**All  plans subject to change owing to Storm Jorge this weekend.**
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We are currently completing our temporary arrangements for office space in Eglwysbach.  Computers and electrics are now up and running, with phones still being worked on.  We await additional desk space and computers also, but are confident we will be able to get our admin functions in Pontypridd working again in the coming week.

We are hoping to activate our Pontpridd phone-lines again from Monday, though we cannot confirm a time, and we have to anticipate there may be technical issues during that process.  We have also simultaneously updated our phone systems according to new Welsh government standards, including a queuing system, and so you may notice other changes including a welcome message in Welsh.

We would encourage patients from the northern areas of Pontypridd eg Glyncoch, Coed-Y-Cwm etc to continue to predominantly utilise our Ynysybwl surgery in the coming weeks.

Having lost 3 consulting rooms as well as our pharmacist room, for at least the next few months - we will have reduced nurse and GP availability in Pontypridd - we will be providing more phlebotomy slots in Tonteg, but would also highlight that there is usually lots of capacity for blood-taking in Ynysybwl and shorter waits if you are able to travel there.
Although opening times have returned to usual in our branches, we will be providing more doctor sessions in Ynysybwl due to lack of space in Pontypridd, so you may be increasingly offered appointments there until further notice.

Finally, we would once again encourage all our patients to try e-consult if you need a GP appointment.  We can review these without the need for a clinical rooms so they are particularly useful at this difficult time, and if needed, we can offer appointments in under 2 weeks if you have provided the necessary information.

**All  plans / news subject to change owing to Storm Jorge this weekend.**

Firstly, we believe we can now allow all pre-booked appointments across all sites to stand from Monday 24th February.  We plan on partially re-opening Eglwysbach Surgery from Monday also, though this will only be for those with pre-booked appointments there, and for those with emergencies who are specifically told to attend that site.   

Please do not park in Eglwysbach in the coming days as there will be work-vans etc arriving through the day, plus GPs will need emergency access for home visits / on-call duties etc.

There will be no back-room/office support at this point in Eglwysbach, so we cannot accept any medication / admin queries there yet.
 
Also, the Eglwysbach phone number will continue to be out of order until further notice, so you will need to continue contacting Tonteg & Ynysybwl in the meantime.

We would like to take this opportunity to again thank all our patients for their understanding this past week.  The damage and disruption has been unprecedented in our history, and we have done our best to juggle maintaining essential primary care services, while 'project managing' our response to the flood. 

We apologise to all those who may feel their care has been affected in any way, but hope these updates have provided clarity on the issues we have been dealing with.  We are now confident that with a plan in place, things will continue to improve in the coming weeks.

The partners and practice manager have continued to try and navigate the complex web of issues we face in order to get things up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible, whilst also providing clinical care as best we can.

We would again like to thank all staff who've helped with the clean-up, but would also like to highlight the unsung team members who have managed in our branch surgeries in very difficult circumstances.  Whilst these sites were not damaged by flooding, they have had to deal with the extra workload from Eglwysbach, with very limited physical space and reduced phone-line capacity.

Please see photos below that help to illuminate the following developments:

We have now successfully removed thousands of medical notes to safety.
We have designed and ordered the necessary items for a new office area to be installed on the top floor.
We have nearly resolved the electrics/IT network/telecoms issues.
We have almost emptied the building of all contaminated materials, meaning we need to await drying out before building works can commence to repair and redecorate appropriately..

We would again like to extend our sympathies to all those affected locally by the devastation of the past week, and hope that everybody is safe and making progress in their respective situations.

Unfortunately we have no choice but to cancel the remainder of the pre-booked routine appointments for the rest of this week  (Thursday / Friday). 

Urgent appointments will continue to take place in our Tonteg and Ynysybwl sites, which will remain open from 8.30-6.

The cleanup operation is now in full swing with removal of all contaminated furniture and documents taking place meaning no public access must continue for the time being.  We are hoping to soon have power back on in the upper floors, and are planing the swift construction of new administrative space on the top floor, though this needs new furniture, phone lines, computers and office equipment eg photocopier etc. 

We are currently running at only 50% clinical room availability without Eglwysbach (see figures below), but are optimistic that we may have the upper two floors of Eglwysbach operational by early next week in which case we will be back to nearly 90% capacity which should be a move towards business as usual.

Eglwysbach - 6 GP rooms, 2 nurse. Ynysybwl - 2 GP rooms, 2 nurse. Tonteg - 2 GP rooms, 2 nurse

Our next update is unlikely to be before the weekend, in order to confirm plans for next week, but we will let you know if there are any other significant developments.

Please see below for new pictures highlighting the issues we are facing, and once again, we are very grateful for your patience and understanding at this very difficult time. 

We can confirm that Tonteg and Ynysybwl surgeries will continue to be open all day, 8.30-6pm for the remainder of this week.

We have made significant progress today in establishing a way forward, but recognise the lower floor will likely need 4 weeks to dry out before we can even begin the repair work.  We continue to have disruptions to power throughout the building, the IT network issue is yet to be resolved and the phone-line is still down (however it should now be auto re-routing calls over to Tonteg.  We also need to fully replace all the furniture on the affected floor, as well as an assortment of specialist equipment.  However, we are hopeful that the upper two floors will become available for safe patient use in due course.

