Surgery clinics

We offer a range of clinics and services at the surgery. There are some tasks you can do, such as health reviews, using the PATCHS service.

Managing chronic diseases

Diabetes

Diabetes is a long term condition caused by too much glucose, a type of sugar, in the blood. It is also known as diabetes mellitus.

There are two main types of diabetes, which are explained below:

Type I diabetes
Type II diabetes

Normally, the amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland behind the stomach. When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves any glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it is broken down to produce energy.

However, in people with diabetes, the body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there is either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or because the insulin that is there does not work properly.

Our specialist diabetes team will provide you with support, regular reviews and the day to day care of your needs.

All diabetic patients are entitled to an annual review. The practice will normally contact you if yours is due. The review takes place in two parts, a data collection appointment and where appropriate, a follow up care plan appointment. If you feel you have been missed, or require a more urgent review, then please contact the practice to arrange an appointment.

At the initial data collection appointment, your blood pressure, weight, urine, feet and wellbeing will be checked. It is necessary for you to bring an early morning urine sample with you. Following your initial appointment, a care plan booklet will be sent to you and if necessary, an appointment with your GP or one of our specialist nurses will be arranged.

Website

Diabetes UK

Chronic heart disease

The most common symptoms of coronary heart disease (CHD) are chest pains (angina) and a heart attack.

You can also experience other symptoms, such as palpitations and unusual breathlessness. In some cases, people may not show any symptoms before they are diagnosed.

Angina

If your coronary arteries become partially blocked, it can cause chest pain (angina). This can be a mild, uncomfortable feeling similar to indigestion. However, a severe angina attack can cause a painful feeling of heaviness or tightness, usually within the centre of the chest, which may then spread to the arms, neck, jaw, back or stomach.

Angina attacks are often triggered by physical activity or stressful situations. Although symptoms of Angina usually pass within 10 minutes, you can alleviate the symptoms by resting or using a nitrate tablet or spray.

Heart attacks

If your arteries become completely blocked, it can cause a heart attack (myocardial infarction).

Heart attacks can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle and, if not treated straight away, can be fatal.

If you think you are having a heart attack, dial 999 for immediate medical assistance.

Although symptoms can vary, the discomfort or pain of a heart attack is usually similar to that of angina but often more severe. During a heart attack you may also experience the following symptoms:

sweating
lightheadedness
nausea
breathlessness

The symptoms of a heart attack can be similar to indigestion. For example, they may include a feeling of heaviness in your chest, a stomach ache or heartburn. However, these symptoms can also be accompanied by a pain that affects the arms (particularly the left arm), the neck and the jaw.

A heart attack can happen at any time, including while you are resting. If heart pains last longer than 15 minutes, it may be the start of a heart attack.

Unlike angina, the symptoms of a heart attack are not usually relieved using a nitrate tablet or spray.

In some cases, you may have a heart attack without any symptoms, called a silent myocardial infarction. This is more common in people with diabetes.

Heart failure

Heart failure can also occur in people with CHD when the heart becomes too weak to pump blood around the body, which can cause fluid to build up in the lungs that makes it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Heart failure can happen suddenly (acute heart failure) or gradually over time (chronic heart failure).

Respiratory – Asthma and COPD

Our respiratory clinics are primarily intended for patients with asthma and COPD.

Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways. These are the small tubes, called bronchi, which carry air in and out of the lungs. If you have asthma, the bronchi will be inflamed and more sensitive than normal. Our practice nurses have specialist asthma qualifications. During their clinics they monitor your overall condition, offer advice, answer any queries and ensure your treatment is effective.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease. People with COPD have trouble breathing in and out. This is referred to as airflow obstruction. Breathing difficulties are caused by long term damage to the lungs, usually because of smoking.

Asthma and COPD clinics

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

We like to see all our patients who have been diagnosed with these conditions 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.

Websites

NHS asthma – Asthma in adults, the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
Asthma + Lung UK
Action Asthma
NHS COPD

Hypertension

Hypertension relates to high blood pressure.

