Practice Services
The practice undertakes a wide range of activities to diagnose and treat illness and to promote health and wellbeing. These include the following:
Diagnosis and treatment
Appointments are offered with doctors, nurse practitioner or emergency care practitioners for the diagnosis and management of illness and disease. We work together, supporting each other to offer a high quality of care. Nurse practitioners have completed specific advanced nursing education and training in the diagnosis and management of common medical conditions and provide a broad range of health care services. Emergency care practitioners often come from a paramedic background and are especially skilled in the assessment of acute or urgent medical problems.
Health promotion
The practice has an active interest in promoting health and wellbeing, not just in managing illness when it arises. To this end we aim to provide helpful advice and support throughout the practice. In addition, we promote health with a range of leaflets and advice sheets and also by publishing our news and health promotion publication HealthSpace as well as offering advice through our web site.
Nursing services
We offer a wide range of nursing service through our practice nursing team as well as through our district nursing team (for those patients confined to the home). These include assessment of nursing needs, taking blood for tests, dressings, suture removal, immunisation, ear syringing, cervical smears, assisting in minor surgery, ECG's, managing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring etc.
Chronic disease management
A major focus of the NHS is on the management of chronic diseases including asthma, diabetes, chronic lung disease (COPD) and heart disease. The practice runs clinics to offer regular monitoring of patients with these problems. This helps to ensure that patients are receiving the best possible care for these problems.
Antenatal, maternity and postnatal care
The practice provides a comprehensive service for those having babies. This is provide through a team of midwives attached to the practice and who provide antenatal care, care during delivery and postnatal care. They are supported as necessary by the GP's and obstetric hospital staff. Each mother is offered a doctor's appointment 6 weeks after the birth to review progress.
Child health and development
The practice responds to the needs of children through offering care for children when they are ill but also by monitoring health and development and by a childhood immunisation program. Each baby is offered a health and developmental check at 8 weeks age with further monitoring carried out by our attached district nursing team.
Immunisations
The practice offers a comprehensive immunisation service to children and adults, as recommended by the NHS. We are convinced that the immunisation program offers one of the most effective ways of protecting health and it continues to have a huge impact globally. We encourage you to participate fully with this program but also to discuss any concerns that you may have with a doctor or nurse. See the recommended childhood immunisation schedule.
Smoking cessation support
The practice is committed to supporting people who want to stop smoking. We are often able to direct you to services that can offer advice and also we have nurses trained to offer support and to arrange nicotine replacement therapy or other medication (such as bupropion) where this is appropriate. See Support to Stop (Avon).
Minor surgery
The GP team is able to offer various minor surgical and injection procedures where appropriate, or if more appropriate to arrange a suitable referral. These procedures include excision of minor skin lesions, toe nail surgery and therapeutic injections eg for tennis elbow or suitable knee or shoulder problems. The NHS does not offer these for purely cosmetic purposes but a fee-paying service is provided for minor surgical problems not funded by the NHS through GP Care.
Cervical smears
Cervical smears are offered to women between the ages of 25 (first test) and 64 (or to older women if they have not been screened since the age of 50 or have had recent abnormal results). The test is capable of picking up changes on the female cervix (neck of womb) which, if left, could sometimes become cancer in the future. It is highly recommended as a way of detecting and treating problems to prevent cancer. The test is usually carried out by a specially trained practice nurse and most women consider having a smear just to be mildly uncomfortable. See NHS cervical screening programmer.
Contraception
The practice provides a comprehensive contraceptive service including advice, prescribing, injections and coils (including IUS or Mirena). The doctors, nurses and nurse practitioner are able to offer confidential contraceptive advice - just make an appointment. We suggest an initial appointment with a doctor and then follow up with a nurse once established on suitable contraception. Two of the GP's (Dr Ellis and Dr Warnock) specialised in coil and IUS fitting. The FPA is a good source of contraceptive information and advice.
Sexual health
The practice offers confidential advice about sexual health and is able to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted disease and infections. We are also able to test for HIV, chlamydia, hepatitis B etc where appropriate. If you think you are at risk of or may have a sexually transmitted infection then do make an appointment with a doctor to discuss this. Bristol's main sexual health clinic is at The Milne Centre, where you can also be seen.
Unwanted pregnancy
We realise that unwanted pregnancy is very distressing and we are keen to help whatever your age or situation. Do make an appointment to discuss an unwanted pregnancy with a nurse or doctor. Most patients who are seeking an abortion attend the Bristol Pregnancy Advisory Service at Central Health Clinic, Tower Hill. You can make an appointment by telephoning 0117 927 6362.
Mental health
We see lot of people with mental health problems eg anxiety, depression, stress, anorexia etc. We encourage you, male or female, to come along and discuss such problems because there a number of ways of helping these kind of difficulties. Sometimes medication is appropriate but there is also access to counseling or to workshops based on cognitive behavioural therapy - these may be a great help. We can also advise you about self-help measures where appropriate (see for example www.livinglifetothefull.com)
Medical certificates
NHS medical practices have a legal obligation to provide medical certificates for periods of illness or incapacity lasting more than seven days (including days off or weekends). Patients do not require a doctor's certificate if they have been off work for less than seven days. For less than a week a self-certificate is filled in by the employee, available from job centres, employers or medical practices.
Some employers do demand a medical certificate for absences of less than a week. If this is essential a private certificate can be issued, for which there is a fee charged.