Riverstown Family Practice

07/01/2025

Due to the ongoing adverse weather conditions we will have a delayed opening time, on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th, of 10am.

Again, this is to ensure the safety of staff and patients.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

05/01/2025

Due to the adverse weather conditions we will have a delayed opening tomorrow, Monday 6th January, of 10am.

This is to ensure the safety of staff and patients.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

09/09/2022

We will be sending out a link to patient aged 50 and over this evening. This will allow you to book in for your COVID vaccine booster.

The COVID vaccination booster is for people who are aged 50 and over.

If you are aged 65 or older this is for your THIRD booster dose (i.e. your fifth vaccine dose).

If you are aged 50-64 then this is for your SECOND booster dose (i.e. your fourth vaccine dose).

If you had COVID infection or a COVID booster in the past 4 months you do not need another booster.

All clinics are Wednesday afternoons at the Practice. Appointment only.

Without a booster, you are more at risk of serious illness if you get COVID-19. Read about how to get your booster dose.

10/03/2022

Surgery CLOSED tomorrow 11th March.

Due to essential ESB work in Riverstown the surgery will be closed tomorrow. We will re-open on Monday 14th March at 9am.

If you need medical attention please contact South-doc after 6pm on 0818355999.

In the event of a medical emergency please call 999.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

09/02/2022

22/01/2022

What can I do today that I couldn’t do yesterday?

The coming days will mark some of the most wide-ranging and rapid changes to the rules that have governed day-to-day life since Covid-19 arrived in Ireland. But what can you do today (and tomorrow) that you couldn’t do yesterday?

Going out
From 6am today pubs and restaurants will revert to their traditional opening hours, and nightclubs can reopen. Formal requirements for physical distancing in general (ie, the two-metre rule) are gone, as are requirements for physical distancing in hospitality settings; so one metre between tables, six per table – all are gone. The requirement to be seated at indoor events is gone, as is the requirement for pods of six at indoor activities.
You will not need your Covid pass for accessing venues or activities. The venue no longer needs to record contact details.

At home
Limits on the number of households that can mix in each other’s homes have been scrapped.Special eventsLimits on the numbers attending weddings have been removed.In the workplaceFrom Monday, a phased return to the office is planned, appropriate to each sector. The Government will consult unions and employers’ groups, and firms are being encouraged to consult their workers the best approach. It is anticipated the phases will conclude by the end of February.

Travelling overseas
There are no changes. The digital Covid cert remains, and for those without proof of vaccination or recovery or a negative test, they must produce a negative PCR test result from no more than 72 hours before arrival. The passenger locator form remains. MasksA mask will be required in all the settings in which it is currently regulated: retail, transport, public offices, among those in consumer-facing roles, airports, stations and ports. This will be retained until February 28th.

Visits
Visits to health services such as day services, and residential facilities such as nursing homes are not restricted.

Schools and childcare
The current arrangements and protective measures are being retained until February 28th, to allow all eligible children be vaccinated in line with their parents’ consent. Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS)This was altered and extended when restrictions were introduced in December. Planned cuts (a reversion to a two-rate subsidy) will come in on February 1st for most companies, followed by a flat rate subsidy of €100 in March and April. For those companies who became newly eligible under December restrictions, that will be delayed by a month.

Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS)
An extra week will be paid to businesses after restrictions are lifted. Employers’ PRSIThis will be reinstated at the full rate from March 1st. The tax debt warehousing scheme has been extended from the end of March to the end of April. Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP)Entry to the scheme, which was extended to the end of the month when restrictions were reintroduced, is closed from January 22nd. Anyone remaining on PUP will move to a weekly rate of €208 from March 8th, and onto a jobseekers’ payment from April 5th. Enhanced illness benefit is extended to the end of June.

Isolation
People who develop symptoms of Covid are asked to isolate and get a test, while close contacts are to follow HSE guidance. Boosters and vaccines, and the use of masks appropriately, is advised.

19/01/2022

For anyone who has yet to receive their COVID vaccine. There is a pop-up vaccination centre in UCC for the next few days

12/01/2022

We are running a Pfizer COVID vaccine booster clinic on Friday 14th January. This clinic is open to all people aged 16 or over.

We know that some people living in the Glanmire area do not have a local GP so this is open everyone (you don't need to be a registered patient of the Practice).

Please book your appointment for your booster using this link https://calendly.com/riverstownfamilypractice/16

There is no fee for the vaccine. It is free to anyone who has a PPS number.

COVID vaccination booster for people who are aged 16 and over. This clinic is open to all people (you don't need to be a registered patient of the Practice)We use Pfizer and Moderna mRNA Vaccines. Both of these are mRNA vaccines (both equally effective against COVID/Omicron).All patients under 30

11/01/2022

If it’s not Covid, what is it? How to care for a sick child this winter. In Ireland, we have observed increasing Emergency Department (ED) attendances for common childhood illnesses which, with some guidance for parents, could be safely managed at home.

