Chronic Disease Management
Asthma
Please ensure you are seen annually by the asthma nurse even if you feel well.
The practice aims to review all patients who need regular use of medication or who suffer from severe or troublesome Asthma every year. Patients will be invited for review.
Who does this mean?
– Any patient who has received regular medication for Asthma within the last 12 months
– Asthmatics who have received care during an emergency admission to hospital
– Asthmatics who have difficulty in controlling or monitoring their condition.
What are the aims of treating Asthma?
If you smoke the aim will be to stop smoking and we will provide you with support to enable you to do this.
The aim is that symptoms of Asthma should be reduced or stopped completely to allow you to live a normal active life. This may require the use of inhaled and/or oral therapy on an intermittent or continuous basis.
Give sufferers or their carers an understanding of the causes and triggers of Asthma and knowledge of effective preventative measures to reduce these in the future.
To teach sufferers or their carers how to recognise and react to changes in symptoms of Asthma and to develop a plan of personal care.
To tailor therapy to maximise effectiveness and safety from possible side-effects.
Diabetes
We will then see you for an annual review.This will involve an appointment with the Health Care Assistant who will carry out the required blood tests and the first part of the annual reivew. This will then be followed up with another appointment with our specialist Diabetic Nurse, who will review your blood test results and complete the 2nd part of the review. The practice will contact you in advance to ask you to book these appointments. Advice will be given on diet, smoking, exercise and checking of feet. Patients are able to have access to a chiropodist if needed.
You will be invited by Bedford Hospital retinopathy Screening as part of the Diabetic Screening programme.
Management of your condition depends on the severity of your symptoms and presence of complications and other medical conditions.
Coronary Heart Disease
You will also be seen 6 monthly by the specialist Nurse. The practice will contact you in advance to remind you to book these appointments.
Dressing Clinic
Dressing Clinics are run by the Practice Nurses. The length of your appointment depends upon the complexity of the wound being dressed.
Family Planning
The following services are available to Patients of the Practice. Please contact our Reception Team who will advise of appointment availability.
- Coils and Implants
- Contraceptive Pill
- Depo-Provera Contraceptive Injection
- Emergency Contraception
Please contact our Reception team.
Please go to our Wellbeing Centre where you will find details of the Integrated Contraception and Sexual Health Service (iCaSH) located in Bedford.
Hearing Aids
Please also note that the practice has a supply of hearing aid batteries for NHS hearing aids. You need to bring along your book and old batteries in order to get your replacement batteries. Thank you.
Maternity Care
A community midwife works with the team at Sharnbrook Surgery, (she is employed by Bedford Hospital NHS Trust). The midwife provides care in pregnancy, during birth and the early postnatal period. The antenatal clinic is every Wednesday morning.
When you find out that you are pregnant, it is advisable to make an appointment through reception to see the midwife as soon as possible, ideally between 6 – 8 weeks of pregnancy. This is to initiate antenatal care and complete a referral for an ultrasound scan at the hospital of choice. The next appointment, called the booking appointment, is to: complete the comprehensive pregnancy records, discuss recommended screening tests available, make an individual care plan for the pregnancy
The initial meeting to undertake the booking history will take place either at the surgery, at home, at a children’s centre or at a hospital-based booking clinic.
Thereafter antenatal appointments with the community midwife or GP will take place at regular intervals throughout pregnancy. Should referral to a consultant obstetrician be required, the midwife or GP will refer you for an obstetric opinion at the hospital.
You will be assessed on an individual basis with safety for both the mother and the baby being a priority. Therefore at the booking visit each pregnancy will be assessed as to the level of care required:
Standard Care: Your care will be shared between the GP and the community midwife
Intermediate Care: Your care will be shared between the community midwife and Obstetric Consultant
Intensive Care: Most of your care will be delivered by the Consultant led antenatal clinic at the hospital however you will also continue to see your community midwife.
You can give birth at home, in a unit run by midwives (a midwifery unit or birth centre) or in hospital. Some hospitals have a separate midwifery unit. The choice you have about where to have your baby will depend on your needs and risks and, to some extent, on where you live.
Wherever you choose, the place should feel right for you, and the midwife will provide information and advice.
For further information about pregnancy and birth, visit the NHS website.
