21st February 2022
We would like to pay tribute to our COVID-19 Primary Care Centre teams for their amazing contribution throughout the pandemic.
The Banbridge Centre closed this month with the Dungannon Centre having already wrapped up in July 2021.
A network of Primary Care COVID-19 centres was established across Northern Ireland in March 2020, to manage cases in the community. The Trust worked in partnership with the local GP Federation to deliver this service for the Southern area.
The centres helped to ensure that vital GP services were maintained for non COVID-19 related conditions by separating patients with symptoms.
Patients suspected of having the virus and require medical attention, were referred by their own GP to the centres for assessment.
The teams which at one stage were operating seven days a week, received a 7,420 referrals during this time, supporting patients with advice, base appointments, home visits as appropriate and onward referral if needed to hospital.
Huge well done to the teams, made up of GPs, nurses, health care assistants and administrators along with all the support services like IT, estates and domestic services who came together to provide this vital service and maintain safety for all patients who needed Primary Care.
Patients concerned about COVID-19 symptoms should continue to contact their GP for advice in the usual way.
Brian Beattie Interim Director of Older People and Primary Care for the Southern Trust praised the staff for their dedication to the service, which they came to work in, at the beginning of the pandemic when there was so many uncertainties.
Thankyou!
#teamSHSCT