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Welcome to South Hermitage Surgery
We are confident that our website will provide clear and concise help and give our patients the information they require in an easy and convenient format. It has been designed with the patient’s needs at the forefront of everything, from checking surgery times to letting us know what you think of us.
Our dedicated team are here to treat those minor Illnesses that occur as well as providing specialist management of long-term conditions and clinics covering a wide range of healthcare issues. The technology also means you can now do a lot of things from the comfort of your home such as order a repeat prescription or cancel an appointment.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination programme
From 1 September 2024, those who turn 75 and those age 75 to 79 will be eligible for a free vaccine to protect them from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
RSV is an infectious disease of the airways and lungs. RSV infection often causes symptoms similar to a cold, including:
· cough
· sore throat
· sneezing
· a runny or blocked nose
It can also make you become wheezy or short of breath and lead to pneumonia and other life-threatening conditions. There is no specific treatment, and most infections will get better by themselves. Every year thousands of older adults need hospital care for RSV, and some of them will die. RSV can be more severe in people with medical conditions such as heart or lung disease or a weakened immune system.
RSV infection is common in young children but is most serious for small babies and for older people
Eligibility for the RSV vaccination
Everyone turning 75 years old on or after the 1 September 2024 will be offered a single dose of RSV vaccine. This is because older adults are more at risk of serious complications from RSV. You can still get the vaccine up to the day before you turn 80.
For the first year of the programme, the vaccine will also be offered to those who are already aged 75 to 79 years on 1 September 2024 as part of a catch up programme.
If you are not yet 75 the NHS will invite you for vaccination once you turn 75.
Invitations
From w/c 28 July 2025 NHS England will launch a national RSV invitation campaign.
Invitations will be sent to individuals who have turned 75 years old ahead of the campaign as well as individuals that were aged 75- 79 as of 1 September 2024. Invitations will NOT be sent to individuals that:
- have already been vaccinated
- have requested nationally to opt out of the RSV vaccination programme
- Also, invitations will NOT be sent to eligible pregnant women.
The invitation will ask eligible people to contact their GP to book an RSV vaccination appointment. The invitation will also highlight that the recipient is eligible for a free NHS pneumococcal and shingles vaccine and can contact their GP surgery
if they have missed either vaccine.
Online Consultation Service
We have now gone live with our new online consultation service-Patient Triage. This is a great way for you to contact our practice for non-urgent medical or admin requests. It is very simple to fill out so please do give it a go if you need to contact us.
This short online form is the quickest and simplest way for the majority of our patients to access our clinical team for assistance. Our practice phone lines remain open for anyone with accessibility needs who might find difficulty completing this form.
If you do not have access to the internet or find it difficult to use a computer or smartphone you can call reception instead, during surgery hours.
Use this for NON URGENT messages or queries, to order fit or sick notes, request GP letters or raise queries about medication. Please do not use this service to order your repeat prescriptions - use NHS App, Patient Access or POD.
Use our online consultation service (Patient Triage) for non-urgent advice only - please note the mailbox is not monitored after 2.30 pm so any urgent messages would not be seen until the next working day.
Click on "Submit new request" on the image below to create an online request:

Please do not use this online form for urgent or emergency requests. The submitted forms will only be read up until 2.30 pm weekdays. The forms will not be read at the weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) or on bank holidays. Please contact 111 during out of hours or 999 if this is an emergency.
To find out more about how to submit an online request - watch this short video by clicking on the link:

USING NHS 111 FOR MEDICAL ADVICE
For urgent medical advice, you can contact NHS 111 online or call 111 free from any phone. This service is available 24 hours a day, including Bank Holidays, and after answering a few questions you will be directed to the best place to get the medical help and advice you need. Always call 999 for life-threatening emergencies such as a stroke or heart attack.
We are currently seeing increasing demand on the NHS111 call centres leading to people repeat calling or abandoning calls.
The www.nhs.ukwebsite is designed to help those that think they need urgent care access the NHS111 service using their laptop, mobile phone or tablet. Using the website increases capacity and is welcomed by those in your communities that are comfortable and well versed in using online services. GPs have been asked to promote this service to their patients and provide the following information:
If you need urgent care, please use NHS111 online on 111.nhs.uk
If you’re unable to access the website call 111
In cases of suspected Strep A parents should check symptoms on nhs.uk/strepA
If, on checking symptoms parents still think they need help try 111.nhs.uk-if the child is under 5 they will be prompted to call the 111 number
ORDERING PRESCRIPTIONS
The practice DO NOT take prescription requests over the phone due to a high volume of calls, we encourage our patients to order their prescriptions online instead of calling Prescription Ordering Direct (POD) if at all possible.
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Prescription Ordering Direct (POD) have now started an email prescription ordering service. This should hopefully reduce the volume of calls to a manageable level for their call handlers.
It is important to note that inappropriate or early requests will NOT be processed.
The email address is: shropshire.pod@nhs.net
Please ensure that you have provided ALL of the following information in your email request:-
- Name of drug, strength, dose and formulation (tablet, cream, inhaler, etc)
If you are ordering on behalf of someone else, you also need to provide the following information:-
- Your relationship to the patient
This email facility is not to be used for anything other than medication requests; any other queries will not be addressed or actioned.
Newsletter Subscribing?
If you would like to subscribe to receive our newsletter via email, please visit the Online Services tab.
Extended Access
For more info regarding Extended Access, visit our News page or click the banner below.

SOCIAL MEDIA
We are now on Facebook and Twitter!
We will be using these channels to communicate news, NHS campaigns and other surgery info. Clicking the below links will take you directly to our pages!
Visit us on Facebook
ASK DEBS!
If you're under 24, why not ask our online Agony Aunt Debs any confidential questions you might have and see if she can help you. Ask Debs or email her on deb.fitzsimmons@nhs.net.

(Site updated 11/09/2024)