Routine medical problems and emergencies during working hours
If you wish to see a doctor, telephone the surgery as soon as possible after 8:30am and you will normally be offered an appointment the same day (see Appointments). For telephone advice leave a message with the receptionist and a doctor will call back later.

Alternatively you can call NHS Direct at any time for medical advice on
0845 4647 or visit the website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Urgent medical problems out of hours
Contact NorMed on 01604 722282.

Life-threatening emergencies at any time: in cases of major injury, severe chest pain, severe breathing difficulty or collapse, dial 999 for an ambulance.

Chronic diseases (long-term medical conditions)
See the doctor initially. You will be offered an appointment with the practice nurse for subsequent routine monitoring.

Minor surgery
Dr Pickering is able remove various small lumps and inject joints where appropriate. Please see one of the doctors first for a preliminary assessment of the problem.

Minor injuries
Please contact reception to see the practice nurse.

Disease prevention
This is carried out largely by the practice nurses and includes:

• Routine monitoring of chronic diseases such as asthma, COPD (‘chronic bronchitis’), diabetes and heart disease. Patients with any of these conditions are requested to see the practice nurse for a detailed review at least once a year.
• Routine health checks for the over 40s (‘well person checks’). If you would like to make use of this service please make a routine appointment with the nurse.
• Cervical smears.
• Sexual health and contraception advice.
• HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) monitoring.
• Quit smoking advice.
• Weight loss.
• Standard UK immunisations for all adults - ie polio, tetanus and diphtheria boosters as required. Other immunisations are available for individuals exposed to particular occupational risk. For travel clinics see non-NHS Services below.
• Influenza vaccination - annually in October/November for the over 65s and individuals with any of the following conditions: chronic heart or lung disease (including angina, asthma, COPD, emphysema), diabetes, kidney failure, immunosuppression, including recent chemotherapy and previous removal of spleen.
• Pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccination - once only for the same patients as influenza.
• Annual health checks for the over 75s - we invite all our patients over the age of 75 to make an annual appointment with the practice nurse for a general health check.

Other services provided by practice nurses

• Ear syringing
• Dressings and wound care
• Swabs (samples taken to look for evidence of certain types of infection)

District Nursing
The district nurses provide nursing care and health advice for housebound patients.

Maternity care
Routine healthcare and advice during pregnancy, labour and the first 10 days after childbirth. It is managed jointly by the midwife and doctors. The midwife runs an antenatal clinic at the surgery on Thursday mornings. Contact reception to make an appointment.

Child health
Child healthcare advice, routine vaccinations and developmental checks are carried out by the health visitor. She can be contacted on 01604 890149. Dr Abbatt and Dr Coghill also perform routine checks on babies at the ages of 6 weeks and 8 months.

Foot problems
The podiatrist has a clinic in the surgery on Thursday afternoons. He deals with a wide range of foot deformity and discomfort in children and adults. Contact reception to make an appointment.

Counselling
The counsellor has appointments on Friday mornings. She is able to offer support and counselling for common emotional and psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, stress and relationship difficulties. If you would like to see her you should first make an appointment to discuss the problem with your doctor.

ECGs and blood sampling
These are done by the phlebotomist at the request of a doctor or nurse.

To obtain laboratory test results
Please ring 01604 890313 after 2pm and speak to a receptionist. Results are dealt with by the doctors as soon as they are received from the hospital and the relevant information will then be on the computer for the receptionist to give you. The receptionist will be able to relay the doctor’s comments but cannot offer further interpretation. Results cannot be given to a third party except with the patient’s signed consent or in certain exceptional circumstances. We do not routinely contact you with results unless the matter is urgent. In general you should allow 5 working days although some results take considerably longer.

Sickness certificates
Doctors do not issue NHS sick notes for work absence of 7 days or less. A self-certification form should be provided by your employer if required. If you have been unfit for work for more than 7 days and need a sick note for social security or statutory sick pay, you will need to see the doctor. There is no charge for this. However, there will be a charge for all other types of sick note.

Non-NHS services (a charge is made for all these services)
These include travel health advice, private medical examinations, examination for insurance, HGV medicals, sports medicals, adoption medicals, private sickness or health certificates, private medical reports such as insurance application and claim forms, passport applications etc.
NB Health advice and immunisation for travel is a non-NHS service provided by the practice nurses for which a fee is charged. Please ask at reception for details. See Health Links for relevant websites.

Complaints
We welcome constructive comments. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service which we provide and wish to complain, please do so in writing to the practice manager at the surgery as soon as possible. We will acknowledge your letter within 3 working days and address your concerns with a more detailed response, normally within 10 working days.