Consultant Dr Paddy Fitzpatrick on recognising illnesses, and when to seek medical help

Consultant Dr Paddy Fitzpatrick on recognising illnesses, and when to seek medical help

05/01/2022

Due to extra delivery of vaccines this morning we are now in a position to open up tomorrow’s booster clinic (6th January) to anyone over 18years.

We will accept patients who are not registered with the practice.

If you are not a registered patient please bring: ID, PPSN, vaccination certificate.

Please use link below to book a slot.

Please DO NOT call the practice in relation to this clinic.

COVID vaccination booster for registered patients of Riverstown Family Practice who are aged over 18.We only use mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines). Both of these mRNA vaccines are equally effective against COVID/Omicron. If you are aged under 30 you will be given the Pfizer vaccine.Due to

03/01/2022

We are running a Covid booster clinic at Riverstown Family Practice on Thursday 6th January.

Please use link below to book a slot.

Please DO NOT call the practice in relation to this clinic.

COVID vaccination booster for registered patients of Riverstown Family Practice who are aged over 18.We only use mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines). Both of these mRNA vaccines are equally effective against COVID/Omicron. If you are aged under 30 you will be given the Pfizer vaccine.Due to

31/12/2021

The Department of Health has announced new changes to the Covid-19 testing rules to free up capacity in a testing system overwhelmed by a surge in infections due to the more infectious Omicron variant. New rules will also apply to people who have received a booster vaccine or have had a recent previous Covid-19 infection if they catch the virus, so that they won’t have to self-isolate for as long.

How are the testing rules being changed?
From Monday, any person aged between four and 39 who has no underlying health conditions and has Covid-19 symptoms will not be advised to automatically seek a PCR test. Instead, they are being asked to self-isolate immediately and undertake regular antigen tests. They will be asked to contact the HSE and they will be sent out a kit of antigen tests by post. If they test positive for Covid-19 on any of these tests, they must only then seek a confirmatory PCR test. This is the first time that antigen tests are being advised for those who are showing symptoms of the disease.

What happens to other age groups?
Anyone aged 40 and over who is displaying symptoms is still being asked to seek a PCR test as soon as they start showing symptoms. Parents of children aged up to three are also asked to seek a PCR test for their children if their children start showing symptoms.

Are there exemptions?
Yes, any symptomatic healthcare workers, regardless of age, should continue to seek a PCR test from the HSE. Anyone with an underlying health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe disease or anyone with a clinical concern should contact their GP to arrange a test.

When do these changes come into effect?
From Monday, January 3rd. The HSE will take a few days to “operationalise” the changes.

Why has the department made these changes?
The Covid-19 PCR testing system has been overwhelmed with people seeking tests as the number of infections has surged during the Omicron wave. The National Public Health Emergency Team announced 20,554 new Covid-19 infections here on Thursday evening, the State’s highest such daily figure of the pandemic so far and the fourth day this week that a new record has been set for daily infections.

What kind of pressure is the testing system under?
A huge amount. For the fourth day in a row, more than two in every five people being swabbed for Covid-19 were found to be infected with it. This suggests a far higher level of undetected disease in the wider population given the large numbers of people who are currently unable to book PCR appointments online due to the level of demand and the even greater number of people who are close contacts of those untested people.
The HSE has already surged its PCR testing capacity to 300,000 tests a week from 100,000 a few months ago, but even this isn’t enough to meet demand. Extraordinarily high positivity rates of upwards of 40 per cent and close to 50 per cent on several days this week show how much the virus is spreading. World Health Organisation advice suggests that positivity rates should be at about 5 per cent for a government to understand how the virus is transmitting in a country, so the Government is a long way off having a handle on it in this wave of the pandemic.

Will these changes relieve pressure?
That’s the HSE’s hope. It expects demand for PCR tests to fall and to concentrate capacity in this regard on those at higher risk, ie the more vulnerable people who are not currently getting PCR tests because the HSE’s online PCR appointment portal has no free slots. Given that more younger people are currently getting infected, the changes should mean that more older people will have access to PCR slots.

Does the HSE have enough antigen tests to send out?
It says that it has enough capacity to distribute about 50,000 antigen test kits a day, or between 300,000 and 400,000 a week. It plans to distribute the tests for symptomatic people aged between four and 39 by post, so people should be receiving them the day after they contact the HSE.

What other changes are being introduced?
The Department of Health is making changes to the isolation period for people who have contracted the disease after receiving Covid-19 booster vaccines or having had a recent Covid-19 case and primary vaccination, to reflect the different category of risk applying to these people.

How long will they have to isolate for?
Instead of 10 days, they will have to isolate for seven days from commencement of symptoms (or receiving a positive test result if asymptomatic), but they can only leave isolation if their symptoms have substantially or fully resolved for the final two of those seven days. They must also limit contacts and follow strict public health advice for the three days after exiting.