Your GP Practice cannot assist you in booking a Covid-19 test and does not provide Covid-19 testing; this can only be done via the national online booking portal. Your GP Practice cannot advise you on whether or not your child or children are safe to return to school; this should be discussed with the school(s) concerned.

Please do not visit or make an appointment at your GP practice if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 (high temperature, new continuous cough, loss of taste and/or smell).

The Government is scaling up its testing capacity even further to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October, expanding its network of testing sites and laboratories, as well as investing in new testing technologies. Whilst this scaling up is happening, the service is currently very busy. We would ask anyone who tries to book a test and is unable to do so, or who is offered a location or time which is not convenient, to please wait a few hours and then try again.

Hubs have been set up in each district of Lancashire to help support the people who need it most during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus Information

https://www.nhs.uk
Current advice is Stay at home if you feel unwell and have coronavirus symptoms
Stay at home for 7 days if you have either:

A high temperature
A new, continuous cough
Do not go to your GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you’re staying at home. If you require further advice please access the 111 online website https://111.nhs.uk

People living in Blackpool are being asked to donate funds to help buy a piece of life-saving equipment. Staff at the Blackpool Urgent Treatment Centre are raising money for a community defibrillator to be put in a busy and under-resourced part of the town.

A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is having a heart attack, also known as cardiac arrest.

Dr Peter Smith, GP partner for Bloomfield Medical Ltd said: “For every minute a victim of sudden cardiac arrest does not receive treatment, their chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent.

“If a defibrillator is used within one minute of the victim collapsing, the victim’s survival rate increases to 90 per cent.

“Help us improve the survival rate of those that could collapse nearby by donating today.”

Currently, the nearest community defibrillator is a 20-minute walk away, or four-minute drive from the urgent treatment centre

Community defibrillators are easy to use, easy to carry and they won’t deliver a shock unless it is required. There is no clinical training required to be able to use the machine.

Dr Smith also said: “Defibrillators allow everyday members of the public to become lifesavers by providing the all-important shock before our ambulance crews arrive. Even just two or three minutes earlier can make a huge difference.”

To donate, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/butc

Kirkham & Wesham Cricket Club is holding a family fun day on Sunday 6th August, 12pm til late. There’s lots going on, including donkey rides, ‘beat the goalie’, bouncy castles a craft corner. Eclipse dancers will also be putting on a display.