issue a private prescription to be dispensed at a local chemist or we order the medication to be delivered later that day or the following morning. Regular prescriptions can be ordered via the reception team, to be collected on the same day if ordered before 12.30 or the next day if later than this. Please note The Brook Surgery will not dispense medication to patients who have not attended a consultation within the last year, or the last six months in the case of controlled drugs. As a general rule we have found that most of our patients prefer branded medication as opposed to more generic alternatives, however we can order certain generic alternatives upon request.

Occasionally patients require hospital admission which we are always able to organise quickly, either with the patient’s own specialist or with a specialist well known to and trusted by us in the appropriate field.

For any administrative requests please contact the surgery. For any non-emergency requests we would be grateful if you would call between 10am and 5pm.

The Brook Surgery is not always able to offer a Chaperone for more intimate examinations. If you wish for a chaperone to be present during a consultation please make this known when booking your appointment, and we will try to ensure availability or suggest that you bring an appropriate person to accompany you on the day.

If a patient is unhappy or critical of a service provided at The Brook Surgery, we would encourage you to contact us in writing as soon as possible, so that we might investigate any problems. We have a complaints procedure at the surgery, with support from independent medical bodies if necessary, to ensure that all grievances can be dealt with as efficiently and fairly as possible.

The Brook Surgery is annually registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).The CQC is a national organisation entrusted to maintain standards of safety and quality in healthcare. A copy of our annual inspection report is in the public domain, and can be sought from the CQC directly or via the practice manager and is inspected as appropriate.