Want to make a difference for your community? Become a governor

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is looking for people to bring the voices of their communities to the Trust by nominating themselves to be a public governor.

What is a governor?

Governors share their feedback with members of the Board of Directors, those at the highest level of the Trust, to represent the interests of local people.

As well as representing people in your area, governors play a vital role in the governance of the Trust. The Council of Governors appoints the Trust’s Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and holds them to account for the performance of the Board.

Public governors work alongside staff governors and appointed governors from Devon County Council and the University of Exeter, so that the Council of Governors as a whole represents the voices of the Trust’s staff, patients and wider communities.

Governors have a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, but what they share is a passion for helping to shape local health services in a way that best meets the needs of patients and the public.

You can nominate yourself from Friday 19 July. The closing date is 5pm on Tuesday 6 August.

Find out more about the role and how to apply: https://royaldevon.nhs.uk/about-us/foundation-trust-and-membership/council-of-governors/governor-elections/

The Trust is holding three information webinars where can find out more about the role, hear from some of the current governors, and ask any questions. Click on the dates below to register and get the joining link:

• Thursday 11 July at 12 noon-1pm
• Tuesday 16 July at 5pm-6pm
• Monday 22 July at 5pm-6pm

For those who are eligible for Covid vaccination this spring and have not yet received one, there are a number of clinics available in the area in June. The vaccination is available to immunosuppressed or over 75’s (you need to be 75 years old by 30 June 2024) only. Please check the NHS Covid website for further details.

Details below are for Ilfracombe only. For a full list of locations please Click Here.

This week is Heart Failure Awareness Week.

There are 1 million people in the UK with a diagnosis of heart failure. However, there are also approximately 400K undiagnosed cases.

Please watch the video for more information on detecting the undetected.

FindMe #DetectingTheUndetected#HFAW2024

We have had quite a few calls from patients who have not received a Covid spring booster invitation, but have done in the past and were expecting to be invited.

At this time the NHS have advised they are only offering the spring Covid booster to the following 3 groups:

1) Patients who are Immunosuppressed (some examples are patients currently undergoing chemotherapy/radiotherapy, Those who require long term immunosuppressive treatment for conditions including, but not limited to, SLE, RA, IBD (eg Crohn’s), scleroderma and psoriasis, Patients who have undergone solid organ, bone or stem transplant, Multiple myeloma, HIV or genetic disorders of affecting the immune system.)

Your GP records should list if you are currently immunosuppressed, in which case we will have sent you an invitation.

2) Anyone over the age of 75 this spring.

3) Anyone residing in a care home for the elderly.

Unfortunately we are unable to vaccinate anyone who does not meet this criteria, and will be running checks to ensure no one is booked in accidentally who doesn’t qualify.

Please note that if you have been listed previously as a high risk for Covid, unless this is for Immunosuppression, or you are over 75, you will most likely not be eligible currently for the spring booster.

We have started to send out text messages with a booking link to our patients who are eligible for the spring 2024 Covid booster and signed up for SMS messaging. Please use the booking link if at all possible to book your appointment as the phone lines are very busy. We have also sent out letters to those who are eligible and not signed up for the SMS messaging service. These should arrive in the next few days. If you have received a letter but would prefer to sign up for the text messaging service in future, please let the reception team know your mobile number when booking your vaccination. Our Covid vaccination clinic is taking place on Saturday 11th May from 8.30 – 4.15 at our Ilfracombe Surgery. Covid vaccination invites are only being sent to patients who are Immunosuppressed (low immune system) and also any patients Age 75 or over this spring. We will also be vaccinating patients in Care Homes separately. Please do not contact us for a vaccination if you are not Immunosuppressed or 75 and over and received an invitation. If you have been sent an invitation, but you are housebound, please call us to let us know. Anyone eligible and already listed as housebound will not receive an invitation from Combe Coastal Practice, but will be contacted by the NHS Covid team who are providing home vaccinations. Thank you

We will be offering COVID-19 Vaccinations to our eligible patients this spring, and will be running clinics at The Medical Centre in Ilfracombe in May.

Invites with booking link will be sent via text message soon so please look out for this & ensure you book your appointment using the booking link within 7 days of the text message otherwise the link will expire.

We will send letters to those patients not signed up to our text messaging service.

Please note we are not running a children’s vaccination clinic. If you have an eligible immunosuppressed child, you will need to contact the national booking centre to book a child vaccination.

Please await further details before making contact with us about this as we are currently still finalising dates.

Please note that you can not book to have your vaccination at the Ilfracombe medical centre using the national covid booking system, but can use the national system to book elsewhere.