STREP A INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS

Group A Streptococcus – information for families and carers of children

You may have seen reports about a higher-than-usual level of Group A streptococcus (GAS) infections in children this year, and we understand if you are concerned.  

GAS is a common bacteria – lots of people carry it without being unwell.

It can cause many common mild infections, including sore throats or scarlet fever, which can be easily treated with antibiotics. 

The information below explains how it is spread, and what to look for when your child is unwell.

 How is it spread?

GAS spreads by close contact with an infected person. It can be passed on through coughs and sneezes, or from a wound.

 Which infections does GAS cause?

The bacteria usually causes a mild infection, producing sore throats or scarlet fever, which can be easily treated with antibiotics.

 What is invasive group A strep?

This is when the bacteria gets into the bloodstream and causes serious illness – called invasive Group A strep (iGAS). These cases are very rare.

 Symptoms of mild GAS infections

Symptoms of mild infections include: sore throat; fever; chills; muscle aches; and in cases of scarlet fever, a rash and a white coating on the tongue, which peels leaving the tongue red, swollen and covered in bumps.

 When to contact us:

If your child is not recovering after a bout of scarlet fever, a sore throat, or a respiratory infection, and you are concerned they are becoming more unwell

If your child is drinking much less (50% less) than normal

If your child has had a dry nappy for 12 hours or more, or shows other signs of dehydration

If your baby is under three months and has a temperature of 38C, or is three to six months old and has a temperature of 39C or higher

If your child is very tired or irritable

Call 999 or go to A&E if:

your child is having difficulty breathing – you may notice grunting noises or their tummy sucking under their ribs

there are pauses when your child breathes

your child’s tongue or lips are blue, or their skin is mottled/pale

your child is floppy and will not wake up or stay awake

your child has a weak, continuous, or high-pitched cry

Please note that due to continues staff shortages our turnaround for prescription requests remains at  72 hours (3 working days).

Clevedon Medical Centre is joining the Green Impact Scheme.

We are currently facing a climate emergency which is not only going to have a huge impact on our planet, but also on our health.

All of us here at Clevedon Medical Centre feel it is important to make sure we are doing everything we can to become a more sustainable practice.

We have two main aims -

1) To help everyone registered with us to be as healthy as possible - so they can reduce their own carbon footprint.

2) Reduce our own carbon footprint and impact on the environment.

We are now part of the Green Impact Scheme and have started work on several projects to improve our green credentials. We are working hard to ensure this will not impact the care we provide and look forward to working with our patients to become a greener, more sustainable practice.

Environmentally Friendly Inhaler Project

As part of our new Green Impact Scheme membership we have started work on some projects to reduce our carbon footprint.

The first, and one of the most important, projects is a move towards more environmentally friendly inhalers.

Inhalers are used for people with breathing conditions, such as asthma or COPD. You may have an inhaler yourself or know someone who does.

Some of these inhalers have a high level of greenhouse gases (which are not harmful to humans), but are bad for the environment.

So our team is looking at where we can change these inhalers to those that have lower levels of greenhouse gases and actually a lot of these might work better for you.

Our number one priority is looking after our patients so we will only change inhalers to ones that we know are as good (and in some cases even better) than the ones you have been using. If you are worried about these changes then please contact the surgery to discuss your concerns.

We have managed to recruit some excellent new members to our team in recent weeks. However it takes at least 4 months to train a member of the reception team and so for the next few months these new members of the team will be going through an extensive training programme.   

We would ask patients to please be patient with these new staff members in the coming months as they seek to learn the many policies and procedures they are required to follow.