Our PCN Clinical Pharmacists are highly skilled healthcare professionals who have trained for many years to become medicines specialists. They have expert knowledge of medicines and use this to work closely with multidisciplinary teams across all the surgeries in Rushcliffe providing clinical expertise.
Their role includes:
Medicine management in practice
Management of long-term conditions through regular clinics
Provide structured medication reviews (SMRs) to patients with long term conditions taking 10 or more medicines
SMRs aim to support patients to get the best from their medicines, reduce waste and promote self care.
Advice for safer prescribing
Answer patient queries regarding their medication
Support for the wider clinical team with medication queries
Work closely with our PCN pharmacy technician colleagues
Many things can affect your health, from feeling isolated or lonely to work, money, housing problems or managing different long-term conditions.
Your doctor isn’t the only person who can help you get better. There are other things you can do to improve your health and wellbeing, and sometimes you just need a bit of help to work out what they are.
That’s where a social prescribing link worker comes in. They are there to listen to you and put you in touch with the people and activities that might make you feel better.
Social prescribing can help you to have more control over your health and wellbeing by exploring ways to improve how you feel in a way that suits you.
Referrals
The service is by referral only and starts with a conversation. It might be a conversation you have with a doctor, or with another person in the GP Practice team. If they think you will benefit they may refer you to a social prescribing link worker.
Low back and neck pain are the greatest cause of years lost to disability in the UK, and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions account for about 30% of all GP appointments.
First Contact Practitioners (FCP’s) are physiotherapists with enhanced skills, specifically trained to treat such conditions.
FCP’s can help patients with issues such as back, neck and joint pain as well as muscle pain and sports injuries by:
Assessing and diagnosing issues
Giving expert advice on how best to manage their conditions
Referring them onto specialist services if necessary
We offer a first contact physiotherapist service on a limited number of days during the week. Appointments can be booked directly online or through reception and are ideally booked before any Dr appointment for a musculoskeletal problem.
Please see the links below for further information.
Blood test appointments are available at the practice(s) and are predominantly in the morning due to the collection times. There are occasions where we may be able to offer afternoon blood tests, depending on the day, please let reception know and they will try and accommodate this as able.
We offer blood tests for:
– Requests generated following a consultation with a GP at the practice – NHS patients of the practice following a recent INPATIENT admission, after being advised for a follow up test – NHS patients of the practice from OUTPATIENT clinics ONLY if the hospital blood form is brought. Ideally these should be done at the hospital. – NHS patients on a SHARED CARE regimen – NHS patients under CANCER services
We DO NOT offer blood tests for:
– Private clinic requests NOT under a SHARED CARE protocol – Private clinic requests that are EXCESSIVE, REPETITIVE OR NOT EQUIVALENT to USUAL NHS level care.
We strongly suggest ALL private requests are performed privately through the clinic you have visited.
We CANNOT guarantee we will offer the service and you may be TURNED AWAY due to the above. ALL requests as above will be screened for suitability.
NHS Health Check
If you’re aged 40 to 74 and do not have a pre-existing health condition, you will be invited to an NHS Health Check every 5 years.
The NHS Health Check is a free check-up of your overall health. It can tell you whether you’re at higher risk of getting certain health problems, such as:
During the check-up you’ll discuss how to reduce your risk of these conditions.
If you’re aged over 65, you’ll also be told about symptoms of dementia to look out for.
Your NHS Health Check will be done by a healthcare professional. This will usually be a nurse, but it could also be a doctor, pharmacist or healthcare assistant.
The check takes about 20 to 30 minutes and usually includes:
a cholesterol test, and possibly a blood sugar level test, which is usually a finger-prick blood test. You may be asked to have a blood test at or before the NHS Health Check
You’ll also be asked some questions about your health including:
whether any of your close relatives have had any medical conditions
if you smoke, and how much
if you drink alcohol, and how much
how much physical activity you do
Your age, gender and ethnicity will also be recorded.
Our nursing team provide a comprehensive service in relation to wound management, including suture removal post-op, treatment and dressing of wounds and ulcers, through to working alongside our tissue viability team colleagues for the more complex wounds
Vaccinations & Immunisations
We offer the full range of nationally recommended vaccinations & immunisation as set out in the link at the bottom of the article. For certain vaccinations, we work closely with the local health authority and school age programmes, who may be the first port of call.
Vaccinating your child against infectious illness is one of the single most important things you can do to protect their health. Vaccination is recommended for ALL children unless there is a medical contra-indication. The schedule is described in the child’s Red Book but this changes occasionally and the Health Visitor or Practice Nurse can advise when vaccinations are required.
If you would like to submit a request, please provide full details and submit an ‘Admin Query’ and our team will get back to you with the next steps, confirming the work, the fees and the timeframes.
Long Term Condition(s) Review
We provide a comprehensive Long Term Condition review process, utilising a birth month recall in order to invite appropriate patients for their annual review.
If you have received an invitation for your Long Term Condition (LTC) review, then please contact the Practice in order for the relevant appointments to be booked. The reception staff will guide you through what is required, tailored to your specific condition(s).
This may include any combination of blood tests, urine tests, blood pressure monitoring, nurse review & pharmacist review in sequential order. This is to ensure you have the best practice monitoring, reviews and medicine optimisation for your condition(s).
If you have multiple long term conditions, the review will amalgamate your investigations and reviews succinctly and efficiently.
Antenatal Care
Antenatal care is now led by our local Midwives, who work alongside the Doctors in Primary and Secondary care, as required.
If you have recently found out that you are pregnant, then please contact them directly on 0115 844 0504 to arrange your initial review. Ideally this should take place around 8-10 weeks of pregnancy.
Please see below links for other helpful resources.
