Clinics and Services

Below lists all of the services the surgery provides for patients. For more information please book an appointment online.

Asthma Clinics

We hold clinics to diagnose and to help patients to manage their asthma.

We like to see all our patients at least once a year. Depending on the severity of your condition, we may invite you to come to the clinic more often in order to ensure we give you the care you require.

Cervical Smears

All women aged between 25 and 64 are invited for cervical screening.

Women aged between 25 and 49 are invited for testing every three years, and women aged between 50 and 64 are invited every five years. More frequent testing may be recommended with a history of an abnormal smear.

Our Nurses are trained to carry out cervical smears and once you have received a letter advising you to arrange a smear test please ring and book a routine appointment with the nurse.

Cervical screening, or smear test, is a method of detecting abnormal (pre-cancerous) cells in the cervix in order to prevent cervical cancer. The cervix is the entrance to the womb from the vagina. Cervical screening is not a test for cancer; it is a test to check the health of the cells of the cervix. Most women’s test results show that everything is normal, but for 1 in 20 women the test will show some abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix.

Most of these changes will not lead to cervical cancer and the cells may go back to normal on their own. However, in some cases, the abnormal cells need to be treated to prevent them becoming cancerous.

Contraception

We provide family planning services, including advice on Long Acting Reversible Contraception and fitting of implants and coils.

If you are unsure what form of contraception you require please make an appointment to see a doctor to discuss the options available to you.

Our Nurses are trained to issue repeat prescriptions of the pill and administer the depo injection once it has been started.

The following links may be useful in making a decision.

External Links

Emergency contraception

If you need emergency contraception then you need to be seen as soon as possible after unprotected sex.

If you are unable to attend the surgery then you may be able to get emergency contraception from a pharmacy or family planning clinic

Find out more…

Diabetes

Our diabetic clinics are held at the surgery weekly and are run by our doctors. New diabetics are seen by our Diabetic Nurse who will discuss how to manage diabetes and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Referral to the eye screening service is arranged at this initial assessment.

Once management of diabetes is stable we invite diabetic patients for an annual review and arrange a further blood test at six months to monitor control.

If patients have both diabetes and heart disease they will be invited to a joint clinic run by one of the doctors for an annual review.

Management of diabetes depends on the severity of symptoms and presence of complications and other medical conditions.

If you are concerned that you may be at risk of developing diabetes and have no other medical problems then you may want to attend one of our NHS health checks.

Heart Disease / Stroke

Patients with a history of Angina, Stroke and Heart Attack will be invited to attend for an annual appointment  with our Practice Nurse for review.

If you are concerned that you might be at risk of Heart Disease and have no current medical problems currently then you may wish to attend one of our NHS health checks.

Minor Surgery

Minor operations can be carried out in the surgery only following an initial consultation with a doctor. There are a limited number of appointments available, so you may have to wait if we are able to perform the procedure in the practice.

Minor surgery is performed for benign, non-cancerous lesions which are causing symptoms. We are unable to offer minor surgery for cosmetic purposes.

Under 5’s Immunisation

Clinics for childhood immunisations are carried out by our practice nurses.

New Babies will receive an appointment for their first immunisations with their 8 week check, with the next two appointments booked by the practice nurses when they attend.

Further immunisation reminders are sent by the health authority and can be booked by phoning the surgery at the appropriate times.

The full immunisation schedule can be found in babies’ red book.

Women’s Health

We provide individual tailored advice and information regarding all aspects of Women’s Health including the Menopause. It is crucial that women have balanced information regarding this important aspect of their lives, and it can be difficult to know where to get such advice. We would recommend the websites listed below as providing sensible, accurate and up to date information.  We would encourage you to discuss your concerns regarding the menopause, or any other health matter with  your doctor.

  • Women’s Health Concern
    Provides practical advice on all aspects of Women’s Health, not just the menopause. Their factsheets are most helpful.
  • Menopause Matters
    This website focuses on the issues of the menopause.
  • Daisy Network
    This website addresses the specific issues  related to premature or early menopause.

Travel Information

If you are travelling abroad, you may need vaccinations or malaria tablets to protect you from diseases. Our practice nurses offer advice and can make arrangements for you to have appropriate vaccinations at the surgery.

These should be completed at least 8 weeks before you are due to depart, please make an enquiry for travel advice by booking a telephone advice app with a practice nurse or completing the request form in online services.

Travel Vaccination – Pre Travel Questionnaire

Sedative Prescribing for Fear of Flying

The GP surgery does not now prescribe sedatives for fear of flying, and the reasons for this can be found below:

1) Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there is an emergency during the flight it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you.

2) Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can cause you to be at increased risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than four hours.

3) Whilst most people find benzodiazepines like diazepam sedating, a small number have paradoxical agitation and in aggression. They can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally. This could impact on your safety as well as that of other passengers and could also get you into trouble with the law.

4) According to the prescribing guidelines doctors follow (BNF) Benzodiazepines are contraindicated (not allowed)  in phobia. Your doctor is taking a significant legal risk by prescribing against these guidelines. They are only licensed short term for a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the case, you should be getting proper care and support for your mental health and not going on a flight.

5) Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated or you may find yourself in trouble with the police.

6) Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing you may fail this having taken diazepam.

We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. A much better approach is to tackle this properly with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines and we have listed a number of these below.

Easy Jet www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com Tel 0203 8131644

British Airways www.flyingwithconfidence.com  Tel 01252 793250 Virgin www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk  Tel 01423 714900