Information for the Public
General Enquiries
Any general public enquiries regarding COVID-19 (Coronavirus) should be directed to either:
NHS website: Coronavirus (COVID-19) or
Government information page: Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Latest information and advice
People should not be directed to NHS111 for general queries .
Suspected infection
If a patient has symptoms consistent with Coronoavirus (COVID-19) then they should first use NHS111 online and then ring NHS111 if this is advised. They should not attend the GP surgery or hospital and should remain at home until they have further advice.
Stay at home advice
Please see the PHE page for the latest 'Stay at Home' advice for everyone including at risk groups:
COVID -19: Stay at home guidance
Important information to keep you safe while isolating at home
Shielding
See the PHE guidance on shielding for advice on protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable from COVID-19
Multi-language COVID-19 advice videos for patients
The CCG has worked with key community partners to identify the core 13 languages we felt would allow us to engage with the community groups most at risk of becoming isolated due to language barriers.
David Soodeen, one of our GPs from Inner City and East Bristol has been part of the working group to develop this content: “The group have produced two videos in thirteen key languages; providing vital information for patients about how they can protect themselves and others from coronavirus and providing information around Mental Health”.
Languages available at this point are: Pashto, Kurdish Sorani, Arabic, Farsi, Albanian, Urdu, Bengali, Tigrinya, Somali, Punjabi, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin) and Turkish
Full videos are available here. Please share these with your patients.
COVID vaccine alternative languages hub available on the Healthier Together website
Please find attached a link to the new alternative language hub developed for the programme. Not having English as a first language is the biggest indicator of low COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
The hub contains trusted resources in the most commonly spoken languages spoken in BNSSG plus BSL (in alphabetical order).