A couple of weeks ago, the residents of Golders Green awoke to distressingly discover that a car had collided with the local doctor's surgery. The incident happened late at night, so it was only the next day that people discovered an abandoned car - airbags inflated, bonnet demolished - lodged into the wall of the practice's reception.
In the early hours of the morning, about a dozen citizens gathered around their beloved doctor's surgery, wondering what possibly could have happened. Although the doctors had been alerted of the event, the cause remained a mystery and one of the GP partners had to speedily find alternative accommodation in which the staff could work - a conspicuously difficult task to complete in the middle of a working day.
Fortunately, they were able to share premises with another local GP surgery, who kindly offered their assistance in this time of need. Over the weekend, however, this level of support was no longer able to be sustained, so instead they were compelled to rent out a nearby flat for their administration and back office staff. Although this wasn't ideal and the space was limited, it meant that some of the surgery's workers were able to continue carrying out administrative services. A consultation room in one of the local pharmacies was utilised as a means of clinicians examining patients face-to-face. Other forms of consultation were undertaken via phone call and online.
The Practice Manager gave the following statement: 'Amid the pressures of the Coronavirus pandemic, this incident has disrupted our work and created an additional workload for my colleagues and myself as we deal with the aftermath of this event. Luckily, we were closed at the time and therefore no one was injured, for which we are extremely grateful. We are open for business as usual, conducting our affairs remotely and face-to-face when needed, so that our patients can continue to rely on our services during this difficult time'.
Thankfully, the car has since been swiftly and safely removed, and structural surveyors were able to deem the building safe to work in once again. Full repairs are currently underway.
