Pharmacy First has launched in England. 

This means you can now access expert advice and prescription medication directly from a Pharmacist for 7 common conditions, eliminating the need to see your GP. 

The 7 conditions covered by the service are:

• Earache - 1 to 17 years old. This service is not suitable for patients suffering with recurrent acute otitis media (3 or more episodes in 6 months or four or more episodes in 12 months)
• Impetigo - 1 year and over. This service does not cover patients suffering from bullous impetigo or recurrent impetigo (defined as 2 or more episodes in the same year)
• Infected Insect Bites - 1 year and over
• Shingles - 18 years and over. This service is not suitable for pregnant individuals
• Sinusitis - 12 years and over. This service in does not cover immunosuppressed individuals, or patients suffering with chronic sinusitis (sinusitis that causes symptoms that last for more than 12 weeks)
• Sore Throat - 5 years and over
• Uncomplicated UTIs in Women - Women aged 16-64 years. This service is not suitable for pregnant women, patients with a urinary catheter, or patients who have suffered from recurrent UTI (2 episodes in last 6 months, or 3 episodes in last 12 months)

For more information or to book an appointment with either local Pharmacies in Bolsover:

• Rowlands Pharmacy Bolsover - To book an appointment click here: https://rowlandspharmacy.co.uk/pharmacy-first-england or give them a call on 01246 822320

OR

• Head to Day-Night Pharmacy Bolsover (24 Townend, S44 6DT) or give them a call on 01246 822208

Home visits can be arranged for those patients too ill to attend the Practice.

Please use the service thoughtfully and contact us as early as possible in the morning.

All requests for routine home visits should be made before 10:00am by calling us on:

Welbeck Road Health Centre - 01246 825487

The Surgery Glapwell - 01623 812188

A Chaperone is available to patients both for doctors and nurses intimate/sensitive examinations. 

If you require a chaperone, please let us know when you book your appointment.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone number and email address.

Local GP practices have teamed up to improve the way we provide weekend and evening appointment for our patients.

From the 1st of October 2022, there will be appointments available Monday-Friday 8am until 8pm and on Saturdays 9am until 5pm for our registered patients.

• We (Welbeck Road Health Centre) will be providing the evening surgeries (until 8pm) at our Practice premises every week on Monday and Thursday only.
• DHU will provide cover at Castle Street on a Friday evening from 6:30pm until 8pm (starting 07.10.22) AND on Saturdays 9am until 5pm (starting 01.10.22)

As a patient at WRHC & Glapwell, you might be able to use the extended access appointments available at other practices within our PCN - these Practices will be providing the other evening surgeries at their premises on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings 6:30pm until 8pm.

 Please speak to our Reception Team to book these evening appointments or use our online appointment request HERE

For more information visit - www.england.nhs.uk 

In May 2023, the services we are contracted to provide as a GP practice have changed.

We are now required to triage your appointment request and recommend a service that is in line with your needs. This may well be that you need a face to face appointment with a GP or perhaps a phone appointment with a clincial pharmacist. It may be that an appointment needs to be done today or it may be that this could safely wait a week to be completed.

However, it may also be that your symptoms could be dealt with by other parts of the community health teams. For example a pharmacist, podiatrist, physiotherapist or at a minor illness hub. The bodies that provide funding to GP practices have actively diverted funding elsewhere to develop these services. Historically we have not used these services and tried to provide appointments predominantly in house wherever possible. The new contract focuses on us using alternative services with a drive for practices to use their appointments as efficiently as possible.

As we are now required to triage all requests, initially we will have to lose appointments to dedicate a doctor every day to triage. There is no additional funding for us to recruit more staff to help meet the ongoing overwhelming demand. We hope that in time funding will increase. Alongside this we are actively training other staff groups in triage roles to help free up GPs to provide appointments.

It is important to note that this contract is set completely external to the practice and as a profession, GPs have rejected these changes due to concerns about overwhelm and the utilisation of other services. The Department of Health subsequently forced the contract changes through and we have no option but to follow what we are being told to provide. 

We will always ask for your preference of how you feel your appointment request should be dealt with and will take that into account wherever possible. However we can no longer offer a direct appointment based on your preference alone.

We have had only a very short space of time to make these changes and it very much is an evolving process. We will keep you informed of ongoing changes.

We have new clinicians starting in the next few months who will help to offset the appointment loss and we also aim to have care navigators in the practice with time.

Please bare with us whilst we implement these changes. We will keep you informed of any ongoing changes.

Across the UK, General practice is facing monumental pressures and demand. The workload for practices has escalated with the highest level of GP appointment bookings ever recorded this winter. GPs are seeing more patients than ever before. 

Likewise, Welbeck Road Health Centre and Glapwell is currently experiencing an unprecedented demand for appointments and our services which is putting a significant strain on our systems and staff as we try to meet the needs and expectations of our patients.

How can you help?

• Use the resource hub on our website which we regularly update with information about how to look after your own health - Self Care - #HelpUsHelpYou. As well as a dedicated area to Strep A, including information for red flag signs to look out for and when to seek advice and who from. By looking after yourself and taking preventative measures to keep yourself fit and well this winter, you can help to reduce the pressure on the NHS at its busiest time of year.
• Be kind to the practice staff. In every corner of our organisation we have staff members working incredibly hard to keep our services running as safely and effectively as possible in unprecedented circumstances. We understand that being unwell can be frustrating and even more so if we’re not able to offer you an appointment. Please know that we have a zero-tolerance policy in place and any form of verbal abuse, swearing, aggressive or threatening behaviour towards our staff is not acceptable and will be escalated as appropriate.
• Use the NHS111 online tool to help you decide on the appropriate services to contact, if required a call back from one of their handlers can be arranged. NHS111 can book appointments directly with your GP so please do not duplicate contact.