Meadowbridge Surgery - The clinics and other services offered by our doctors surgery

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CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT - Annual Review appointment offered with our Nursing Team.

Annual Review Appointment are available by contacting reception for patients diagnosed with any of the following:

Asthma
CKD
COPD
Coronary heart disease
Dementia
Depression
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Hypertension https://bihsoc.org/bp-monitors/ Choosing a BP monitor for Home Use
Learning Disability - Complete and return this form and we can update your records.
Mental Health
Osteoporosis
Primary Prevention - CVD
PAD
Stroke
Thyroid
Baby Vaccination Clinics

Antenatal Midwife Appointments.

As off 15 January 2021 all normal Midwife appointments attended at the Practice will be moving to the Moyle Hospital, Larne because of the Covid Pandemic. Patients can arrange future appointments by contacting the booking office on 02828266189.

Same clinic, just in there.

Patients are asked to contact reception to arrange an initial appointment at the Practice with the Midwife between 16-18 weeks gestation. This appointment can be brought forward if pregnancy complications occur or if the patient requires assistance with self referral to the Hospital.

However the practice midwives need no longer complete hospital referrals and patients can now self refer to the hospital of their choice themselves using one of the following links:

Antrim Area Hospital Maternity Referral, Lagan Valley & Ulster Hospital Maternity Referrals & Mater or Jubilee Hospital Referral

Referral can be posted or emailed directly to the hospital (details available on the form) and upon receipt of a referral the hospital will offer an initial booking appointment between 10-14 weeks gestation.

EYECARE ASSESSMENT AND REFERRAL SERVICE (NI PEARS) NI Pears is a service provided by most optometry practices for patients who develop a sudden eye problem such as: Red eye (s) Pain and/or discomfort in the eyes, or around the eye area - Sudden reduction in vision in one or both eyes - Recent onset or sudden increase of flashes and/or floaters in one or both eyes - Suspected foreign body in the eye. If you are unsure whether your symptoms qualify you for an NI PEARS examination please contact one of the practices who provide NI PEARS for advice. A full list of optometry practices who provide the service can be found at link below :- http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/services/nipears.htm (a list as of July 2020 in northern area is attached – access online for full/ updated list). SELF REFERRAL.

Minor Injuries Service is provided with treatment for the following:

a) Cuts capable of closure by simple technique
b) Minor dislocation of fingers/toes
c) Removal of foreign bodies
d) Non-penetrating eye foreign bodies
e) Following recent injury, not amenable to simple First Aid
f) Partial thickness burns or scalds, but not involving hands, feet, neck face or genital area
g) Minor soft tissue injuries which can be managed without need for X-ray amenable to simple First Aid
h) Any circumstance where medical intervention required to stabilise an injured patient prior to transfer to A&E.

Other Services

Cervical smears
Child health surveillance
Contraceptive services
Dermatology Specialist
Depression Counsellor
IUD Fitting / Implanon Implants & Removal
Maternity Services
Minor surgery
Travel Clinic
Treatment Room
Vaccinations and immunisations.

Contact Reception to arrange appointments or for further information on services available.

TRAINING PRACTICE

Meadowbridge Surgery is a training practice a patient may be offered an appointment with a GP Student Trainee or a Medical Student from Queens University in their 5th or 4th year. Patient's are assured that they will only see students with their consent, and will not be disadvantaged by refusing to have medical students involved in their care.

When a pharmacist may be able to help

Your pharmacist may be able to help you with:

coughs, colds, eye conditions, stomach upsets, skin conditions, allergies, aches and pains
common drugs, vitamins and minor first-aid
healthy eating and living, including giving up smoking
blood pressure and diabetes monitoring and needle exchange, truss fittings, stoma products and incontinence supplies
women's health, including treatment for thrush, emergency contraception and pregnancy testing
children's health, including nappy rash, teething, coughs and colds, threadworms, head lice, warts and verrucas
all prescribed and over-the-counter medicines

Ask at your chemist about the Minor Ailments scheme or click the following link for more information on what services your local chemist can offer to you.

Travel Vaccinations

Meadowbridge Surgery no longer offers a Private Travel Vaccination Service. There are however, various clinics in Northern Ireland offering this service, the most local at Carrick Health Centre Pharmacy, Taylors Avenue, (contact information can be found on line for other clinics in Belfast/Bangor).

An appointments at Meadowbridge Surgery can then be arranged for any NHS Travel Vaccines outstanding following your attendance at the Private Travel Clinic. Patients will receive writing information to bring to the Practice Nurse indicating any outstanding NHS free Travel Vaccines required. Our Practice Nurse will not give Travel advice regarding private vaccines.

