Bishopgate Medical Centre
Reception Hours are 8.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday
No telephone access from 1pm -2pm -
WE HAVE A FEW FLU JABS LEFT FOR THOSE AT RISK AND HEALTHY OVER 50s PLEASE CALL TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT.
CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION - UPDATED MONDAY 25th January 2020
We have now vaccinated over 90% of our over 80 year old patients. The District Nurses have started to administer the vaccine to the over 80 year old housebound patients from 21st January.
100% of the residents in the care homes that we look after - Howlish Hall, Bishopsgate Lodge and Church View that wished to received the vaccine have been immunised. Many of the staff in the care homes have also been immunised
The next delivery of the Pfizer vaccine for the 3 Bishop Auckland practices is scheduled for Thursday 28th January - this will be over 1000 doses allocated between the 3 practices. We will be administering the vaccine to 75-79 year olds on Saturday 30th January between 8am and 1pm. PLEASE DO NOT PHONE US TO BOOK IN - WE WILL PHONE YOU IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE.
This vaccine has to be administered from the Auckland Medical Group site on Watling road but it will be Bishopgate staff that you see on the day.
Remember if you do receive one of the national letters inviting you to book a slot then the Centre for Life in Newcastle is closest and offers a range of dates and times as they have more supply than the GP practices have been allocated. Please dont book appointments there and also with us.
Please do not attend the surgery if you are awaiting results of a Covid Swab - we have seen an increase in patients coming down and trying to enter the premises when they should be isolating.
The Health Visitor team now have a virtual baby clinic see further information on the services tab
IN LINE WITH CURRENT NHS GUIDANCE FROM MONDAY 15TH JUNE ANY PATIENT ENTERING THE SURGERY WILL NEED TO HAVE A FACE COVERING - A MASK IS PREFERABLE BUT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ONE THEN A SCARF OR SIMILAR WILL SUFFICE.
As we are someway from returning to the "new normal" please do not attend the surgery unless you have been instructed to by one of the clinicians - all appointments with the GPs and Advanced Nurse Practitioners are still by telephone at the present time. On some occasions the GP or Nurse Practitioner may decide that they need to see you Face to Face or to have a blood test and they will explain to you how to go about this.
The Practice Nurses and Health Care Assistants are now working normally for vaccinations, smears, blood tests. The only services not yet operating are Ear Syringing & Cryotherapy.
Although the prescription line option is only available from 9 -12 we will accept prescription requests on an afternoon - just press the make appointment option on the phone.
Please do not attend the surgery unless we have requested you to do this. You cannot pick up prescriptions or sicknotes you must nominate a chemist for medications to be sent electronically.
To reduce your chances of catching COVID-19 and reduce pressure on Bishopgate Medical Centre during this busy time, appointments will be carried out over the phone, via video consultations or by e-consultations unless there is a clinical need for you to come into the practice. This will help minimise risk while continuing to ensure people get the care and advice they need.
DUE TO THE DEMAND ON PHONE LINES YOU MAY RECEIVED CALLS FROM US FROM WITHHELD NUMBERS IF YOU HAVE CALLED US AND BEEN INFORMED YOU WILL BE CALLED BACK DURING THE DAY THEN PLEASE ANSWER IF IT SHOWS WITHHELD.
TO HELP US HELP ALL OUR PATIENTS PARTICULARLY THE OLDER GENERATION AND THOSE WITH UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS TRY AND USE ONLINE SERVICES WHERE POSSIBLE
ORDER YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS ON LINE - THIS WILL HELP KEEP THE PHONE LINES FREE FOR THE GPS TO CALL PATIENTS
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A NOMINATED PHARMACY SO YOU DO NOT NEED TO COME TO THE SURGERY TO COLLECT YOUR PRESCRIPTION.
PLEASE TRY TO NOT TELEPHONE THE SURGERY ON A MORNING WHEN THE LINES ARE REALLY BUSY.
111 Coronavirus information https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19
Econsult
Bishopgate Medical Centre is one of the largest practices in County Durham.
We currently have in excess of 13,280 patients registered with 5 Partners in the practice. We also have 3 salaried GPs - Dr James Carlton, Dr Jenny O'Brien and Dr Emma Donohue. We have 5 part time practice nurses and 3 part time nursing assistants. We also employ 4 nurse practitioners who work alongside the doctors - Charlotte Porteous, Sonia Fendell, Karen Marshall & Rachel Girard. This is an enthusiastic and highly motivated General Practice always seeking ways to improve services for patients within the very limited resources of the NHS.
Within the practice you will be able to access GPs, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Chronic Disease Nurses, Practice Nurses, Health Care Assistants, Midwife Clinic, Heart Disease Clinic, Smoking Cessation, Asthma Clinic, Hypertension Clinic, Diabetic Clinic, Parent Support Group, Childhood Immunisation Clinic, Pain Management Clinic. Unfortunately from November 2019 we are unable to provide a travel service except for those vaccines that are available on the NHS. We are no longer a Yellow Fever Centre.
Parking is free at Morrisons, you no longer need a parking permit but parking is limited to a maximum stay of 3 hours.
(Site updated 25/01/2021)