- Asthma – Asthma UK: coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Other lung conditions, such as COPD – British Lung Foundation: coronavirus and COVID-19
- Joint and muscle conditions, such as arthritis – Versus Arthritis: coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Heart disease – British Heart Foundation: coronavirus – what it means for you if you have heart or circulatory disease
- Blood Cancer – www.bloodcancer.org.uk/coronavirus-covid-19
- Diabetes – www.diabetes.org.uk/coronavirus
- Kidney Care UK – www.kidneycareuk.org/coronavirus-advice
- Stroke – Stroke Association: coronavirus (COVID-19) information for people affected by stroke
- Older age – www.ageuk.org.uk/coronavirus
- If you or someone else needs some support: www.communities1st.org.uk/covid19support
- For practical information and advice, call Age UK Advice: 0800 169 65 65
- For a cheerful chat, day or night, call Silver Line: 0800 470 80 90
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis): www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/updated-wuhan-novel-coronavirus-advice
- Please DO NOT stop your medication. There is some fear amongst these people that their medication dampens their immune system and this will put them at risk of COVID-19. This is true, however, if you adhere to the shielding guidance then your risk will be managed. The big risk if you stop your medication is that you may get a flare of your condition. The flare up may require hospital admission, and the overall risk to your health in this situation is much higher. Please contact your pharmacist/GP if you have any questions.
- Pregnancy: www.rcog.org.uk/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy
- If you develop any symptoms of COVID-19 please self-isolate as per usual advice and contact your midwife.
- West Herts Women’s Services have a telephone triage which is now open from 10am – 10pm every day. Please contact them if you have any concerns regarding your pregnancy, questions relating to the maternity service in view of COVID-19, if you think you’re in labour or need to be seen urgently. Please call them on 01923 217 343 to speak to an experienced midwife.
- If you have just had a baby please continue with the immunisation schedule for the baby. The diseases that the vaccines protect against are very serious and therefore vaccination should not be delayed. There are also some concerns that parents will not know whether a fever in their infant following immunisation is due to their immunisations or to COVID-19. Indications to date suggest that COVID-19 causes mild disease in infants and children. As has always been recommended, any infant with fever after vaccination should be monitored and if parents are concerned about their infant’s health at any time, they should seek advice from their GP or NHS 111.
Please contact the surgery if you have any further queries.