High blood pressure often causes no symptoms, or immediate problems, but it is a major risk factor for developing a serious cardiovascular disease (conditions that affect the functioning of the heart and the circulation of blood around the body), such as a stroke or heart disease.

Websites

High Blood Pressure Explained – NHS

Blood Pressure Association

British Heart Foundation

Warfarin monitoring clinic

Warfarin is a drug which can prevent life threatening conditions. However, it can be dangerous if people taking it are not monitored regularly and advised which dose to take. Recent changes have been made to the way we prescribe it.

When a patient requests a prescription for warfarin, the doctor must check that the necessary monitoring has been carried out. We can no longer prescribe warfarin “as directed” and the specific dose must be stated on the prescription.

Nurse led warfarin clinics

We run nurse led warfarin clinics for patients who are already classed as being stable on the drug.

Supporting a healthy lifestyle

Smoking cessation

If you’re trying to give up smoking, we can help. Studies show that your chances of success will be greatly improved if you get advice and support from health care professionals to help you stop smoking and if you don’t pay for your prescriptions then giving up is free.

The services we offer from the Practice can:
Boost your willpower to stop smoking
Concentrate your efforts by getting advice from someone who knows your medical background
Help you feel that you’re not doing it alone
Help you to cope when you are tempted to smoke
Monitor improvements to your health so that you can see the benefits

Please call the surgery to arrange an appointment with our smoking cessation advisers.

Websites

Smoking Cessation – NHS site – if you smoke, giving up is probably the greatest single step you can take to improve your health.
Quit Org. – Quit is the independent charity whose aim is to save lives by helping smokers to stop.

Sexual health

A range of sexual health services are offered at the surgery including:

Contraception and contraception advice
Emergency contraception and emergency contraception advice
Testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea and genital warts
Testing and counselling for HIV and AIDS

If you need advice and support with a sexual health matter or you think you have a problem you would like to discuss, please call the surgery to make an appointment with your GP.

Sexual health services are freely available for everyone.

Websites

Family Planning Association: Sexual Health Advice

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

NHS – Sexual health

Weight loss

If you would like to know more about weight and diet advice, we offer a weight management clinic giving you advice on how to lose weight and stay healthy.

A range of options are available to support people with weight loss. To understand which of them may be the best fit for you please arrange an appointment with your GP who will be happy to discuss them with you.

One suitable option may be our health trainers who offer 1 to 1 sessions for people wanting to improve their health and change their behaviour. They can support individuals with healthy eating, weight management and getting physically active.

Many doctors now believe that when it comes to your health, your waist measurement is important.

While knowing your body mass index (BMI) is a good way to decide if you’re overweight, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

BMI is a measure of how healthy your weight is for your height. You can work out what your BMI is by using the NHS BMI healthy weight calculator.

If you have a high BMI, you’re likely to be carrying extra fat. But your health could be at greater risk depending on where you store that fat.

Having a large amount of tummy fat (compared to fat around your bottom or thighs) makes you more likely to develop diabetes and heart problems.

A healthy waist circumference for men is less than 94cm (37 inches), and for women it’s less than 80cm (32 inches).

Losing weight and keeping it off isn’t easy, but it has many benefits. You may only need to make small changes to your lifestyle to maintain a healthy weight.

If you’d like to find out more about how you can lose weight in a healthy way please book an appointment with one of our nurses.

Websites

NHS – Check your BMI

NHS – 8 tips for healthy eating

Alcohol advice

NHS advice on drinking recommends that men should not regularly drink more than 3 to 4 units of alcohol a day and women should not regularly drink more than 2 to 3 units a day, “regularly” means drinking every day or most days of the week.

The alcohol interventions team (AIT) offers support, information, advice and signposting to individuals who drink above “safe” levels of alcohol for whatever reason. To book an initial appointment, please call 023 9284 1753.

Alternatively, please fill out one of the forms below and return it to the surgery. The practice will arrange any necessary appointments based on the information that you provide.

Chlamydia screening

Chlamydia screening is available from the surgery.