You can find information on vaccines you may require from the links below. We cannot vouch that the information on the links is up to date. You should contact a travel clinic to confirm vaccinations required.

• Allow plenty of time for a pre-travel consultation at least 6-8 weeks before you travel.

• A dental check-up before you travel may prevent problems while you are away.

• Take out adequate insurance for your destination and activities. A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to free or reduced rate medical care in most EU countries. You can apply for one free of charge online (www.dh.gov.uk), by phone (0845 606 2030), or by post using a form from the Post Office

• Pack a first aid kit (a sterile kit of emergency equipment may be a good idea if you are going somewhere remote).

• Find out about the place you are travelling, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website www.FCO.gov.uk contains information and up to date advice on travelling abroad, including information about risks in specific countries. There is further information about countries and vaccinations on the links below

Europe & Russia	North America
Central America	South America
Caribbean	Africa
Middle East	Central Asia
East Asia	Australasia and Pacific

Travelling in Europe

If you are travelling to Europe a very useful booklet has been published with advice and guidance to help you get the most out of your holiday. To visit please click:- http://ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/eu_glance/86/en.pdf (this is a large document and may take a minute or two to view)

Non-NHS Services

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges. The Doctors are regularly asked to complete forms and prepare letters for patients. Examples include the following:

Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.)
Insurance claim forms (sickness, holiday cancellation, etc.)
Solicitor Reports
Prescriptions for taking medication abroad
Private sick notes
Health Declaration Forms
GP Letters (non NHS.)

Please leave your form at reception ensuring you have completed any consent or declaration forms. If you do not have a form it will be necessary to submit your request in writing. The receptionist will ask you to complete a short information form at reception which will help to action your request as quickly as possible. You may be contacted by the practice by telephone regarding applicable fees, if further information is required or to arrange medical appointments etc.

Just like other professionals, such as accountants and solicitors, a charge is made for the Doctors time and also professional responsibility. Charges for private work is as follows and payment is expected in advance:

Blood Grouping £20

Blood Tests £15

Copies (immunisations, tests, hospital letters) from £5

Driving Medical (HGV/PSV/Taxi) £95

Employment Medicals £164.50

Forms (Health Declarations, Insurance, Travel Cancellation etc from £15 - £25

Private Prescriptions £15

Travel Prescription non NHS per item £15

Non EU Temporary Patients £50 consultation fee & from £15 per blood test

Receipts available

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to help you with any queries. Please be aware that the Doctors always prioritise their NHS work first which means that the completion of private forms and letters may sometimes be delayed and no time scale is available.

29 November 2021

TRAVEL BAN Southern African countries South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini - These countries have been added to the Northern Ireland red list and returning travellers arriving in to all UK airports and ports from all these countries will be required to enter managed quarantine.

A full travel history must be obtained for all individuals presenting to health and social care services with immediate effect. and enquiry will be made about travel to or via Southern Africa or through any of the countries identified above.

All individuals who have a travel history from any of the listed countries in the past 10 days and who present to health services including primary care must be tested for COVID-19.

What to expect after your COVID-19 vaccination these leaflets have not yet arrived at GP practices but distribution is expected in a week or so. The leaflet is for giving to adults when they receive their booster COVID vaccine or for adults when they receive a primary dose.

A large print accessible version and translations in 17 languages are available on the PHA website and BSL and ISL videos will be added shortly. Also other supporting information leaflets for different audiences about the COVID-19 vaccination programme are available as PDFs at www.pha.site/COVID19infomaterials

There is a ‘PDF only leaflet’ COVID-19 vaccine Your guide to booster vaccination, available at www.pha.site/COVIDbooster if you are in the CEV/ Moderately Vulnerable or over 65 year old groups and due to attend for a Covid Booster.

FLU & COVID VACCINE CLINICS Any patients who are CEV/moderately vulnerable or over 65 years of age are now able to book an appointment to receive the Flu & Covid vaccine. Please book through the on-line patient services where possible to leave incoming telephone lines free for those who do not have on-line access and to ensure access for those with clinical medical issues and need to be able to access the urgent telephone triage service once capacity has ben reached through the day.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): definitions of ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ and ‘vulnerable’

Flu Vaccine - Asthma patients can get the vaccine if they have been prescribed a preventer inhaler alongside their blue inhaler, or have been admitted to hosp because of asthma. This year it is more important than ever to get the flu vac if you have asthma as it is predicted that there will be much higher levels of flu around.
Covid Vaccine for Asthma patients has different criteria.
Asthma patient has to have poorly controlled asthma meaning
2 or more courses of steroid tablets (prednisolone) in the last 24 months or
Taking steriod tablets every day for asthma or
1 or more hosp admissions for asthma in the last 24 months.

