The Oaklands Practice : The Treatment Room and The Practice Nurses

<body bgcolor="#B991C1"> <p><strong>The Practice Nurses</strong></p> <p>We have four experienced nurses who work very hard for all our patients. Their daily work includes changing dressings, ECGs, hearing tests and vaccinations. They also assist the Doctors in performing Minor Operations.</p> <p>We have two Nurse Practitioners at the surgery, Sister Gillian Homewood and Sister Liz Dearden.</p> <p>A Nurse Practitioner is a registered nurse who has undertaken several years of added academic and practical training, resulting in advanced examination and interpretation skills. They are able to see and treat people of all ages. A Nurse Practitioner works closely alongside the GPs, issuing prescriptions when necessary.</p> <p>As well as being involved with direct patient care, Nurse Practitioners are involved in education, community health initiatives and research in order to promote quality health care for people.</p> <p>A Nurse Practitioner may see patients of all ages during health and illness alongside their GP. Patients can choose to see the Nurse Practitioner themselves, or be referred by their doctor or other health professional.</p> <p>The Nurse Practitioner can:</p> <p>Obtain medical histories and perform examination, request and interpret tests, and prescribe medication</p> <p>Diagnose and treat common health problems, such as infections, minor illness and minor injuries</p> <p>Diagnose, treat and monitor chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma/COPD and high blood pressure</p> <p>Provide contraceptive services</p> <p>Offer health and lifestyle advice for adults and children, as well as providing extra support and advice for the over 60s</p> <p>A Nurse Practitioner can provide:</p> <p>Individualised care, focusing not only on the present health problem, but the effects these health problems can have on an individual or their family</p> <p>Arrange ongoing and follow up assessments with individuals of any age</p> <p>Explain details of medications, health information and advice, explore worries and concerns about health and health needs</p> <p>Provide information people need to enable them to make individual choices in relation to their health</p> <p>Nurse Practitioners are not doctors, but work alongside the doctors, easing their workload. You may find that you are offered an appointment with a Nurse Practitioner instead of the doctor.</p> <p>There have been many changes in the NHS over recent years and Nurse Practitioners are increasing in number nationally. They have been shown to provide an excellent service due to their nursing background and extensive post nursing education and training.</p> <p>The nurses also run their own specialised clinics under medical guidance:</p> <p>Asthma Clinic</p> <p>This is held at the following times:</p> <p>Tuesday mornings<br /> Wednesday afternoons</p> <p>This clinic is for patients with asthma or chronic obstructive airways disease (emphysema). All such patients are encouraged to attend the clinic at least once a year.</p> <p>Diabetic Appointments</p> <p>All diabetic patients are encouraged to attend for a detailed review at least once a year.</p> <p>Flu Clinic</p> <p>Once a year, in the autumn, the nurses run <a href="../fluvac/fluvac.htm" target="_top">clinics administering the flu vaccination</a> to those at risk.</p> <p><strong>The Family Planning Clinic</strong></p> <p>The nurses are available to help women choose the right contraceptive method for their needs.</p> <p>The clinic covers all forms of contraception, including:</p> <p><a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=155" target="_blank">Male and Female condoms</a><br /> Oral contraceptive pills (<a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=130" target="_blank">the combined pill</a> & <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=164" target="_blank">the mini-pill</a>)<br /> <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=135" target="_blank">Depot contraceptives</a> (the injection)<br /> <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=139" target="_blank">Diaphragms and Caps</a><br /> Coils (<a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=151" target="_blank">the IUD</a> & <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=153" target="_blank">the IUS</a>)<br /> <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=133" target="_blank">Contraceptive Implants</a> e.g. Implanon<br /> <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=137" target="_blank">Contraceptive Patch</a> e.g. Evra<br /> <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=159" target="_blank">Natural Methods</a></p> <p>In addition, the clinic provides an <a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/leaflets/documents%5Fand%5Fpdfs/detail.cfm?contentid=141" target="_blank">Emergency Contraception</a> service for any female patient.