Simply ask at reception for a kit. It is a completely confidential service where you can send a urine sample in the envelope provided and receive the results easily.

Mental health

Mental health is about how we think, feel and behave. One in four people in the UK have a mental health problem at some point in their lives, which affects their daily life, relationships or physical health.

Mental health disorders take many different forms and affect people in different ways. Schizophrenia, depression and personality disorders are all examples of mental health problems. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia generally develop in old age, whereas eating disorders are more common in young people.

You can subscribe to wellbeing podcasts on the Mental Health Foundation website.

The website of the Mental Health Foundation outlines the charity’s work in research, policy, service development and service user involvement. The site offers information and publications to download on research, good practice in services and on mental health problems and key issues.

Websites

Alzheimer’s Society Comprehensive information for people with all forms of dementia. Alzheimer’s Society is a membership organisation, which works to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Mental Health Foundation Founded in 1949, the Mental Health Foundation is a leading UK charity that provides information, carries out research, campaigns and works to improve services for anyone affected by mental health problems, whatever their age and wherever they live

Childhood and teenage mental health

While it is commonly believed that depression only effects adults, around 10% of children in Great Britain aged between 5 and 16 have a recognisable mental disorder; with about 4% of children suffering from an emotional disorder such as anxiety or depression.

The problem for many is that depression is difficult to spot and often regarded as teenage mood swings. However, if your child is appearing to have an extreme emotional response to a life event or has lost interest in activities which previously interested them they may be suffering from an emotional disorder.

If you are worried about your child’s mental health please visit your GP, who will be able to offer a range of support to help both you and your child. There are a range of talking therapies which are highly effective in dealing with both short term and long term depression, for more information on these therapies please view the NHS Talking Therapy Guide.

Websites

Barnardo’s Mental health Support for children and adolescents

Mind- Mental Health Charity

Sane – Mental Health Support

Rethink Mental Illness

Hay fever

Hay fever is a common allergic condition.

Symptoms of hay fever include:

sneezing
a runny nose
itchy eyes

The symptoms of hay fever are caused when a person has an allergic reaction to pollen.

Pollen is a fine powder released by plants as part of their reproductive cycle. Pollen contains proteins that can cause the nose, eyes, throat and sinuses (small air-filled cavities behind your cheekbones and forehead) to become swollen, irritated and inflamed.

There is currently no cure for hay fever but most people are able to relieve symptoms with treatment. Treatment options for hay fever include antihistamines, which can help prevent an allergic reaction from happening and corticosteroids (steroids), which help reduce levels of inflammation and swelling. Many hayfever symptoms can be controlled with over-the-counter medication at your pharmacist.

Helpful ways to reduce your exposure to pollen

Check the pollen forecast. The pollen forecasts can help hay fever sufferers to plan their activities and medication. If the forecast is high, think about keeping indoors, with the windows shut.
Reduce the time you spend outdoor during the peak time of 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm when the pollen is at its highest level.
If you have been outside you might find it useful to change and wash your clothes and wash exposed areas, including your hair.
Keep up-to-date with your symptoms and maybe based on previous years’ experiences, consider taking medicines slightly ahead of the peak pollen season.

Website

NHS – Hay fever

Women’s health

Cervical screening

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 recommended every three years for women aged 25 to 49 and every five years for women aged 50 to 64 or more frequently if smear results indicates abnormal changes.

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.

Our nurses are qualified to carry out cervical screening and tests in the form of cervical smears. In order to have a cervical smear the patient must have received a letter requesting that they have a cervical smear and the appointment must please be made for when the patient is not menstruating.

These appointments typically take around 10 minutes. For any further information or to book an appointment, please call the surgery.

Website

NHS – Cervical screening

Breast screening

The national breast screening programme was introduced in 1988 as an early detection service for breast cancer. It states that all women who are aged between 50 and 70 years of age will be routinely invited for free breast screening every three years. The programme is very successful and currently saves around 1,400 lives per year.

