SPECIALIST SERVICES AND CLINICS AT FIVE OAKS

Health Checks For Over 75s And Patients Not Seen For Three Years

All patients aged 75 and over are encouraged to undergo an annual health check either at the surgery or, if that is inappropriate, within their own home. Any patient who has not been seen for three years or more is encouraged to attend for a health check.

Child Health Surveillance/Immunisations

Wednesday between 11.30am-1.00pm (no appointment needed)

The clinic provides childhood immunisations and eight-week baby checks as well as general advice. A GP, health visitor and nurse are present. Please do not bring ill children to be seen in this clinic.

Minor Surgery

Dr Nathoo runs a minor surgery clinic on alternate Tuesday afternoons. During this session joint injections and removal of minor skin lesions can be performed. It is always wise to ask your GP to assess whether or not any skin lesion would be suitable for removal at the practice, prior to making an appointment in the minor surgery clinic. We cannot remove facial lesions.

Antenatal Clinic

Thursday between 1.30-3.30pm (by appointment only)

If you are pregnant you do not necessarily need to see your GP if you are well. Please book into the antenatal clinic to see our team of midwives who will arrange hospital referrals, scans and advise on matters to do with all your needs in pregnancy. For any acute problems such as bleeding or pain in pregnancy you should make an urgent appointment to see your GP or attend A & E. You can refer yourself to the early pregnancy unit at St Mary's if you are under 20 weeks pregnant and experiencing pain or bleeding. Tel: 0161 276 6204.

Family Planning/Well Woman Clinic

Thursday between 4.00-6.00pm (no appointment needed)

The clinic provides contraception, cervical smears and deals with problems such as vaginal discharge, menopausal problems and period problems. The clinic is staffed by midwives and a female GP who are all family-planning trained. We do not provide a coil fitting service; for this, we recommend you attend Clayton Health Centre. Tel: 0161 231 1151.

All females between the age of 25 and 49 need a smear every three years and those in the 50 to 65 year age group every five years. If you cannot attend the Family Planning Clinic for this important test, you are very welcome to book an appointment with one of our practice nurses.

Travel Advice/Immunisations

(We are not a Yellow Fever Centre)
Appointments for travel advice and vaccinations can be made with the practice nurse at a time that suits you (subject to availability). Please ask reception for a travel advice form which you will need to complete before your appointment is booked. We recommend your appointment is set at least eight weeks before your departure date. We cannot promise to provide this service if you leave it to the last minute! Please be aware there is a £10 charge for all malaria prescriptions and you will be expected to pay further costs to the pharmacist for the actual costs of the tablets. This applies to both adults and children. A £75 charge is made for all Hepatitis B vaccinations provided for travel purposes.

Occupational Health Services

Unfortunately we do not provide Occupational Health Services including screening and vaccinations against Hepatitis B. If you are working in the health care sector or in an "at risk" occupation you will need to ask your employer about this. Alternatively, you may wish to contact a private travel clinic that may be prepared to offer these services at a cost.

Flu Jabs/Adult Vaccinations

Flu injections are available from October every year for those considered at risk. The World Health Organisation recommends flu vaccination for all patients 65 and over and those patients with chest, heart or kidney conditions, those who are immuno-compromised because of chemotherapy, HIV infection or spleen removal. The same group of patients are also advised to have a vaccine against pneumonia. Every October we run a special Saturday morning clinic to vaccinate all our "at risk" patients. Please ask reception for details. If you think you need a booster for any other vaccines please make an appointment to discuss this with the practice nurse.

Weight Management And Exercise

If you are concerned about your weight please ask your GP/nurse to assess your height and weight ratio, known as body mass index. Our practice nurses provide appointments to advise patients regarding healthy eating and monitor weight reduction. Please keep a food diary, writing down everything you eat and drink in a four-week period before making a 30-minute appointment to see the practice nurse. You can self-refer to the community exercise programme called PACE which provides exercise programmes for all shapes, sizes and ages at a reduced cost. This can be done by telephoning 0161 681 0940.

