Practice Information | specialised clinics
We would prefer it if you would attend the clinic specific to your health needs so that you will see the most appropriate person. We do realise how busy everyone is and that on occasions the timing of a specific clinic may be a problem due to work commitments. If this is so, please tell us and we may be able, subject to staff availability, to fit an appointment in during your holiday or day off.
Some of our patients need annual checks for more than one condition please mention this when ringing to book your appointment, we will endeavour to organise a longer appointment so that you only have to attend 1 check up rather than several.
Asthma
Please make sure that you have a check at least once a year.
Blood Taking Clinic
We normally have a blood clinic on Monday Tuesdays and Fridays, if these days are not convenient to you, please tell us when booking. It is preferable for blood to be taken in the moring due to courier arrangements.
We try to reserve the first 2 appointments everyday for those patients who have had to fast since the night before for their blood test.
Child Immunisation Clinic
This is held regularly 1 afternoon each week, and is run in conjunction with Dr Ethel's mother and baby clinic and the Health Visitor/Nursery Nurse clinic. Appointments can be made for the baby check and preschool check to proceed the injections to save you coming back on another day. Whilst we can give child imms in a general clinic, we prefer to keep to the specific day as we can guarantee a doctor on the premises and an experienced nurse to do the injections.
Cervical Smear Clinic
Cervical smears are recommended every three years for women aged 25-49 and every 5 years for women aged 50-64 years. Occasionally, the cytologist recommends a more frequent programme. Any woman over the age of 65 may ask to have a smear. She just needs to make an appropriate appointment. You will normally be called by the surgery a month after your due date if you have not made an appointment for your smear. If you are still having periods, please try to arrange your appointment to fall between day 10-16 of your cycle. We should mention that we are required to remind non attenders and if necessary will contact you by phone.
We normally have 2 clinics a week to include a late afternoon to help those patients who are working.
Please note Breast examination - Whist we are happy to advise you on methods of self examination we are not able to carry out the examination ourselves.
Healthy Pulses Clinic - a one-stop clinic
If you have diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, long term kidney conditions or have had a stroke or mini stroke, we will invite you to our special clinic for these conditions. You will be invited to come for blood tests about 2 weeks before your clinic appointment. At the clinic appointment, you will have a complete check that is appropriate for your condition; this is usually once a year. You will have a medication review and you will be offered advice on life style, and smoking if appropriate and advised of how best to look after yourself.
We usually invite you by telephone. It is important to have these yearly checks and it is necessary to have an up-to-date medication review in order to get your tablets.
See also: Our Healthy Pulses page.
Flu Clinics
These happen every October and all our patients over 65 and those with asthma, heart, lung disease and other chronic diseases are encouraged to come.
More recently we have been holding these on Saturdays in Milton Abbas and other neighbouring villages.
Smokestop Programme
As a practice we actively encourage our patients to give up smoking and we have organised some specific clinics where you can be seen on a one to one basis.
If you have been advised to give up smoking by a member of the Primary care team or you have reached that decision yourself, ring the surgery and you will be given an appointment for the next available Smokestop assessment clinic. You should allow approx 30 MINUTES for this appointment in which the Nurse will work with you to devise a plan to stop smoking. You are also advised what help is available for you such as nicotine replacement therapy(NRT).
Once you have agreed to join the programme you will be asked to attend a short appointment at a weekly smokestop clinic for an agreed period of time. This is on a Tuesday evening currently and it is important that you attend if you wish to receive NRT on prescription.
Travel Clinic
We have 5 travel clinics each month. Please book an appointment in plenty of time so that your vaccine schedule may be worked out and given well before your departure date. It is helpful if your indicate to where you are travelling when booking your appointment. For patients travelling to a multitude of destinations it is useful if you can bring a list of these and in what order and length of stay at each place.
If you are new to the practice we may not yet have your immunisation record. Please bring any details you have to the appointment. Please be aware that a charge is made for this service.
