Please follow the below links to the most up-to-date isolation guidelines from the HPSC. For children aged 3 months to 13 years click here for adults and and children age 13+ please click here For access to the full list of new and updated guidance form the HPSC CLICK HERE

The following information is correct as of 11th November 2021. If you are showing symptoms of Covid 19 and would like a HSE PCR test, we advise that you self refer through the HSE website. By using the self referral system you can choose the time and location of the appointment that best suits you. If referred by the GP, we do not have the ability to choose an appointment and you will need to wait for a GP to speak with you before referring you. The below link will bring you to the most relevant HSE information HSE PCR test self referral If you are worried  and need medical advice or if you are unable to self refer for any reason, please contact the surgery during working hours. If it is outside of surgery hours please contact Luke Doc or attend A/E if necessary. We have temporarily suspended our use of the Covid screening form so we can be sure we are not missing medically relevant information while the surgery is closed.

As vaccines are now available in pharmacies, we are receiving more queries as to what vaccines individuals should opt for. Based on a recommendation from the National Immunisations Advisory Committee (NIAC), people between 18 and 34 can opt for earlier vaccination by choosing Vaxzevria® vaccine (COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca) or the COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen®. These are both viral vector vaccines. However, you can wait to be offered Comirnaty® (Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) or SpikeVax® (COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna) vaccines a bit later. These vaccines are called mRNA vaccines. It’s your choice to opt for a viral vector vaccine when it’s available or wait for an mRNA vaccine to be available. The HSE is providing COVID-19 vaccines free of charge. All COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and licensed in the EU for use in adults aged 18 years and over. Comirnaty® (Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) can be used in ages 16 and over. For more information in regards making your decision, please follow the below link  below: covid-19 vaccine for 18-34

Please follow the below links to the most up-to-date isolation guidelines from the HPSC. For children aged 3 months to 13 years click here for adults and and children age 13+ please click here For access to the full list of new and updated guidance form the HPSC CLICK HERE

The following information is correct as of 11th November 2021. If you are showing symptoms of Covid 19 and would like a HSE PCR test, we advise that you self refer through the HSE website. By using the self referral system you can choose the time and location of the appointment that best suits you. If referred by the GP, we do not have the ability to choose an appointment and you will need to wait for a GP to speak with you before referring you. The below link will bring you to the most relevant HSE information HSE PCR test self referral If you are worried  and need medical advice or if you are unable to self refer for any reason, please contact the surgery during working hours. If it is outside of surgery hours please contact Luke Doc or attend A/E if necessary. We have temporarily suspended our use of the Covid screening form so we can be sure we are not missing medically relevant information while the surgery is closed.

As the EU Digital Covid certs are being distributed, many patients have queries regarding when they should expect their cert or that they would like to update their personal contact details etc. CLICK HERE to be brought  to the Gov.ie site when you can check the status of your cert and update details.  

As vaccines are now available in pharmacies, we are receiving more queries as to what vaccines individuals should opt for. Based on a recommendation from the National Immunisations Advisory Committee (NIAC), people between 18 and 34 can opt for earlier vaccination by choosing Vaxzevria® vaccine (COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca) or the COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen®. These are both viral vector vaccines. However, you can wait to be offered Comirnaty® (Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) or SpikeVax® (COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna) vaccines a bit later. These vaccines are called mRNA vaccines. It’s your choice to opt for a viral vector vaccine when it’s available or wait for an mRNA vaccine to be available. The HSE is providing COVID-19 vaccines free of charge. All COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and licensed in the EU for use in adults aged 18 years and over. Comirnaty® (Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine) can be used in ages 16 and over. For more information in regards making your decision, please follow the below link  below: covid-19 vaccine for 18-34

Below is the most up to date link for information from the HSE in regards the Covid-19 vaccine ( as of 16/2/21). https://www2.hse.ie/covid-19-vaccine/?  

