Patient Advice during Industrial Action
The British Medical Association (BMA) has confirmed that Junior Doctors in Wales will be taking Industrial Action between 7am on Monday 25th March until 7am on Friday 29th March 2024.
The Health Board acknowledges the right of Junior Doctors to take part in industrial action and is therefore planning, as far as possible, to maintain the delivery of safe and effective services to patients and the public, but it is likely that some services and patients will be affected, especially as the period of action runs into the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
Junior Doctors play a key role in delivering care and treatment to patients across the majority of services and their absence during the Industrial Action will have an impact as we anticipate reduced medical staffing over this period.
The priority is to ensure members of the public can access safe and effective urgent and emergency care eg. Emergency and Assessment Units, during the period of Industrial Action, so the Health Board will need to postpone some routine and non-urgent appointments and surgeries that were due to take place over the four-day period.
This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we apologise for the disruption and distress this will cause, especially for those who are experiencing long waits for appointments, diagnostics, operations and treatments. Our teams will be working hard to rearrange postponed appointments in due course and patients affected will be contacted with a new date and time.
To Help Us Help You and ensure that patients can access care and treatment that meets their needs during this time, we are calling on you to choose services wisely and where reasonable to do so, self-care at home. For advice on choosing which healthcare option is best for you visit the NHS 111 Wales Symptom Checker for guidance. By choosing and accessing the right services you will help us care for those who need us most.
This will be particularly important when Industrial Action ends as we will enter the Easter Bank Holiday where GP surgeries will be closed for four days. It is important to request your repeat prescriptions early and familiarise yourself with the out of hours community pharmacies that will be available for help and advice over the Bank Holiday.
We do however wish to reassure you that ambulance services and urgent and emergency care will continue to operate throughout the period of Industrial Action and should be used if your condition or that of a loved one or someone you care for is felt to be life or limb threatening.
For more details on specific healthcare services, please visit:
Advice for the public during BMA Industrial Action | 7am 25th March – 7am 29th March 2024 - Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (nhs.wales)
Bank Holiday Closure Dates
The surgery will be closed on the following dates over the Bank Holiday
- Friday 29th March 2024
- Monday 1st April 2024
Please order your repeat medication in good time, bearing in mind we need 72 hours to process your request.
COVID-19 SPRING BOOSTER
Eligible groups will shortly be receiving an invitation for their COVID-19 vaccination this Spring. Vaccinations remain the best line of defence against serious illness from COVID-19.
If you’re:
- age 75 or over
- A resident in a care home for older adults, or
- aged 6 months and over and have a weakened immune system
You will be receiving an invitation for a COVID-19 Spring booster vaccination from your health board soon. Protection reduces over time, so it’s important to stay up to date with your vaccinations. For more information, visit COVID-19 vaccination information - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)
MMR AWARENESS
The number of people in Wales having the MMR vaccine has dropped since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that children who have not been vaccinated, or are only partially vaccinated, are unprotected. This increases the risk of measles outbreaks happening in nurseries or schools.
Even a small drop in the number of people having the MMR vaccination can lead to an increase in measles cases. As there is more international travel since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, there is a higher chance of measles being brought back from countries where it is common.
Having two doses of the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect you and your child from measles, mumps and rubella.
You can find more information on the vaccine and diseases at NHS 111 Wales - Vaccinations (external link)
How can I check if my child has had both MMR vaccinations?
Two doses of the MMR vaccine is over 95% effective at preventing measles. Check your child’s status now to protect them from serious illness.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)
Who is eligible for the MMR vaccine?
Measles is highly infectious and the only way to prevent outbreaks is through vaccination. It is never too late to catch up on missed doses.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)
How serious is measles?
Measles can be a serious illness for children that can be prevented by a highly effective and safe vaccine.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles is highly infectious and can be passed on even before a rash appears. 2 doses of the #mmr vaccine gives lifelong protection.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)
What should you do if you think you or your child has measles?
Measles is a highly infectious and serious disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that a person infected with measles can infect 9 out of 10 of their unvaccinated contacts. It can be transmitted for four days before the onset of the rash. 2 doses of MMR vaccine gives lifelong protection and it’s never too late to catch up on.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) - Public Health Wales (nhs.wales)
The New NHS Wales App
Patients at this GP Practice are no longer able to access My Health Online.
Please download the NHS Wales App. It's the new way to manage your health online and replaces the previous My Health Online service.