Breast screening aims to find breast cancer at an early stage, often before there are any symptoms. To do this, an x-ray is taken of each breast (mammogram). Early detection may often mean simpler and more successful treatment. When women are invited for their mammogram depends on which GP they are registered with, not when their birthday is.

The screening office runs a rolling programme which invites women by area. The requirement is that all women will receive their first invitation before their 53rd birthday, but ideally when they are 50. If you are under 50 and concerned about any aspect of breast care, please contact the surgery to make an appointment with your GP.

Emergency contraception

If you’ve forgotten to take your pill, your condom split or you’ve had unprotected sex in the last 72 hours then you may need emergency contraception, and the sooner you take it the better.

Emergency contraception is available free from contraception and sexual health services, some GPs (family doctors) and most pharmacies, even if you’re under 16.

If you’ve had unprotected sex or your condom failed, it is also really important to consider your risk for sexually transmitted infections and to think about your long term contraception needs. Please phone the surgery to book an emergency appointment.

If you miss the 72 hours it is still possible to have an emergency coil fitted up to 5 days after unprotected sex. You can have an emergency coil fitted for free at your local sexual health clinic.

Men’s health

Testicular cancer

Although still rare compared to other cancers, testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged between 15 and 45 years with around 2,200 to 2,300 men being diagnosed each year. It is more common in Caucasian males.

If found at an early stage a cure rate of 98% is usually possible and even when testicular cancer has spread to other areas of the body cure can still be achieved. In fact according to recent research overall 96% of men diagnosed with any stage testicular cancer will be alive 10 years after treatment.

It is important to visit your GP as soon as you notice any lump or swelling on your testicle. Your GP will examine your testicles to help determine whether or not the lump is cancerous.

Symptoms

The earliest warning signs of testicular cancer usually include the following:

A change in size or shape of a testicle.
Swelling or thickening of a testicle.
A firm, smooth, initially painless, slow-growing lump or hardness in a testicle.
A feeling of testicular heaviness.

Leaflets and websites

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed every year.

Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs you have it for many years.

Symptoms often only become apparent when your prostate is large enough to affect the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis).

When this happens, you may notice things like an increased need to urinate, straining while urinating and a feeling your bladder has not fully emptied.

However, these signs do not mean you have prostate cancer. It is more likely they are caused by something else, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (also known as BPH or prostate enlargement).

What is the prostate?

The prostate is a small gland in the pelvis found only in men. About the size of a Satsuma, it is located between the penis and the bladder. It surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis.

The main function of the prostate is to help in the production of semen. It produces a thick white fluid that is mixed with the sperm produced by the testicles, to create semen.

Male pattern baldness

Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss, affecting 6.5 million men in the UK.

It generally starts with a little thinning of the hair, followed by wider hair loss, allowing more of the scalp to become visible.

For a few men, this process starts as early as the late teens. By the age of 60, most men have some degree of hair loss.

Some men aren’t troubled by this at all. Others, however, suffer great emotional distress associated with a lack of self esteem and, in some cases, depression.

Find out more about potential treatments.

Bowel cancer

Bowel cancer is a term used to describe cancer in the colon, rectum or the small bowel.

The symptoms of bowel cancer can include:

Bleeding from the back passage (rectum) or blood in your stools
A change in normal bowel habits to diarrhoea or looser stools, lasting longer than 4 to 6 weeks
A lump that your doctor can feel in your back passage or abdomen (more commonly on the right side)
A feeling of needing to strain in your back passage (as if you needed to pass a bowel motion)
Losing weight
Pain in your abdomen or back passage
A lower than normal level of red blood cells (anaemia)

Because bowel tumours can bleed, cancer of the bowel often causes a shortage of red blood cells. This is called anaemia and may cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.

Bowel cancer screening

How do I get a screening kit?

If you are aged between 60 and 69 years, you will be sent your screening invitation automatically through the post. All you need to do is make sure that your GP has your correct address.

People aged 70 years and over or under the age of 60, who wish to be screened, should request a kit. Simply call the free helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

Macmillan cancer support

Have questions about cancer?

Visit www.macmillan.org.uk

Call 0808 808 000 free, Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm