Clinical Lead for Asthma Dr G Patel explains the importance of children and young people, having regular asthma reviews.

There is a weigh-in clinic at Swinton Clinic run by the Nursery Nurse Team, Thursday 13:00 -14:30. A health visitor is a registered nurse who has received training particularly related to babies, children and pregnant women. Their role is to provide families with children under five years old with support and advice around the general aspects of mental, physical and social wellbeing. Your local health visitor can be contacted by telephone on: 212-5122 for advice or to arrange an appointment to be seen.

Breast feeding mothers may request to use the private room next to reception.

We regret that bottle warming facilities are not available.

This is a specialist clinic to help patients dealing with alcohol related problems. This friendly, non-judgemental and completely confidential service is run in the community by specialist advisors and self-referrals or referrals through any of the doctors are welcome.

If you seem to be having trouble with your drinking, or if your drinking has reached the point where it worries you a bit, come in to speak to your doctor for advice and help on how to cut down.

Salford Drug and Alcohol Services

4 Haysbrook Avenue, Little Hulton, M28 0AY Tel: 0161 703 8873

Eclypse Lifeline Project

Providing drug and alcohol services to children and young people across Manchester. Office hours Monday – Friday 09:30 – 17:00.

For more information contact Eclypse:

• Tel: 0161 273 6686
• info@eclypse-yps.org.uk

Alcoholics Anonymous

www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk

Tel:01904 644 026

Bolton, Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust, Primary Care Psychology Services provide short term, evidence based psychological assessment and therapies to our patients.

We work with Counsellors, Cognitive Behavioural Therapists and Clinical Psychologists who provide psychological therapies. These healthcare professionals see clients in health and social care settings around Salford

We are able to see clients above the age of 16 years who are referred after a consultation with their GP. Most of the therapy we offer is to individual clients, though we are increasingly looking to develop group work, where this is demonstrated to be clinically effective.

For our patients with certain mental health conditions or memory loss problems, an annual review of their physical health will be offered by our Practice nursing team. After that the patient will be invited to see the doctor to discuss any problems found as well as discussing any social or carer issues that may be of concern and a care plan will be drawn up to aid long-term management.

For further advice and information about mental health issues and memory problems and caring for those suffering from these conditions, click on the links below. Please feel free to see your doctor about any of these issues.

In the first instance you will need to book a routine GP appointment for an initial assessment and then we will book you into Dr Cribbin’s Minor Op Clinic to remove your lumps and bumps.

Minor surgery appointments last 30 minutes with Dr. Cribbin and a practice nurse. You will probably require stitches which will need to be removed 7-10 days later. If you will be unable to return at this time to have the stitches removed please arrange an alternative appointment time. If you cannot keep the appointment please cancel it.

It is important to note the following:

If you are take Warfarin or Sinthrone please let the doctor know. You will need to stop this treatment three days before the surgery and have an INR done the day before the operation.

• A local anaesthetic agent will be used – please let the doctor know if you have had any adverse reactions to local or dental anaesthetics in the past.
• You will have a scar post – operatively which may look quite angry for a while afterwards – most scars fade away quite nicely after a few months but will always remain slightly visible.
• If stitches are used they will need to be removed about a week later.
• Wounds can get infected and can very occasionally break down. If you are concerned about the wound please contact the surgery and ask to see either the nurse or the doctor as soon as possible.
• Our nurse at the time of surgery will instruct you how to look after the wound site post-surgery.
• All lesions excised are sent off to Salford Royal Hospital for examination under the microscope. The results are usually available 10-14 days later. Please contact the surgery to obtain the result. If there is any cause for concern you will be given an appointment to see the doctor.
• You will be asked to sign a consent form stating that you agree to the operation being performed and that you understand the procedure.
• After the procedure you will be given a drink and asked to remain in the treatment room for a few minutes to make sure you feel well enough to leave the premises.