Download it to your smartphone or tablet from Apple's App Store, Google Play, or login via your web browser.
Learn more: https://app.nhs.wales/login
COVID-19 Winter Vaccinations
The COVID-19 Winter booster programme is now underway. The Surgery is not delivering the COVID vaccine, however should you fall into the eligible cohort, you will receive a letter with an appointment. Should you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment please call the booking centre on 02921 841234.
For further information regarding the COVID-19 Winter vaccine and who is eligible please click on the following link COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Programme - Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (nhs.wales)
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Your NHS Wales Experience - Pontprennau Medical Centre Questionnaire
The experience you have of care is important to us and we would welcome patients to complete this years NHS Wales Experience short questionnaire, consisting of 8 questions. This will provide valuable feedback to Practices to identify areas of improvement. The questionnaire should take no longer then 5 minutes of your time. Please click on the following link to complete https://forms.office.com/e/tFatmxJFsG
Influenza Vaccination Programme 2023
September sees the start of the flu season and all eligible patients are encouraged to accept the free vaccination offered by your GP Surgery and local Pharmacist. Pontprennau Medical Centre has ordered the correct flu vaccinations for our eligible population based on the varying age groups and appropriate vaccine for these age groups. If you are also eligible to receive a shingles or pneumonia vaccination, this can be arranged at the same time for you and your medical record will be updated.
We have pre-ordered flu vaccinations for our eligible patients as listed below. Clinics will be scheduled inside and outside of our usual opening hours to accommodate our patients. This will ensure maximum protection within our community.
Flu vaccinations will be offered under the NHS flu vaccination programme to the following groups:
- Those aged 65 years and over
- those aged 6 months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups.
- pregnant women
- all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2023
- primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6)
- those in long-stay residential care homes
- carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person.
- close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants
This year, all school aged children will be offered the vaccination through the school immunisation service, please do not call the surgery to book appointments for school aged children, the schools will arrange letters to be sent to Parents.
Patients signed up to the surgery SMS service will receive an invite via text with an appointment letter attached. Those patients who are not signed up to the SMS service will receive an invite letter in the post.
Clinic dates will be provided within the invite and we hope to make appointments available to book online. We encourage patients not to ring the Surgery to book their flu appointment, unless absolutely necessary due to the increased demand on our phone lines.
Housebound patients will be contacted and visited by a member of our team and there is no need to ring and book unless you are no longer housebound and can come to the surgery for your vaccination.
What to expect upon arrival: -
- Please arrive at your specified time slot.
- You will be directed to a consulting room to be vaccinated (we will have a number of clinicians on site at each clinic)
- There will be restricted access to our carpark for the Saturday clinics and we ask where possible for patients not to drive to the surgery and keep parking for disabled badge holders or those with limited mobility.
- Please be aware that you may need to queue and to bear this in mind if you struggle to stand for long periods of time, please do make one of our staff aware on the day if this is the case.
- Although you have booked an appointment time, we cannot guarantee your vaccine will be given at that time.
For more information regarding the flu vaccine, please visit
Flu vaccine - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
The way we accept urine samples is changing
Repeat Prescriptions
Please be aware that we are now requiring 72 hours to process repeat prescriptions. This change is due to an unprecedented demand for repeat prescriptions.
We would also like to take this opportunity to remind our patients that when ordering repeat prescriptions please allow time for the surgery to process your request as well as the local pharmacies who will be dispensing your medication.
Dr Scott Retirement
We wish to inform our patients that Dr Jaqueline Scott is retiring in October 2021. Dr Scott has worked at the surgery for many years and will be missed by the staff and patients.
We wish her well for a long, happy and healthy retirement.
Number Change at St David Medical Centre
Please be aware that as of Monday 1st July 2019 the phone number for St David Medical Centre (02920 733032) will no longer be valid.
Please call 02920 739999 for all enquries/appointments with immediate effect.
Change to 'Same Day Access' Appointments
Please remember that from Monday 2nd July 2018 we will be taking calls for 'same day access' appointments from 8am Monday - Friday.
The surgery doors will not be opened until 8:30am Monday - Friday. Therefore it would be advisable to call the surgery on 02920 739999 for an appointment as you may miss out by queuing at the door.
Changes when booking an appointment
Please be aware that we are making some changes to the way we book appointments at the surgery.
When booking an appointment you may be asked to give a brief reason as to why you are attending. This is so we can determine which service or clinician will be best for you.