• Welcome to Ivel Medical Centre 

  Ivel Medical Centre in Biggleswade aims to provide the highest quality healthcare to patients. Our doctors, nurses and all our other staff are dedicated to offering a professional service and this surgery website will help us to keep all our patients up to date with news and information about our practice.

  As well as a source of information about our practice, the staff and the services we provide, we hope you will use this website as a useful resource for other health-related information. Please have a look around and do send us some feedback if you like. We can use  your ideas to improve our online services and further develop the content of this site.

  Rescue Packs - British Lung Foundation Advice

  We have been made aware of some inaccurate information circulating on social media saying that if you have a lung condition, your GP will issue a rescue pack of steroids and antibiotics.   This is not the case.

  If you are normally advised to have a rescue pack available to treat your lung condition then it's a good idea to check you have one.  This is recommended for some with COPD to be used as part of a personalised plan.  For people with asthma, we do not recommend these as standard.  If someone's asthma is bad enough to consider steroids, it is essential they are assessed by a health care professional.  Even at this busy time for the NHS, getting early support for any problems with your lungs is critical to keep you well and out of hospital.

  Please do not contact the Practice for a rescue pack if you do not normally have one.

  You should continue to manage your condition in the usual way and if you feel you have symptoms of COVID-19, go to https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 before doing anything else.

  SELF ISOLATION

  IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF AN ISOLATION NOTE, PLEASE VISIT NHS 111

  https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/
• 
  

• Beds Rural Community Charity are collating the local offers of support across Bedfordshire on the following link:  

https://yourwellbeingbedfordshire.org.uk/self-isolating-need-something-to-do/  

• It doesn't only contain local support but also a wide range of links to activities and resources.

•  

  Changes to appointment services – CORONAVIRUS

  Due to the current Pandemic of Coronavirus , with immediate effect  access medical care  has changed.

  The below is supported by the recommended guidance from NHS England. Our main priority is to keep our patients safe and try to ensure that the Practice remains open.

  If you are presenting with a cough or/and fever, or a member of your household presents with symptoms, please follow NHS England advice, contact 111 online and self isolate for 14 days. After 14 days, or before, if your symptoms worsen, then you will be advised to contact 111 again. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

  The Walk In Clinics in the mornings have been cancelled with immediate effect.

  All pre-booked appointments are suspended. If you already have a pre-booked appointment, one of the team will contact you to see how we can help.

  No appointments will be booked at the reception desks. If you have a problem and need to be seen please phone the surgery.

  Please phone the surgery on the day, at which time your request will be dealt with. You will be called back by one of the team later that day, either a Doctor or an Emergency Care Practitioner, only if they feel that you need to be seen, will you be invited into the surgery.   No face to face appointments will be made on your initial conversation with the receptionist.

  From Monday 16th March, there will be Telephone triage  appointment ONLY.  These are for the clinicians  to carry out an assessment of your need, and they will advise the best course of action, and determine if you need to visit the Practice.

  Please remember.

  • To keep you safe and permit the Doctor to prioritise medical emergencies, you MUST advise the receptionist of the reason for your call.
  • If, following triage, you are  asked to come into the surgery, please abide by the  given instructions for when you arrive.
  • Do not be alarmed if you are examined by one of the team wearing protective aprons, gloves and masks.
  • WASH your HANDS or use hand sanitise before and on leaving the surgery. Thank you for your support and understanding at this time.
  • All of the above are subject to change due to the evolving nature of this pandemic.

   

• EXTENDED ACCESS TO GP APPOINTMENTS 

Appointments with a GP or a Practice Nurse are now available in the evenings and weekends for all patients registered with the Ivel Medical Centre, and other Practices within Central Bedfordshire and Bedford areas.  These are called "Extended Access Appointments".  Practices are working together to provide these appointments to increase access to healthcare at times that are convenient to patients.  They may be evening appointments between 6.30pm and 8pm or weekend appointments, both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Appointments for this service can be made by telephoning the surgery, you may be offered an appointment at this Practice, or another Practice within the area, and it may be made with a GP or a Practice Nurse from another Practice.  The reception team will confirm all the information, the time of the appointment and the location at the time of booking.  You will receive a text confirmation of the appointment.  These appointments are not currently available to book online. These appointments are in addition to the normal surgery appointments here at the Ivel Medical Centre. - CORONAVIRUS UPDATE - ALL THE EXTENDED ACCESS APPOINTMENTS ARE NOW TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS ONLY.