Unfortunately, we will again have to cancel all pre-booked / routine appointments tomorrow (Wednesday) across all our sites for reasons previously explained, but are very hopeful that by next week this may become less of an issue, and that the worst of the disruption will be over.  As before, please contact us if you feel your appointment was urgent/essential and we will do our best to accommodate you according to clinical need.  Alternatively, please utilise our e-Consult tool to get a response from a GP by the end of the next working day.

We are very grateful for all the messages of support we have had from our patients, and we will continue to do everything in our power to normalise our service as soon as possible. We're very proud of all our fabulous staff who have continued to 'muck-in' (see pic!)

Further updates to follow tomorrow.

Dear patients,
we are continuing to discover the full extent of the issues in our Eglwysbach surgery but in the meantime are endeavouring to provide as full a service as possible from our other sites, so thanks once again to all staff working in these trying conditions.

It is likely that the Eglwysbach site will continue to be out of action until further notice, as the electricity has been partly shut off, our IT network access is down, many computers are damaged, and the lower part of the building is contaminated with river water which reached waist-level over Saturday night. Hats off to our staff who have made a sterling effort beginning the clean up as we await professional support in the coming days.

Until further notice, Tonteg and Ynysybwl surgeries will be open 8.30-6pm (no half day closing) as we try to manage workload from these sites. PLEASE NOTE OUR PONTYPRIDD NUMBER IS OUT OF ACTION. Please call Tonteg on 202097 or Ynysybwl on 790360.

Realistically, all pre-booked appointments for tomorrow and Wednesday will have to be cancelled. We are very sorry to have to do this, but if you feel your issue is pressing, please utilise e-consult for a prompt response from a GP, or call us for further advice.
We would not take this action unless we felt it was totally necessary to manage demand safely which is obviously our priority at this time, and urgent / on the day appointments must take precedence.

Scripts which were requested before the flooding have been dried where possible, and what's been salvaged is being collected by chemists this afternoon.
Please contact your usual chemist and if they don't have it, then contact Tonteg or Ynysybwl surgeries who will sort out a new one as quickly as they can.

Once again, thankyou for your patience and understanding, we realise that cancelling your appointments and/or being asked to travel further can be frustrating; but appreciate your support knowing our GPs, nurses, and support staff are going above and beyond...

Further updates to follow tomorrow.

Further to our update earlier, this is to confirm that only our branch sites (Tonteg and Ynysybwl) will be open tomorrow, as we continue to make safe our main building in pontypridd - Eglwysbach surgery.
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It appears the damage is mostly limited to our basement level floor, so we are hopeful we can reopen at least the ground floor for patients in the coming days.

We are afraid that all pre-booked appointments (GP, nurse and pharmacist) across all 3 sites for tomorrow will have to be cancelled owing to lack of space, and the fact we need to prioritise emergency appointments with the limited clinical space we will have. If you feel your appointment is essential, (considering the current situation) then please contact a branch site where we can discuss with you what can be done.

Unfortunately, (and following some queries we have received), we are currently unaware of the situation with our local chemists, as they're not open today for us to contact them.

We will endeavour to deal with prescription requests as normal, via our branches, though we anticipate there may be some delays as we will be trying to function as best we can within the confines of less than half the space, and only half the computers we usually have available.

We would ask that from tomorrow morning patients and members of the public refrain from using the Eglwysbach surgery carpark as this will likely be needed as part of the cleanup effort.

We would highlight the option of using our e-consult service if you have clinical queries, as we may be able to help you without needing to see you face to face, which may be especially hard this week; and we are able to deal with your e-consults without needing consulting rooms, which of course we are lacking at this time.

Once again we hope that all our patients are safe and well during this difficult situation.
We know we can count on all your support, as our staff embark on their difficult task tomorrow, so please bear with us and we shall endeavour to run as normal a service as we can in the days and weeks to come.

Thankyou,
​The Partners.

We can confirm that our Eglwysbach surgery (Pontypridd) will have had significant flood damage in the recent storms and will be closed tomorrow (Monday) and potentially for some time going forward.

We will be utilising our other surgeries in Tonteg and Ynysybwl in the meantime, but appreciate your understanding while we assess the consequences.  Please only contact the surgery for urgent issues, using the Tonteg or Ynysybwl telephone numbers from 8am tomorrow, until futher notice.

We will keep you informed of developments, and wish to thank our staff for all their support at this difficult time.
Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by these events, please stay safe.  

For any emergency/logistical/safety issues concerning the surgery before tomorrow morning, please contact us by the Feedback function on our website. Thankyou.

In light of the increasing awareness of this outbreak, we have been receiving queries from patients and would like to share the following protocol which we have been supplied with by Public Health Wales in order to manage the situation. 
 
Essentially, if you have any symptoms of a flu-like illness (cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, temperature) together with any history of travel to China or contact with anybody you may suspect could have had the virus, then please ring the surgery rather than attending in person.

You will then be assessed by a GP over the phone, who will then seek help from Public Health Wales in order to determine the next steps in management.

Please do not attend the surgery as this will put other patients as well as staff at risk, so please await instruction in your own home.  Thankyou for your understanding. 

​Also, please see the letter below offering places on a course to support young people who wish to improve their resilience