If you are in a risk group being called but are not 5 months from your 2nd covid vaccine you can still contact reception to make a 5 min appointment just your flu vaccine. Do not book into the covid/flu appointments on line as these are 10 min appointment slots.

UNIVERSAL VACCINATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 12-15 YEARS AGAINST COVID-19

The 4 UK CMOs advice has been accepted by the 4 UK Health Ministers who have confirmed that they wish to proceed as recommended by the 4 UK CMOs.

In Northern Ireland the programme for 12-15 year olds will be school-based with parents being asked to give their consent. Planning is ongoing to allow this programme to begin and where possible it is hoped that the COVID-19 and flu vaccinations can be co-administered. Further details on vaccine deployment will issue by school health teams in due course.

Those considered eligible will be all children aged 12 years or older when the school nursing team visits the child’s school. Catch up arrangements will be in place soon for those who do not receive the vaccine on the day, including those who turn 12 after the day school nurses visit.

20 September 2021 - Individuals aged 12 and over with severe immunosuppression are now recommended to receive a third primary dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Check out advice issued by JCVI on third dose vaccination if you feel you are severely immunosuppressed as you may now be eligible for an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in light of the latest advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The advice recommends that a third dose is given for individuals aged 12 and over with immunosuppression and you you might be eligible within this category regarding your current health condition. This is being advised as a precautionary measure to increase your immunity level and provide a better vaccine response, based on studies and experience with other vaccines. It is part of your primary course of vaccination and is separate to a booster vaccination, which you will likely become eligible for in six months’ time, pending further advice. We recommend you contact your [GP / Consultant] to discuss the optimal timing to receive your vaccination, which must be at least 8 weeks after your second dose. For more information about the coronavirus vaccine, visit the PHA website. Please note, if you are aged between70-79 years of age, you will also be eligible to receive the non-live shingles vaccine Shingrix® as you are unable to receive the live vaccine Zostavax®. It is recommended that you also take up this offer when invited to receive the Shingrix® vaccine by your GP in due course.

POST POSITIVE PCR ANTIBODY TESTING INITIATIVE (PPPATI) Link to information on antibody-surveillance-programme

Click to view the Covid Patient Leaflets

Click to understand the current risk of a blood clot following AstraZeneca Vaccination.

Covid Vaccination information for N Ireland. The information includes details of community transport schemes that can be accessed for those who may need assistance to travel to a vaccine centre

Map and contact details for participating pharmacies offering flu and covid vaccines available at Pharmacy Covid Vaccinations (healthandcareni.net)

COVID-19 - TESTING - GENERAL INFORMATION/GUIDANCE/LINKS

Everyone over five years of age in Northern Ireland with symptoms of COVID-19 is now eligible for testing. Testing is offered through the National Testing Programme and symptomatic members of the public can book their own test via this weblink: www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test

People booking a test can chose to be tested at a drive through test centres the nearest being at University of Ulster or SSE Arena in Belfast – these centres are operating as part of the National Testing Programme. Symptomatic members of the public can also book a test via the above weblink to order a postal self-test kit which will be dispatched to their home. The results of testing undertaken through the National Testing Programme are emailed or texted directly to the person who has been tested.

The NI Contact Tracing Service located in the Public Health Agency will be in touch with all cases of COVID-19. The symptomatic individual will need to share information about their recent interactions. This could include household members, people they have been in direct contact with, or within 2 metres for more than 15 minutes. People identified as close contacts will be informed that they have been in contact with a case and they will be advised of what actions they need to take.

All information discussed with the Contact Tracing Service will be handled with appropriate privacy and confidentiality safeguards.

The telephone number used by the service currently comes up as a ‘withheld number’ on receiving telephones but it is anticipated that there will be an update in due course advising that calls from this number will have an identifier.

We would once again like to thank you for your support in these unprecedented times, and to call on you to support the ‘Test, Trace and Protect’ Strategy which is of crucial importance as we move into the next phase of tackling COVID-19.

Covid-19 vaccine - a guide for people with a learning disability.

Covid-19 vaccines and fertility

HSCB is maintaining a FAQ for the public regarding the GP COVID-19 vaccine rollout and you may find this helpful where you have questions. The link Q&A Coronavirus/covid-19-vaccination-programme/.

The PHA also have some helpful FAQs for the public at Public Health Agency Q&A Covid-19-coronavirus NI programme . We are aware of some scam emails/texts/calls about COVID-19 vaccinations and the PHA FAQ provides advice.

