Clinics and Services
We aim to provide as many services in-house as possible, including Enhanced Services. At present we offer:
Child Health Surveillance Including Immunisations
Childhood immunisations are given by the Practice Nurse. These are for children between the ages of 8 weeks and 5 years old.
Child Health Surveillance for new babies includes an appointment with the Doctor for baby’s 8 week check before the Practice Nurse gives the first immunisations.
Check the NHS Childhood Immunisation Schedule.
Antenatal Clinics
The Midwife holds clinics on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Minor Illness Clinics
We have three Minor Illness Nurses who are trained to diagnose and treat minor illnesses, including issuing prescriptions and sickness certificates. They cannot, however, issue repeat prescriptions.
The appointments are available to be booked either on the same day or 1 day and 7 day in advance.
Phlebotomy
We are now in a position to open our phlebotomy services here at Houghton Close to patients aged 60 years and over.
However, this is dependent on appointments being available within our phlebotomy service and you may still be asked to book at Gilbert Hitchcock house if there is no capacity at the surgery.
Anticoagulation Clinics
The practice offers in house anticoagulation testing for Warfarin control by our Practice Nurses with GP support.
This is done via a finger prick blood test and computer support system.
Travel Advice and Immunisations
We are pleased to offer a travel advice and immunisation service to registered patients for travel that is at least 6 weeks in advice.
Minor Surgery and Joint Injections
Can be performed in appropriate cases.
Cervical Screening
In the UK, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women under 35 (after breast cancer). About 2,800 women a year are diagnosed with cervical cancer.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme aims to reduce the number of women who develop cervical cancer and the number of women who die from the disease.
All women aged between 25 and 64 are invited for cervical screening. Being screened regularly means that any abnormal changes in the cervix can be identified early on and, if necessary, treated to stop cancer developing.
It is estimated that early detection and treatment can prevent up to 75% of cervical cancers from developing.
- Women aged 25-49 are invited for screening every three years.
- Women aged 50-64 are invited for screening every five years.
- Women aged 65 or over are only screened if they have not been screened since they were 50 or have had recent abnormal test results.
For more information about cervical smears visit The NHS.
Smoking Cessation
The practice offers advice and support to anyone who is trying to give up smoking and needs a little extra help. We provide smoking cessation appointments to help people quit smoking by offering support and advice through a 12 week programme, we can prescribe nicotine replacement therapy.
To make an appointment to help you stop smoking please contact the surgery.
Specialist Clinics
All the Minor illness Nurses can do medication reviews for patients with high blood pressure and oral contraceptive pills.
In addition our Minor Illness Nurses carry out advanced reviews for those patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Diabetes, COPD and Heart Failure.
Bowel Cancer Screening
The NHS already has a bowel-screening programme in place, which offers screening to all men and women aged 60 to 69 every two years.
This involves sending out a “faecal occult blood test kit” to use at home and send back for analysis.
If you’re aged 70 or over you can choose to participate by requesting a screening kit.
For more information visit the NHS Screening website.
And Other Clinics such as…
- Chronic Disease Management
- Full family planning including coil and implant, insertion/Sexual Health
- MSK Practitioner
- Mental Health Link Worker
- Social Prescriber
- Clinical Pharmacist