CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATIONS
Appointments can be made for childhood vaccinations every Tuesday morning between 10.30am – 12 noon. Although the Immunisation Centre sends out appointments, we do advise parents to contact the surgery to confirm specific times of appointments to avoid unnecessary delays. A health visitor is also available at the same time for general advice on childcare and to monitor your child’s weight and growth. No appointment is required to see the health visitor. Immunisations may be given at other times by appointment only.
CHILD HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
We encourage all parents with children under 5 years to register them with the practice for this service. Routine health surveillance is carried out by the doctor in conjunction with the health visitor. You will be notified when this is due.
ADULT IMMUNISATIONS
We can administer common vaccinations required for travelling abroad. Additionally we can recommend and arrange prescriptions for anti-malaria medication that may be required as well as providing general health advice whilst travelling. Our nursing staff provide this service and an appointment is necessary at least 4-6 weeks before travel. Routine boosters can be given for tetanus, however, 5 doses of this vaccine will cover you for life. Flu vaccinations are available during the winter months and ‘Flu Clinics’ are arranged from the end of September, an appointment is required for this.
MATERNITY CARE
All doctors provide antenatal and postnatal care which is normally shared with local maternity units (Queens Hospital Romford and St Johns Hospital, Chelmsford). Each doctor sees his/her own antenatal patients by appointment. A community midwife is also attached to the practice and sees pregnant women before and after delivery.
FAMILY PLANNING/WOMEN'S HEALTH
The doctors provide a full range of contraceptive services, including the fitting of intra-uterine devices (coils) and caps. Our practice nurses are able to offer interim oral contraceptive and HRT checks, providing you are not experiencing any problems with your medication. Appointments can also be arranged with the nurse for the administration of long acting contraceptive injections, once a doctor has prescribed the medication. Our computerised smear recall system will remind women between the age of 25 and 65 when their smear is due. Cervical smears can also be carried out by the nurse as well as advice on breast awareness. Women aged between 50 and 65 will also receive an appointment for mammography screening every 3 years, which is organised by the Breast Screening Service.
MINOR SURGERY/INJURIES
The doctors are able to offer minor surgery such as removal of small cysts, some skin lesions and treatment of in-growing toenails, which is performed in our treatment room under local anaesthetic. The nurse can assess minor injuries such as uncomplicated sprains and minor cuts and bruises. She will then decide whether further referral is necessary to the doctor or casualty, in many cases, she is able to offer advice or treatment herself.
DISEASE MANAGEMENT
We have regular Nurse Run Clinics for patients suffering from the following conditions.
- ASTHMA
- DIABETES
- HEART DISEASE
- HYPERTENSION (high blood pressure)
We would encourage all patients suffering from these conditions to attend the clinics regularly in addition to seeing their doctor periodically. The clinics provide patients with up to date information on how to manage their condition and the nurse can also arrange regular investigations as appropriate. Please ring and make an appointment for any of these clinics.
ROUTINE SCREENING AND PREVENTATIVE CARE
Preventative intervention is a major aspect of the care we provide within the practice. All newly registered patients are offered a screening session with the nurse. We encourage all of our patients to have regular blood pressure and weight checks, and if you have not attended the surgery for over 3 years, a ‘Well Person’ check can by arranged with the nurse.
If you are over 75 years of age and do not see a doctor regularly, then we would recommend an annual check up with the nurse in one of our ‘Nurse led Clinics’. We can also arrange for a nurse to visit if you are housebound.
Smoking is a major cause of ill health and is not permitted anywhere on the surgery premises. We would actively encourage our patients to stop smoking and if you are a smoker who is willing to quit then we can arrange referral to a specialist ‘Smoking Cessation Clinic’. Alternatively we can also offer in house advice on stopping smoking and provide you with prescriptions for nicotine replacement therapy.