It has come to our attention that a spam text has been received by some of our patients from someone claiming to be us. Please note, we will NEVER ask you to order testing kits, nor do we have access to contact tracing. Please do not follow the link or respond if you receive the below text message:

"NHS: You've been in close contact with a person who has contracted the Omicron variant. Please order a test kit via: nhs.uk-test-kits.com/nhs"

If you suspect that you have received a Spam text, please report it to the below website:https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-text-message#section_1

We are sorry to hear of the difficulty many of our patients have been experiencing in gaining access to Coleridge Medical Centre. Whether it be GP appointments or telephone calls to our reception team, this is certainly not the service we aim to offer, but we, like many other practices in the UK, are struggling to meet the current level of demand for our services. Each day, we continue to do our best to deliver as many appointments as it is safe to but ultimately, we do not have unlimited resources and we are currently working to maximum capacity. 

At Your Service, published by the Policy Exchange and forwarded by Health Secretary Sajid Javid, states that 28 patient contacts per day is the expected requirement. Patient contact can be direct or indirect and can be classified as a face-to-face appointment, a telephone appointment, or an online query (such as eConsult). Our GPs regularly have more than double the recommended patient contacts per day, but unfortunately it is still not enough to meet demand. This is a National-level problem that cannot be resolved at individual Practice-level.

As with many other GP surgeries throughout the country, the practice has also experienced significant amounts of staff absence for a number of reasons. As a Practice we have 15 GPs and 2 Nurse Practitioners, of whom we have had one GP recently off for 2 months due to a major illness, another GP off with a long-term illness, one on maternity leave, another on sabbatical, and approximately 6-8 weeks of clinical time lost during March and April due to COVID-19 within our team. Even though we currently have a long-term locum GP assisting the Practice, we are unable to gain anymore locum cover.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide unlimited appointments as this would be unsafe and it would compromise the service and care you receive. Once our appointments are fully booked, we are unable to create more. 

Some of the challenges we face as a GP surgery:

• A large number of appointments being requested for minor ailments that usually run their course, such as sore throats, coughs, colds. These conditions would previously have been managed at home without GP input, and better dealt with at a community pharmacy.
• We can now be contacted in more ways, but the number of GPs, and GP appointments to offer, has not increased.
• The scope for more complex disease management has increased, and a large portion of the care of these conditions has moved from Secondary Care to Primary Care.
• Pressures for appointments in hospitals and other services mean GPs continue to care for these patients while they wait for their appointment elsewhere in the system. 

Some of the improvements we are making:

• We have been increasing the size of our team by recruiting more GPs, nurses, admin staff and working more collaboratively with our Primary Care Network.
• We have increased our phone lines to accommodate the number of incoming calls we receive.
• We have introduced a new automated telephone system so that patients can book, cancel or check the details of an appointment 24/7.
• For any urgent on-the-day needs, our medical administrator team are more than happy to assist.
• We are changing our appointments so that there will be more routine appointment availability for non-urgent needs. This process can take some time as we work through appointments already booked & the demand for on-the-day consultations continue to be very high.

There are other options you can access to get the support you need when you need it. These include:

• NHS 111 service for when you urgently need medical help / advice, but it is not a life-threatening situation
• The NHS App
• Community pharmacies

As always, for immediate / life-threatening emergencies, please call 999. 

We wish we were able to tell you that we will take the necessary action to rectify the situation, but, we can only guarantee that the staff and doctors at the Practice will continue to work as hard as they can to the deliver the best service they are able to provide within the limitation of the resources they have at their disposal. Whilst we acknowledge and understand the frustrations a few have with our service; we are also humbled and grateful for the many messages and letters of support and gratitude we continue to receive on a regular basis. 

Yours sincerely,

Coleridge Medical Centre

Over the last 14 months the NHS has collectively delivered an incredible 117 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recognises that there remains considerable uncertainty with regards to the likelihood, timing and severity of any potential future wave of COVID-19 in the UK.

We would like our patients to know that the Government’s strategy is to deliver the following from April 2022:

• a spring dose for those most at risk (over 75’s, those severely immunosuppressed aged 12 and over and residents of older people’s care homes),
• to offer vaccinations to 5-11 year olds
• autumn boosters for those most vulnerable/elderly (although yet to be confirmed)

GP surgeries are not being asked to provide COVID-19 vaccinations from April 2022. We expect mass vaccination sites, such as Greendale, to continue providing COVID-19 vaccinations.

For more information about our GPs, please visit the 'Our Staff' section of the website, by clicking HERE.

We are a friendly and welcoming GP practice located in the historic market town of Ottery St Mary. We look after approximately 16,000 patients who live in Ottery and the surrounding villages. 

We are open Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). You can speak to a Patient Services Adviser on the telephone between 08:30 to 13:30 and 14:00 to 18:00. For face to face enquiries you can call in between 08:00 and 18:30.   

Our Mission Statement

Coleridge Medical Centre – A Healthy Practice

Our Vision

We aim to provide a high quality, caring, safe and friendly atmosphere within which we help members of our community achieve and attain optimum levels of health.

Established in 1990, the Ottery St Mary Medical Trust has enabled the Coleridge Medical Centre to remain at the cutting edge of general medical practice. 

As the demands on the NHS increase, the generosity of those who have donated to, fundraised for, or left a gift in their will to the Trust, has enabled the GP Partners at the Medical Centre to enhance the care provided to our patients. The Trust has invested the funds received in equipment and services which otherwise would not have been funded by the NHS.

The gifts the Trust receives are an acknowledgement of the care the practice delivers to the community. It is, therefore, fitting that the funds help us provide an even better service for Ottery St Mary and the surrounding villages.

The GP Partners, as Trustees, welcome and will consider all requests and suggestions for purchases that will benefit patients and users of the Medical Centre. The Trust is regulated by the Charity Commission and all purchases must meet the criteria set out in the Trust Deed.

Your donations have undoubtedly helped us provide reassurance, dignity and comfort to our patients, whilst potentially saving lives. From pre-birth to end of life, you have made the difference.

To DONATE to the Ottery St Mary Medical Trust Fund, please do so by following this link.