Foundry Town Clinic will be open as normal (8.00am – 6.30pm) on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Only the Monk Street Surgery (Aberdare) premises will be open; the Aberaman Surgery will be closed.

Get the latest NHS advice on coronavirus

Links to online patient information on coronavirus

NHS Wales Coronavirus COVID-19 Symptom Checker

Stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms

Stay at home if you have either:

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

Do not go to the GP surgery, a pharmacy or hospital

Use the following link if you have been told to stay at home because of coronavirus and you need a note for your employer:

Get an isolation note

This service is only for people who:

• have symptoms of coronavirus and have used the 111 online coronavirus service
• have been told by a healthcare professional they have symptoms of coronavirus
• live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus

Revised GP surgery  procedures

In view of the situation with the coronavirus, for your safety, we are trying to reduce the need for you to visit the surgery at this time.

All routine appointments can be booked by telephone but we would ask you to provide a phone number where you can be reached and not attend the surgery. We have suspended online appointment bookings.

We will not be booking any further nurse appointments for routine blood tests, diabetes reviews, COPD reviews, asthma reviews, smears or spirometry. People with pre-existing health conditions may do less well if they catch this virus so we wouldn’t want you to pick up the virus here. All pre-booked appointments with nurses will be undertaken by phone if possible, but if not (for example blood pressure reviews or routine blood tests) will be postponed.

Essential services will continue. These include

• INR clinics
• blood tests for specific drugs such as methotrexate and blood thinning drugs (please ring the surgery to check if your medication falls into this category)
• urgent blood tests
• baby immunisation clinics
• wound care
• Prostap/Zoladex injections
• B12 injections
• contraception
• urgent ECGs

Your supply of medication will continue uninterrupted at this time. We are aiming to give people three month post-dated prescriptions where possible to reduce the necessity of coming to the surgery. We would also like to encourage the use of our online prescription service. Please phone the surgery for information on how to register for this.

For those issues which you feel are an emergency and cannot wait until the next routine appointment our duty doctor will triage these by telephone. If we want you to be seen in person we will invite you down to the surgery at a specific time. If you have respiratory symptoms such as cough or colds we would ask you not to enter the waiting room. Please stay in your vehicle or outside until your appointment time and we will contact you on your mobile when we are ready to see you.

This is a busy time for us and out priority is to keep all our patients safe and well. Please cooperate with us to achieve this. Only ring for advice if absolutely necessary and please be patient with our staff who are trying to help.

Remember that most cases of coronavirus are mild and will settle with fluids and rest. You will not come to harm if your routine medication reviews, clinics and blood tests are delayed for a month or two. It is in your best interests to stay away from the practice building wherever possible.

Flu injections for patients under the age of 65 with certain chronic conditions are now available.

There is a walk-in flu clinic (no appointment necessary) for eligible patients of all ages at the Aberaman Surgery on Tuesday 15th October 5pm – 7pm.

Pre-bookable clinics for under 65s will be:

Aberdare: Tuesday 22nd October 1:30pm – 2:50pm

Aberaman: Monday 21st October 1:30pm – 2:50pm

Pre-bookable clinics for those 65 and over will be:

Aberdare: Monday 21st October 9am – 11am

Aberaman: Tuesday 22nd October 1:30pm – 2:50pm

This year there are two types of flu injections. One is for people aged 65 and over and the other is for people under 65 with certain chronic conditions.  Please check with our staff which conditions apply.

At present all clinics are for the first category of patients – 65 and over.

The first two walk-in clinics are:

Aberaman: Friday 4th October 1:30pm – 3pm

Aberdare: Thursday 3rd October 10:40am – 12:30pm

We also have numerous pre-bookable flu clinics every Monday and Tuesday on both sites, starting Monday 30th September.

Please note: If you have an appointment with the GP or Practice Nurse at any point after the 30th September and you are eligible for a flu jab, please ask for it during your consultation.

As soon as the other flu jab becomes available our website will be updated.

Both surgeries have numerous signs providing dates and times of all clinics.

Parkinson’s UK Cymru are holding an awareness day at Abercwmboi Rugby Club on Wednesday 11th September 2019.

The event and booking details can be found on this Eventbrite page.

If you are considering a joint injection please make an appointment directly with Dr Shah. Appointments can also be made with Dr Woods, but only for knee injections currently.

On 16th April 2019 in St Mary Magdalene Church, Cwmbach, CF44 0LS between 10am and 2pm there will be bereavement supporters on hand to have a chat with over a cup tea and piece of cake.

On 21st May 2019 in St Mair’s Day Centre, Aberdare between 10am and 1pm there will be a drop in and wellness event. This will include trained Cruse workers as well as other organisations and activities.

Sheppards Pharmacy in Aberdare and Aberaman have a sore throat service. This entails a short consultation with the pharmacist, a simple throat swap (if appropriate) and antibiotic prescription if necessary.

If you have a musculoskeletal problem and are over the age of 16 you can now access physiotherapy directly without needing to see your GP.

To access this service use this online form:  Self Referral into MSK Physiotherapy Service.

After more than 15 years Dr Jordan has left the practice and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.