We are very aware that our over 70’s patient population are very keen to know when they will get their vaccines. We want to ensure them that if they are a registered patient with us, we will count them in our vaccine order. As soon as we have concrete dates of when we will have the vaccine in the surgery we will contact patients and schedule their appointment. We are not sending out text messages at this point because we don’t want to confuse anyone, but we are aware of who needs to be counted from our patient list. We’d love if you are a family member or friend of a patient who may not follow our Facebook page, if you would pass on our message above. Stay safe everyone

Ballinteer Medical will be vaccinating ALL our patients aged 70 years and older. The Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine is expected to be approved by the European Medicines Authority on the 29th of January. At this point in time there are no details as to delivery schedules but we will update as we hear more. The HSE have put a lot of work into deciding who will be vaccinated at any time. We have to follow their directions and you can see their guidelines at the links at the bottom of the page. This will begin with the over 85 year old group then the 80-84 year old’s, then the 75-79 year old’s, then the 70-74 year old’s, as vaccines are delivered. We are not taking a list of names, if you are a patient of the practice you are already on our list. ALL patients will be vaccinated based on age as the only criteria. Please do not ring our secretary to explain why you or your relative should “jump the queue” but you can confirm your contact details . We are bound to obey the guidelines set by the statutory authorities. More information will be posted on our website over the coming weeks. The phone lines are very busy at the moment so we would really appreciate it if you could follow the advice on the website for updates. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: I / my carer/ my spouse is in a different age group, can they get vaccinated with me? – No, the HSE are going to give us a very strict number of vaccines based on our patient numbers for each age group. We have been advised that we unfortunately cannot deviate from this in any way. Don’t worry, everyone will get vaccinated but the HSE have instructed us to use age as the only criteria at present. I have an underlying health problem, can I get the vaccine earlier? – Unfortunately we are not able to prioritise one patient over another as all patients in your age group are considered at a higher risk, and nearly all have underlying health issues. We will do our best to get you vaccinated as soon as possible. What vaccine will I be getting, and can I choose which brand of vaccine I get? – We understand that we will be getting the Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine. There is no option to choose an alternative brand/vaccine. This is also the case in other countries such as the UK. How many doses of the vaccine will I need? – There will be two doses of the vaccine administered 28 days apart. What are the risks of the vaccine – All information about the vaccine will be on the HSE website prior to the vaccination and further will be available here prior to the vaccinations What about patients under 70? – While the over 70s age group has been prioritised with the first rollout of vaccines, the HSE are currently organising a national electronic/online portal to recruit anyone under 70. […]

Now that children have returned to childcare and school, parents will be dealing with other illness and returning to school. The HSPC have issued the following guidelines, correct as of 11/9/20. https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/lifestages/childcare/Guidance%20for%20services%20providing%20childcare%20services.pdf  

We know there are lots of questions around Corona Virus and everything that goes with it. To try and make things a bit clearer, we have put some useful links below for questions that are being asked frequently: how do you self isolate at home? https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/managing-coronavirus-at-home/self-isolation.html Whats the difference between a close contact and a casual contact? https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/close-contact-and-casual-contact.html What if someone in my house has Covid symptoms or is awaiting a test? https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/managing-coronavirus-at-home/self-isolation.html#live-with-others

Firstly thank you everyone for all the support we have been receiving over the last few weeks. We appreciate it can be very frustrating for guidelines and procedures to keep changing but we are trying our best to keep you as updated as possible. New rules have been introduced for COVID-19 testing which means patients will need to meet revised criteria to qualify now. All patients who have not yet been swabbed, and who do not have an appointment for a test date, will not now be tested and will be required to reengage with their GP if they are still unwell. If you feel that applies to you, we are asking that you complete our screening form and submit it so we can add you to our call back list. The screening tool can be found at the following address : http://www.screeningform.com/ballinteer-medical If you are worried that you or someone in your household may be showing symptoms you should read the HSE guidelines and make sure you understand the difference between self isolating and social distancing and what should apply in your household. https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/self-isolation-and-limited-social-interaction.html