Smoking Cessation

We actively support and encourage all patients to stop smoking to prevent unnecessary disease and illness such as cancer and respiratory related problems. There is a "drop in" service at the Cornerstones Centre every Thursday 4.00-6.00pm. Alternatively, you may wish to make an appointment with our trained smoking adviser Janette Sammons. Both services offer support and provide nicotine replacement therapy on prescription.

Drug Service

The practice provides a National Enhanced Drug Service which runs alongside the Manchester Drugs Service (MDS). Twice a week clinics run under the supervision of Dr Nathoo and Dr Dean. Debbie Callaghan, our visiting drug counsellor leads the service. Referral into the clinic and/or to look at treatment options can be done through self-0referral to MDS,
telephone number 0161 273 4040. Alternatively, you may wish to speak to the GPs involved.

Counselling

General counselling services for registered patients are accessible through the Primary Care Mental Health Team. Patients are asked to refer themselves by telephoning 0161 231 0017. A form will be sent out to you in the post and appointments arranged at the surgery. For more specific information please discuss your needs with your GP.

NURSING TEAM SERVICES

Nurse Clinician

Liz Darlington is our nurse clinician. This is an advanced nursing role for which additional training at University to Masters level has been undertaken. Our nurse clinician can assess, diagnose, treat, prescribe and refer to hospital for a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions. Patients of all ages can be seen. Many patients choose to see our nurse clinician and others are offered an appointment when no doctor appointment is available. If you feel your problem is urgent we would encourage you to see our nurse clinician who can often see you sooner. You are of course free to see your usual GP if you prefer. Nurse clinician appointments are 15 minutes per patient/condition and are usually available every day, both morning and afternoon, except for Wednesday afternoons when the surgery is closed.

Practice Nurses

Catherine Hyla and Gail Thomson provide the practice nursing services for the practice. All appointments need to be booked through reception.

Management Of Chronic Illness And Disease Prevention

Carefully monitoring patients with chronic illness is a major role for our nursing team. Ensuring patients are on the correct treatments and keeping a close watch on aspects such as blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels, kidney function and disease symptoms all help to prevent existing disease getting worse and new diseases emerging.

If you have a chronic health problem such as:

• Asthma
• Heart disease
• Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease (chronic bronchitis/emphysema)
• Hypertension (blood pressure)
• Diabetes
• Stroke

you will be sent an invitation to see the practice nurse at least once a year around the time of your birthday. Please make every effort to attend and don't forget to have your blood tests done if a form has been sent with your letter. Every year over a thousand reminder letters have to be sent out to non-attendees. Please help us to help you by coming in within four to six weeks of your invitation. If your health and age prevents you from attending the surgery please ring and let us know so that we can arrange for someone to see you at home.

Treatment Room Services

A limited treatment room service is provided at the surgery for dressings, suture removal and injections. We recognise that within the community there is often a clinic nearer to the patient's home and the need to attend for regular dressings or treatments may make these services more convenient. Leg ulcer and chronic wound dressings require expertise and therefore we would actively encourage patients to attend the community centres that provide these services on an everyday basis. They are:

Ancoats Community Clinic Tel: 0161 203 4033
(Corner of Piercy Street and Caruthers Street, behind Old Mill Street)
Opening times: 9.00am-9.00pm Monday-Sunday including bank holidays.
(No appointment necessary)

Clayton Health Centre Tel: 0161 231 1151
Opening times: Tuesday and Friday 10.00am-4.00pm (appointment only)

Newton Heath Health Centre Tel: 0161 684 9696
Opening times: Tuesday and Friday 9.30-11.30am (appointment only)
Leg ulcer clinic Wednesday 8.30am-4.00pm (appointment only)

Crumpsall Clinic Tel: 0161 861 2950
Opening times: Monday and Friday 1.30-3.30pm (appointment only)

Harpurhey Health Centre and Newton Health Centre Tel: 0161 861 2400
Opening times: Monday and Friday 9.00-11.30am (appointment only)

Assistant Practitioner Services

Janette Sammons, our Assistant Practitioner, plays an important role supporting the qualified nurses within the practice. You may be asked to see Janette by your GP or nurse for a variety of services such as blood pressure checks, heart tracings (ECG), glucose tolerance tests, new patient registration assessments, foot checks, injections, breathing tests and smoking cessation. If you wish to have a general health check, please make an appointment to see Janette.