To help prevent the spread of coronavirus in the city, practices have moved to a telephone triage system, if they didn’t do already.

You will still be offered a face to face or telephone consultation with a GP or practice nurse if they think its necessary after a telephone triage with a doctor or nurse. Most practices have a buzzer entry to the practice to stop people with potential coronavirus turning up at reception.

Below we have tired to answer some common questions about accessing GP services during the coronavirus outbreak:

What should I do if I have routine appointment already booked with my GP or practice nurse?

To help the practice see and treat Sheffield patients and deal with a high volume of calls, please do not contact the practice to ask if your pre-booked appointment is still going ahead.

It’s highly likely over the coming days and weeks, routine appointments and clinics will be cancelled. If this is the case, practices will contact patients in advance. If you don’t hear from your practice, assume it’s going ahead and turn up as planned.

How do I contact my practice?

Contact your practice on the usual practice telephone number during normal practice hours.

What should I do if I have a medical need not related to coronavirus?

If you need medical help for any reason, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

If you need help or advice not related to coronavirus:

• for health information and advice, use the NHS website or your GP surgery website
• if after using these website you think you need to see a GP or nurse, telephone your practice on the usual number, they will triage you by telephone and offer an appointment if deemed necessary
• for urgent medical help, use the NHS 111 online service – only call 111 if you're unable to get help online
• for life-threatening emergencies, call 999 for an ambulance

Read more advice about getting medical help at home.

What should I do if I need a repeat prescription?

Order your repeat prescription as you normally would. There is enough medicines stock if patients order what they need when they need it as normal.

You may have noticed that pharmacies are very busy at the moment and some are not open as normal. This is because they have staff that can't be at work because they are self-isolating but also because people have been worried they will run out of their repeat medicines and have been over ordering and buying more than they need right now.

When collecting your prescriptions follow instructions to keep yourselves and staff safe when you go into a pharmacy.

If you are in a vulnerable situation and genuinely can't collect or don't have someone who can collect your medicine for you, there are volunteers supporting pharmacies who can help. Please ask your pharmacy about this when ordering.

What should I do if I think I have coronavirus?

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature or a new, continuous cough), use the 111 coronavirus service.

Do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

For urgent medical help, use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service – only call 111 if you're unable to get help online.

For life-threatening emergencies, call 999 for an ambulance.

For the latest and up to date coronavirus info see https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/.

GP Fit Notes/ Sick Notes

If you require a sick note (GP Fit Note/ Med Cert 3) from a GP for an existing health condition to submit to your employer to receive sick pay, please specifically check with your employer that this is still required because some employers have waived this requirement due to the pressure on GPs at this time.