Wound care instructions:

• Your wound will have a dressing on which can remain in place until the stitches are removed.
• If the dressing needs changing use a breathable plaster rather than a waterproof one.
• The wound should be kept dry for 48 hours to reduce the risk of infection.
• Scalp wounds should also be kept dry for 48 hours. Please avoid the use of any products except gentle shampoo until the stitches have been removed and the wound has healed.
• New scar tissue can be sensitive to the sun – avoid exposing it to the sun for approximately 3 months.
• If the wound starts to bleed please contact the surgery immediately or if we are closed attend the Accident and Emergency at Salford Royal Hospital.

Dr Bateson and Dr Singhal perform these to provide relief from osteoarthritis pains etc. You will need to be assessed by a doctor before booking these.

What to expect

Joint injections are used for the treatment of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, certain types of shoulder pain / movement limitation and occasionally osteoarthritis (‘wear and tear’). They are generally very safe but a few points should be considered before an injection takes place.

• The injection itself may be painful. Local anaesthetic and steroid are used in the injection. If you are allergic to local anaesthetic or steroid you MUST tell your doctor.
• The local anaesthetic injected into the joint will provide some pain relief but this may only last a few hours. In the evening after the injection, or the morning after, the joint may become painful again. This is entirely normal and not a cause for concern. Taking simple painkillers such as Paracetamol, Ibuprofen or Co-codamol should help. The pain should wear off within the following day or two as the steroid begins to take effect.
• As with any procedure there is a risk of infection. Before the injection the area will be fully cleaned and sterile equipment used to minimize this risk. However, if the joint becomes hot, red, swollen or tender after the injection, please consult a doctor immediately as treatment for septic arthritis (joint infection), may be needed. This is a very rare event.
• When steroids are injected into the joints they can cause permanent dimpling or hardening of the skin and fatty tissue at the injection site, a condition known as ‘lipodystrophy’. People with darker skins occasionally notice that the steroid injection can cause a loss of skin pigment in the area. Again this is permanent and although uncommon, should be accepted as a risk of treatment. If this is not acceptable to you please do not go ahead with the treatment.
  If you are unwell at the time of the injection it may be necessary to re-schedule the appointment. Please tell the doctor if you have any coughs/colds or other illness before the injection.

Rest the joint for 24-48 hours after the injection and then start performing appropriate exercises to regain mobility (such as those advised by a physiotherapist).

Non-NHS Work and Referral Letters

Examples of Non NHS work include holiday cancellation forms/ certificates, insurance claim forms, employment or other medical examinations and the doctors will charge you a fee for this work. Please ask at the reception when you hand in such requests and the staff will be happy to inform you if a fee is payable. These fees are set by the doctor and are not negotiable with the staff and are payable at the time of collection.

Current fees are posted at the reception desk in accordance with suggested figures from official organisations including the British Medical Association.

If you would like to be referred privately to a specialist for medical care your doctor will be happy to write a referral letter after consultation with you. This service is free of charge but you will need to let your doctor know the name of the specialist they are writing to. Referral letters will usually be available in five working days for you to collect from behind the desk. It is Practice policy for you to collect these yourself, as we are unable to guarantee they will be correctly posted otherwise.

It is not usually possible for your doctor to recommend specific specialists to you for non-NHS work. You can ask your medical insurance company or the private medical hospitals for lists of available consultants working locally.

Local Private Hospitals

• The Alexandra Hospital – 0161 464 7791
• Bridgewater Hospital – 0161 227 0000
• BUPA (Whalley Range) – 0161 226 0112
• The Oaklands Hospital – 0161 787 7700

If you are travelling abroad please make sure you contact us in plenty of time to arrange any vaccinations that may be necessary. To help the Travel Nurses assess your travel needs it is important that they are in receipt of the assessment form before your appointment.

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Travel Vaccinations

We offer travel vaccination appointments at the practice.

There is restricted availability for these appointments are only available on a Friday afternoon.

If the practice is unable to accommodate your request for an appointment, there are alternative options for you to receive travel vaccinations (charges apply), which are:

NOMAD travel clinic 

66 Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 2RJ

Telephone number: 01341 555 061

Manchester Travel Vaccination Clinic | Nomad Travel

Peak Pharmacy

The Sides Medical Centre, Moorside Road, Swinton, M27 0EW

Telephone number: 0161 794 1971

Peak Pharmacy | The Sides Medical Centre, Moorside Rd | Swinton