Clinics & Services

Nurse Clinics

Nurse Practitioner: You can see our nurse Practitioner for minor illnesses, minor injuries and family planning.

Practice nurses: Our practice nurses are available by appointment, in the treatment room for:

• Immunisations
• Dressings
• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Injections
• Travel Advice
• Health Promotion
• Health Checks
• Smoking Cessation
• Cervical Smears
• Blood Pressures
• Removal of Stitches
• Chronic Disease management

Antenatal Care

The practice provides complete care during pregnancy, birth and after delivery in co-operation with our Community Midwife Team. Antenatal clinics are held on Monday afternoons.

Blood Tests

Our Health Care Assistants are available to perform blood tests by appointment between 08:00 to 12:30 each morning.

Care Of Chronic Disease

Chronic disease clinics are run daily by the Practice Nurse Team. These clinics are designed to monitor patients with conditions such as Asthma, Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Coronary Heart Disease, COPD and Chronic Kidney Disease

Cervical Smears

Invitations are sent to all women between the ages of 25-49 to have a smear every 3 years and from the age of 50-64 every 5 years. All patients are informed of the result of their smears by post. Smear tests are carried out by the Practice Nurses. 

Flu Vaccinations

The surgery hosts annual Flu Clinics around October.

Minor Surgery

A full range of minor surgery procedures are undertaken in the practice. These are performed by Dr John Quinton-Tulloch and Dr Bruce Hughes.

Caring for the Carer

Are you a carer for a person who could not live independently or whose health and well-being would deteriorate without your help?  Do you provide unpaid support for a partner, child, relative or neighbour?  We can offer a private and confidential Carer's Health and Wellbeing Check with one of our trained Health Care assistants, or an opportunity to meet with a member of staff from the Devon Virtual Carer's Centre (formerly Carers Link) who visits the Medical Centre once a month.  For more information please contact Reception.

Attached Services

Health Visiting Team

Our Health Visiting Team is involved in promoting health within the community, offering health advice and support to all age groups.  Health Visitors are qualified nurses with special training and experience in child health, health promotion and health education.  Every child under 5 years has a named Health Visitor who can provide advice and information on health development, for example feeding, sleeping, communication and behaviour.

Child Health Clinics are held at Sticklepath Children's Centre, Woodville, Barnstaple on Tuesdays between 13:30 and 15.30 and at Forches Children's Centre, Barnstaple on Thursdays from 9:30 to noon. 

Our Health Visiting Team is: Inge Nickell - Health Visitor, Lesley Parsons - Community Nursery Nurse, Alison Washington - Administrator.  From January 2012 Inge will be available in the surgery on Friday mornings.

To book an appointment please call the team on 01271 322503 or contact Reception.

District Nurses

Our District Nurses, Mickii Collins, Catherine Chizmar and Sue Williams, assisted by their Healthcare Assistant Julie Gist, work with the practice to provide nursing care for people confined to their home through infirmity or ill health. Their direct line is 01271 378737.

Counselling and Complementary Therapies

We have a number of practitioners who work from Fremington Medical Centre offering a variety of complementary therapies on a private basis.  Please see the noticeboards or ask at Reception for more details.

We also host placements for student counsellors who offer a free service to our patients.  If you feel you would like to see a counsellor, either privately or for free please ask your usual doctor or nurse.

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your travel arrangements. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below.

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

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible - at least 6 weeks before you travel - as a second appointment will be required with the practice nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

Most travel vaccines are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge. This is because travel vaccination is not included in the services provided by the NHS and therefore is a chargeable service.

To help us offer the appropriate advice, please fill out the online form before coming to see the nurse.

Travel Questionnaire

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)

Been Off Work?

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - 'Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)

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