Face Mask Exemption Cards- Use this link to print cards:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own

Distance Awareness Scheme Newsletter

Self Care for Life – be healthy this winter

Am I using my inhaler correctly? (Inhaler Technique). If you don’t use your inhaler correctly it won’t work properly. These videos show you how to use your inhaler.

Did you know that it is usual for adults to have two to four colds a year while children are likely to have three to eight as their immune system is more susceptible to viral infections? That’s why, during winter, when seasonal illnesses are more frequent, it is important to take extra measures to stay well.

The Self Care message is "Self care for life – be healthy this winter" which we are supporting.

What are the Fact Sheets for?
The Self Care Forum Fact Sheets cover 13 common ailments and are aimed to inform patients on issues around self care and on how to best handle the symptoms. They provide patients with information around:

Useful facts
What patients can expect to happen (the natural history)
What people can do to help themselves – now and in the future
When to seek medical help (the ‘red flags’)
Where to find out more

Download the fact sheets below:

1. Low Back Pain

2. Eczema

3. Heartburn and indigestion

4. Fever in children

5. Constipation

6. Headache and migraine

7. Coughs

8. Acne

9. Sprains and strains

10. Sore throat

11. Otitis media

12. Common cold

13. Sinusitis

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CERVICAL SMEAR PROGRAMME RECOMMENCING JUNE 2020 If due, women will soon be invited by letter to attend for their cervical screening test at the Practice and when contacting the Practice will be triaged remotely before any face-to-face appointment is booked. Patients without symptoms of COVID-19 who are booked for a face-to-face appointment will be advised to inform staff if they develop symptoms, and will be asked again before entering the Practice for their consultation. Please wear personal facemasks if available.

Cervical Screening

A new video below shows women what to expect when they attend for cervical screening. It has been produced by the Public Health Agency and covers the complete screening journey including the invitation, the smear test, laboratory processing, results and attendance for colposcopy. The video is primarily aimed at women attending screening for the first time aged 25, as uptake is lower in this age group. Further accessible versions of the video are in production (ie. signed in British and Irish sign language, subtitled version) and will be uploaded onto the website when available.

It is hoped the video will promote informed choice among women about attending for cervical screening and seek to reassure those who are called for colposcopy.

The video is on the Northern Ireland Cancer Screening Programmes website at the following link:

http://www.cancerscreening.hscni.net/2179.htm

Please contact reception to arrange a smear appointment with the Practice Nurse.

Practices in the Northern area who provide core diabetes services do not currently have a structured education programme to refer newly diagnosed patients with Type 2 diabetes too. We are therefore providing the following leaflets from Diabetes UK for your information.

Please click the following links for information:

Understanding Diabetes (Diabetes UK)

Eating well with Diabetes (Diabetes UK)

What care you should receive (Diabetes UK)

Education Checklist

If you are a newly diagnosed Diabetic please contact reception and arrange an appointment with the Practice Nurse or Health Care Assistant and they will be happy to cover the above main areas of education with you.

Shingles Vaccination 2021-22 for ease of administration the majority of Zostavax® has previously been given to eligible patients at the same time as their flu vaccine and is given throughout the year to those who did not receive it during the flu season period for whatever reason.

From October 2021 - A 7 day period must be left between COVID-19 and the shingles vaccine being administered and therefore the shingles vaccine will now be administered separately to Flu and Covid vaccine.

Patients with severe immunosuppression and are aged between 70-79 years of age, will be eligible and are recommended to receive the non-live shingles vaccine Shingrix® as you are unable to receive the live vaccine Zostavax®. Appointments can be booked via reception.

SEASONAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION PROGRAMME 2021/22

Click to view a selection of Patient Information Flu Leaflets

Seasonal influenza and COVID-19 viruses have the potential to add substantially to the winter pressures usually faced by the HSC, particularly if infection waves from both viruses coincide. Influenza vaccination is therefore an important priority this coming autumn to reduce associated with influenza infections, and to reduce hospitalisations during a time when the HSC may also be managing winter outbreaks of COVID-19.

This year the annual seasonal influenza immunisation programme aims to provide direct protection to those who are at higher risk of influenza associated morbidity and mortality. Groups eligible for influenza vaccination are based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and include older people, pregnant women, children, those with certain underlying medical conditions and frontline health and social care workers.

Further information will be posted as we receive official guidance but we are hopeful that vaccination clinics will be available from mid October onwards during morning clinics. Patients will be called by Priority group starting with the elderly cohorts.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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