</p> <p><a href="http://www.fpa.org.uk/information/" target="_blank">The Family Planning Association</a> ( now called fpa ) has an excellent website giving lots of useful information on contraception. All the hyperlinks above lead to pages on their site.</p> <p><strong>The Cervical Smear Test</strong></p> <p>This simple test is offered to all women aged 25-64 who have ever had sexual intercourse. It is performed every 3 years for women aged 25-49 and every 5 years for women aged 50-64.</p> <p>The test aims to detect changes in the cells of the neck of the womb (cervix) before they develop into anything serious and while they are causing no symptoms. If changes are found early, a simple treatment in the outpatient clinic can cure the problem completely. However, the majority of smear tests are completely normal.</p> <p>Usually, the Nurses perform this procedure in the treatment room.</p> <p>The result of the smear test should be available about 12 weeks after it is performed. Patients can ring the surgery for their result or, if preferred, they can bring a stamped-addressed envelope with them when they attend for the smear. We will then post the result to them as soon as we receive it.</p> <p>Appointments for smear tests can be made by contacting the Medical Centre.</p> <p>As the smear test can only be effective if performed regularly, reminders are automatically sent out to each patient encouraging them to book another test when due.</p> <p><strong>Travel Immunisations</strong></p> <p>Please note that our Nurses no longer give travel vaccination advice. We are happy to provide a printout of your immunisation history (as recorded on our computer system) and we are happy to provide the necessary immunisations once you have determined your requirements. It is up to individuals to determine which immunisations are necessary or recommended for their journey and there are a number of sources available to find out what immunisations are required for any particular journey abroad:</p> <p><a href="http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk" target="_blank">fitfortravel</a> is a public access website provided by the NHS (Scotland). It gives free and comprehensive travel health information for people travelling abroad from the UK. The website is compiled and updated by a team of experts from the Travel Medicine Division at Health Protection Scotland (HPS).</p> <p><a href="http://www.nathnac.org/travel/index.htm" target="_blank">The National Travel Health Network and Centre</a> provides general information on infectious and non-infectious health risks.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAdviceForTravellers/fs/en" target="_blank">Department of Health</a> advice for travellers.</p> <p><a href="http://www.masta-travel-health.com/" target="_blank">MASTA</a> provides Health Briefs for journeys. A Health Brief provides travel and medical advice specifically tailored to your journey. Each Health Brief is compiled from the MASTA database of information on 84 diseases and health hazards in over 250 countries. The database is kept constantly up to date and provides individual written Health Briefs by matching countries to be visited, living conditions abroad and dates of travel. Each brief costs Ł3.99 and the details can be entered on-line.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thehtd.org/content/countrycodes.asp" target="_blank">The Hospital for Tropical Diseases</a>. Phone 020 7950 7799 (Calls cost 50p per minute; calls from mobiles and some networks may be higher).</p> <p><a href="http://www.liv.ac.uk/lstm/travel_health_services/travel_clinic/index.htm" target="_blank">Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine</a>. Advice is available from a qualified travel health nurse on 0906 110 0210. Lines are open between 2pm and 4pm Monday to Friday. Calls are charged at a premium rate.</p> <p>Please note that some charges do apply for certain holiday vaccinations :</p> <p>Hepatitis B : £60 for full course (3 vaccinations)<br /> Meningitis A& C : £20 (one vaccination)<br /> Diphtheria : £20 (one vaccination)<br /> Rabies : £40-£60 (2 or 3 vaccinations)<br /> Tick Encephalitis : £40-£60 (2 or 3 vaccinations)<br /> Japanese Encephalitis : £40-£60 (2 or 3 vaccinations)</p> <p>The last three vaccinations all require private prescriptions and as such a fee will be payable at the Pharmacy.</p> <p>Malaria tablets are available over the counter or, in the case of Lariam (mefloquine) or Malarone, by private prescription.</p> <br /> <p><a href="../home/index.htm" target="_top">Home Page</a></p> </body>