NHS Healthchecks
You are entitled to a free health check every 5 years if you are between 40 and 74 years of age and have not been previously diagnosed with Diabetes, Heart Disease, Hypertension or you are prescribed a statin.
If you would like a health check then please speak to reception who will advise on the process.
Phlebotomy
Blood tests are carried out at the doctors request.
Having your blood taken at hospital
Please note: you will need to pick up the blood test request form from the surgery and take this to the appointment. The hospital will be unable to take blood without the request form.
Children’s Blood Tests
Please note: you will need to pick up the blood test request form from the surgery and take this to the appointment. The hospital will be unable to take blood without the request form.
Physiotherapy – Self-referral
You can now self–refer to our Physio Line telephone service for muscle and joint problems if you meet the following criteria:
- You are aged 18 or over.
- You have had your condition for less than six months.
- Your GP is in the Bedford CCG (if you are not sure please contact your GP surgery or visit their website).
- Your complaint is regarding a single (1) joint/area.
Circle-Integrated-Care-Interactive-self-referral-form_BEDFORD-V1.pdf (circlehealthgroup.co.uk)
Right to Choose ADHD / Autism Referrals
In England, the Right to Choose (RTC) law allows NHS patients to select their provider for ADHD and autism assessments, often bypassing long local waiting lists. Patients must be referred by a GP for an assessment, which is then funded by the NHS but may be conducted by private providers.
The Right to Choose providers are all very different. The main similarity is that you will need to fill out paperwork for your chosen provider which is necessary for your referral.
Please read the following carefully.
What you need to do
- Choose your provider
You need to research and choose the provider you would like to be referred to.
ADHD UK have collated a list of both ADHD and Autism assessment providers here: Right to Choose – ADHD UK – Your NHS options
You can choose whichever provider you would like, however, please be aware that not all providers will issue NHS prescriptions. We suggest the following providers who we know will issue NHS prescriptions to you:
ADHD360
CareADHD
Psychiatry UK - Fill out the necessary paperwork
Each provider asks for different paperwork to be filled out by you, the patient. We need this to process your referral. You will need to complete this and hand it into Reception for attention of the secretaries. If the patient is under 16 years of age then a face to face appointment will need to be made with a GP to discuss the referral. Both the child and their parent /guardian will need to attend if there has been no previous in person assessment for possible ADHD. - We will then send your referral to your chosen provider who will be in contact with you directly.
- If you have any questions or concerns that you need to discuss with a Doctor, then please make an appointment with one of our GPs to discuss further. Otherwise, you do not need to have a GP appointment to be referred on this pathway.
Please be aware that we are unable to complete referrals through any portals that some providers have. We only refer by letter to your chosen provider.
Medications
Shared care is optional for GP practices. At Sharnbrook Surgery shared care requests for patients seen via the Right to Choose pathway, and local NHS services will be assessed on an individual basis and is not guaranteed.
The provider you choose will be responsible for your continued monitoring and prescribing of this medication unless shared care is agreed by the practice.
As mentioned above in the ‘Choose your provider’ section, please ensure that you contact your chosen provider to check that they will prescribe you NHS prescriptions, otherwise you may end up paying for these privately.
Sexual Health
Chlamydia Screening Programme 16-24 year olds
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is widespread amongst 16-24 year olds.
Chlamydia is the most common curable STI in this country and most people don’t know they have it because there are often no symptoms. It is easily passed on from one person to another during sexual activity.
If left untreated, it can lead to serious health problems such as infertility (unable to have children), for men and women, a painful infection in the testicles and problems with pregnancy and childbirth.
Testing is easy, all we need is a urine sample and it’s simple to treat with free antibiotics. All sexual partners must also be tested to stop chlamydia from spreading and to help stop you from being infected again.
Screening is free and confidential. Simply make an appointment to see the practice nurse.
For more information on chlamydia go to iCaSH.
Smoking Cessation
Help Lines/Websites
National Stop Smoking Help Line 0800 013 0553.
www.smokefreebedfordshire.co.uk
Weight Management
A Practice Nurse can give guidance to encourage weight loss through a healthy diet and lifestyle. In certain circumstances referral to Weight Watchers or Slimming World may be possible.
Appointments are 15 minutes.