Summary of Activities at City Walls Medical Centre since the COVID-19 Lockdown in March 2020

Initial Stages:

  • In line with NHS advice, all Face to Face appointments, meetings, and routine reviews were stopped
  • Appointments were moved to a telephone triage approach
  • New ways of working had to be implemented for all doctors, nurses, and admin staff
  • There was very limited support available from the West Cheshire CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) which meant that Surgeries were having to devise their own protocols and processes
  • PPE was very limited and the practice had to develop a safe operating environment for the staff and patients
  • The in-house Boots pharmacy was temporarily closed (because of the unmanageable footfall into the practice) and was later closed permanently (at Boots request)
  • Staff availability was significantly impacted both by the need for many to isolate or shield and by the lack of IT equipment to allow them to work from home

However, City Walls Medical Centre has:

  • Kept the Surgery doors open throughout the pandemic whilst most practices have locked theirs
  • Worked with the other practices within our PCN (Primary Care Network) who had a high level of absence and offered help where possible
  • Safely managed flu clinics and held blood appointments and consultations in the car park where required (utilising a marquee in the later months)
  • Implemented a “Hot Hub” for COVID suspected cases at the Saughall branch
  • More recently:
    • Restarted routine work (for example, smear testing, minor surgery, Chronic Disease Management services) unlike most other practices
    • Made more appointments Face to Face
    • Taken on extra blood test work at the request of the Countess of Chester hospital
    • Undertaken some planning for the expected COVID vaccination programme
    • Started looking at re-establishing Physio First, Mental Health Matters services, and Well-being Coordination

Note to Patients:

Please share this information with others and check this website if you want any more detailed information on the Practice and its services.  If you have any comments or questions on any of the above, please contact the Surgery directly or the Patient representatives (PPG) whose details can be found on this website.