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JUNIOR DOCTOR STRIKES: 3rd January 2024 - 9th January 2024

Local health services

If you need help from your GP or another member of the practice team over the above period, we are open every weekday from 8am until 6.30pm, except for bank holidays when we are closed. Please contact us if you have a health condition that needs checking or an illness that won't go away.

Junior doctors will be on strike from 7am on Wednesday 3 January to 7am on Tuesday 9 January. This means that all NHS services, particularly hospitals, will be under severe strain. But please don’t put off seeking medical help if you need it. Here is a reminder of what local services are available:

  • The NHS websitenhs.uk has lots of advice to help you to look after yourself when you have minor symptoms. There is also information about what is a serious medical emergency.

  • If your child is feeling unwell, the Healthier Together website has advice about some common symptoms, how to look after your child at home and when to get further help.

  • Drop in to a pharmacy for health advice or information about your medicines. A pharmacist can help you to deal with a cough, cold and lots of other winter illnesses.
  • If you need help urgently, use NHS 111 online (www.111.nhs.uk) or call 111. Your symptoms will be assessed, and you will be given advice or an appointment to see a doctor or nurse if this is needed. NHS 111 can also send an ambulance and can book an appointment for you in some services like urgent treatment centres. Using 111 online means you won’t have to wait on the phone.  

  • If you are in a mental health crisis, call NHS 111 and get straight through to mental health help by selecting option 2.

  • You should call 999 in a life-threatening emergency. Life-threatening emergencies are different for adults and children.

  • Do not visit anyone in a hospital or care home if you have recently had diarrhoea or vomiting. Stomach bugs are easily spread, make already ill people very seriously unwell, and can lead to whole hospital wards being closed. Please wait 48 hours after your last bout of sickness or diarrhoea before visiting anyone who is vulnerable.  

More information on these services and self-help advice can be found at: https://hertsandwestessexics.org.uk/help-us-help 

In Times of Bereavement

What To Do In Times of Bereavement

If Death Occurs At Home

Telephone the doctor who may need to visit to confirm that the death has taken place.  If it happened during the night, you do not need to contact the doctor until the following morning. If you wish to speak to someone when the surgery is closed, please call 111.

Telephone the local Registry Office in which the death took place. They will arrange a convenient appointment with you to complete the death registration.  They will issue the Death Certificate which they generally will post to you a few days later.

If possible, you should also take the following documents. They are not absolutely essential but provide much of the additional information you need for the registration, but do not delay registering just because you cannot find this paperwork.

    • NHS number/ card (also called the medical card)
    • Birth certificate
    • Driving licence
    • Council tax bill
    • Marriage or civil partnership certificate (if applicable)
    • If possible, please take the National Insurance number of the deceased and the number of a surviving spouse or civil partner.
    • Passport
    • Proof of address (e.g. utility bill)

The Registrar will normally issue a Green coloured certificate for you to give to your funeral director who will look after necessary arrangements for the funeral. The Registrar will also issue a white notification certificate for the DSS. They will also enquire as to the number of Certified Copies you require for dealing with the deceased finances (a fee is payable for each copy).

Contact a Funeral Director.

If The Death Occurs In Hospital

Many hospitals have bereavement staff who coordinate the issue of documentation and explain the procedure to you. This may also be done by the ward staff.

You will be asked to contact a funeral director who will arrange to collect the deceased from the hospital. You may need to sign a form authorising the funeral director to take the deceased to the funeral home.

Collect the certificate from the hospital then follow the instructions as above - contact the Registrar and arrange an appointment to register the death.

Notes For Cremation

Your funeral director will liaise directly with the surgery regarding the additional certification required.

Bereavement Support Services

Cruse Bereavement Support

Helps anyone suffering bereavement to understand their grief and cope with their loss.

www.cruse.org.uk

0808 808 1677 – or Online Chat

 

CHUMS: Hertfordshire and West

Essex suicide bereavement service

Emotional and practical support for adults and children affected by a suicide or suspected suicide death.

www.chums.uk.com/hertfordshire-suicidebereavement-service

01279 212170

 

Support After Suicide Partnership

Practical information and emotional support for those with experience of suicide or other unexplained death, including the Help is at Hand resource.

(www.supportaftersuicide.org.uk/help-is-at-hand).

www.supportaftersuicide.org.uk

 

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS)

A safe, confidential environment to share experiences and feelings with others for support.

www.uksobs.org

0300 111 5065

 

Age Space

Bereavement Support in Hertfordshire

www.agespace.org/local/hertfordshire/end-of-life/hertfordshire-bereavement-support-services#services

 

Talk-in-Herts Bereavement Counselling Support

Counselling can provide recently bereaved people with the opportunity to express and explore the difficult feelings that they may be experiencing in a safe and supportive environment.

www.talk-in-herts-counselling.co.uk/bereavement-support/

enquiries@talk-in-herts-counselling.co.uk

07498 073093

 

Samaritans

116 123

 



 
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