 Staff Vacancies

The Ivel Medical Centre is currently recruiting for a Salaried GP.  Please visit NHS Jobs for more information.

https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/?vac_ref=915868761

Walk in Centres Locally

There are walk in centres in St Neots and Bedford.  They provide medical treatment for urgent but non emergency issues.  You do not need to make an appointment to use these services. 

St Neots Health Centre provides traditional doctor and nurse services as well as a walk-in service for patients that are not registered with their surgery.  The centre is open 12 hours per day, Monday to Friday, including bank holidays, as well as being open on both Saturdays and Sundays.  They are closed Easter Sunday and Christmas Day. The centre is centrally located within the town with both bus and train routes.  The surgery team includes doctors, nurse practitioners, practice nurses, receptionists, community nurses, health visitors and midwives services. 

Bedford Urgent Treatment Centre, is located next to the A and E Department in the Cauldwell Centre at Bedford Hospital.  The centre is open from 11am - 11pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and will offer same day access to GP and Nurse appointments.  The UTC is for when patients need urgent medical treatment but it is not an emergency.  The UTC is open to all those living in and visiting Bedfordshire.

Electronic Prescription Service

The Practice transferred to EPS with effect from 01.10.18.

This will mean that if you are registered with a Pharmacy, your prescriptions will be sent electronically to them.  It will make the process easier and more efficient for the patients, the Pharmacies and the Practice.  If you do not already have a nominated Pharmacy, you can discuss the process with them, and register.  You can still come to the surgery to pick up your prescription yourself if you prefer.

Important information regarding your repeat prescriptions!

Community pharmacies will soon no longer be able to order medication on your behalf (exclusions apply for vulnerable patients)

Patients are requested to take responsibility for ordering their own medication to ensure safe and responsible ordering, reduce errors, and to prevent unnecessary medicine waste.

There are various ways in which you can order your regular medications, for example -

• on-line - via SystmOne, (you will need to register to be issued with a username and a password)
• by dropping the prescription request into the surgery 
• by sending the prescription request in the post.
• Requests for repeat medication CANNOT be taken over the telephone

If you use a nominated pharmacy to collect and supply,your medication, this will continue. Please allow seven days from when you request your repeat prescription to when you collect it from your pharmacy.

For more information, contact the surgery and speak to the reception team.

New Minor Eye Condition service

This is a free service offered at participating opticians for patients who have a minor eye condition. This is to save GP appointments and prevent A&E attendances. Please see the page on the Clinics & Services section for more information about the conditions that can be seen by this service and which opticians are participating.

Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service

To contact this service please phone 0208 045 4254 or 0330 1331 1027.

For further help and information click here or see the NEPTS page in the Further Information section.

When the surgery is closed:

For medical assistance out of hours please phone NHS 111.

Save time – do it online!

GP online services gives patients the option to book appointments, request repeat prescriptions and view their GP records, using their computer, tablet or smartphone rather than having to phone or visit their practice.

Online services complement the existing ways patients can access appointments, prescriptions and their records. Our practices already have the facility to offer online access to records and transactional services for our patients.

If you are not already registered for GP online services please let a member of the practice team know you would like to use this service.

Would you recommend our Practice?

Please tell us what you think by going to the Friends and Family Test here and answering one quick question.

Important Notice for Patients on Warfarin

Due to a change in prescribing regulations you must now bring your yellow book to all medication review, Diabetic and Heart Clinic appointments. You must also bring your yellow book when collecting prescriptions from our Dispensary.

We cannot issue your prescription without having seen the book.