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

Clinics & Services

We hold a variety of clinics and service at The Leiston Surgery.

Minor surgery
Childhood immunisations
Asthma reviews
Family planning and sexual health advice
Emergency contraception consultations
Travel vaccines
COPD reviews
Diabetic reviews
Joint Injections
Shared care
Minor injury

How our Appointments System Works

Seeing the right person for your needs:

Doctor appointments

Doctor Appointments are generally used for complex medical and psychological problems, doctors will not routinely deal with following unless agreed: bp_reading

Blood pressure
Asthma checks
HRT
Cervical smears
Minor illness
Family planning/contraception follow up

Nurse clinics

Our nursing team is available for:

Monitoring asthma, diabetes, heart disease, strokes and blood pressure
Wound care
Ear syringing
Travel advice, vaccinations and immunisations
Cervical cytology
Contraception and HRT follow-up
Health advice re lifestyle diet, smoking, alcohol
Blood pressure measurement
Peak flow measurement
Weight and height measurement
Urine testing
ECGs
Phelbotomy

Test Results

test_results6 These are available by telephoning the health centre AFTER 10am. Results of blood tests usually take 2-3 days, X-Rays normally take 7-10 days and cervical smears can take up to 4 weeks. The doctor or nurse will advise as to whether there is any action to be taken. Please call in or phone between 12:00 and 16:00 Monday's to Friday's for test results.

Please note that we do have a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. In this respect we will only give out results to the person they relate to unless that person has given prior permission for their release or if they are not capable of understanding them.

Please contact reception to make an appointment.

The Influenza Vaccination is offered between September and March.

The Influenza vaccination is offered free of charge to

All those aged 65 years and over.
Residents of nursing or residential homes for the elderly and other long-stay facilities.
Carers of persons whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.
All those aged 6 months or over in a clinical risk group (listed below).
All pregnant women, at any stage of pregnancy.

Clinical risk groups	Examples (decision based on clinical judgement)
Chronic respiratory disease	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema; bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung fibrosis, pneumoconiosis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Asthma - with disease which requires continuous or repeated use of inhaled or systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission. Children who have previously been admitted to hospital for lower respiratory tract disease.
Chronic heart disease	Congenital heart disease. Hypertension with cardiac complications. Chronic heart failure. Individuals requiring regular medication and/or follow-up for ischaemic heart disease.
Kidney disease	Chronic kidney disease. Nephrotic syndrome. Renal transplantation.
Chronic liver disease	Cirrhosis. Biliary atresia. Chronic hepatitis.
Chronic neurological disease	Stroke. Transient ischaemic attack (TIA).
Diabetes	Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes requiring insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs. Diet-controlled diabetes.
Immunosuppression	Immunosupression due to disease or treatment. Patients undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression. Asplenia or splenic dysfunction. HIV infection. Individuals treated with, or likely to be treated with, systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20 mg or more per day (any age) or, for children under 20 kg, a dose of 1 mg or more per kg per day. Some immunocompromised patients may have a suboptimal immunological response to the vaccine.
Pregnancy	All pregnant women should receive the trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine.

If you fall into any of the areas above please contact the surgery and make an appointment for your flu jab.

Travel Vaccinations

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.

Some travel vaccines are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge. This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.

Non-NHS Services

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges. Examples include the following: health_clipboard

Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.)
Insurance claim forms
Prescriptions for taking medication abroad
Private sick notes
Vaccination certificates

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

Private Physiotherapy

Neil Liffen is an extended scope practitioner in physiotherapy and diagnostic musculoskeletal sonographer within the NHS and in private practice. He performs over 5000 musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound examinations per year for several large NHS radiology departments on musculoskeletal and rheumatology conditions, which includes guided injections for diagnostic and treatment purposed. In addition, Neil performs corticosteriod injections for several GP practices within Suffolk and on average performs over 1200 injections per year. Neil Liffen has over 10 years experience of working in the NHS and as a private musculoskeletal physiotherapist, therefore he has the experience of forming diagnostic ultrasound reports for consultants, GPs and other healthcare professionals, and clinical experience in examination and treatment. For further information please see www.eastcoastphysio.co.uk

What is a Physician's Associate?

Physician's Associates undertake a two year intensive post-graduate course in medical science and clinical reasoning and must pass the UK Physician Associate national exam to qualify. they are collaborative healthcare professionals who work alongside and under the direct supervision of the GPs. Although they are dependent practitioners, they are able to practice independently and make independent decisions.

What do Physician's Associates do?

Take medical histories from patients
Carry out physical examinations
Sees patients with undifferentiated diagnosis/long-term chronic conditions
Formulate differential diagnoses and management plans
Perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
Develop and deliver appropriate treatment and management plans
Request and interpret diagnostic studies
Provide health promotion and disease prevention advice for patients

How do they help GPs/the system?

Physician's Associates increase the number of medical workforce and increase access to quality care for patients. They act in an enabling role, helping to reduce the healthcare team's workload. The bring new talent to the NHS, add to the skillmix and provide general medical care as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team.