Treatment Room / Practice Nurse

The Health Care Assistant Lisa Grant is available from 8.30am to 12.00 noon to carry out blood tests and simple dressings. These appointments can be booked up to 24 hours in advance, from 9am each day.   

Appointments should be booked with the practice nurse for removal of stitches, vaccinations, dressing and health reviews. The nurse will also advise on other matters relating to health promotion.   

Health Promotion Clinics

We offer a number of special clinics at the surgery for Asthma, Diabetes, Ischaemic Heart Disease, Hypertension and Smoking Cessation. These are run by the practice nurses; Fiona Gildea & Lorraine Cairns. 

We usually invite patients whom we feel would benefit but if you feel we have missed you, please ask at reception

Antenatal Clinic

Antenatal care is provided by Ann Lenaghan and Sonja Dorman; who are the midwives attached to the surgery. 

They do no work onsite and can be contacted at Ballyowen Health Centre. 

Children's Clinic

Our children’s clinic is fortnightly on a  Tuesday afternoon, immunisations and 6 week assessments are done between 2.00pm and 5.00pm. Please note that child health will send you out an appointment card when you are due to attend. 

If you think your child is due his/her next immunisation and you have not received notification, please telephone the practice and we will arrange an appointment.

If you wish to book an appointment please telephone reception on 028 9028 6800.

Women's Health

Dr Fitzsimons provides family planning advice to women and is trained to offer female contraceptive implants.

If you would like further information about contraception; please click on the link below, which will re-direct you to the HNS choices website.

You can book an appointment with Dr Fitzsimons to discuss your health requirements by telephoning the surgery on 028 9028 6800.

NHS contraception guide

Patient accessibility

An interpreting service is available free of charge for patients using GP services. This includes interpreting for people who are deaf or deaf/blind.

Some patients are happy to bring a companion to their appointment to act as interpreter; but we understand you may have occasions that this is not appropriate and prefer the assistance of 3rd party interpreting services (language translation or sign language translation).

We do not allow children to act as interpreters during your treatment or appointments. 

A member of the Team from the Practice dealing with your treatment or appointment will arrange the interpreter.

When you register with us; we will record on your clinical record that you require assistance when onsite or when accessing our services. This message will appear to any member of the team who accesses your file. However, we would ask that you remind us at the time of booking an appointment that you require assistance/ interpreter services.

Non-English Speakers

If English is not your first language, we offer the option of telephone interpreting services (including 3 way telephone calls). We ask that when arranging an appointment, we are made aware that you will require an interpreter and for which language this is required.

Telephone interpreting services are provided by The Big Word

Face to face interpreting services are provided by Health & Social Care Board (HSCB) Interpreter service.

Telephone interpreter services are used for urgent care as face to face interpreters are not available same day and have to be booked in advance.

A written translation service is available for patients who present with letters/documents in any language other than English.

Your documents will be sent to HSCB for translation back/to English.

Please be assured that anything discussed via an interpreter will be held in the strictest confidence by the interpreter.

British Sign Language/Irish Sign Language

If you have a hearing disability and would benefit from a BSL/ISL interpreter, please make us aware prior to your appointment so we can arrange for an interpreter to be present.

The service is provided by Interpreter Now and more details are be found on the following link:

https://signvideo.co.uk/hscni/

All patients (including those with hearing disabilities) are advised to register for online access. This service allows you to order/re-order medications and book appointments.

You can also use our website to send us a message. Details on how to do this can be found on the Contact Details link above or by clicking on the link below:

Message Us

If onsite, we use a TV calling system which gives your name and room location when you are called into the clinicians room.

Sight Impairment

The surgery has tactile signs throughout the building and staff are happy to assist those with sight problems.

Disability Access

All clinical rooms in the surgery are on the ground floor, with ramp access and automatic front door access; making the building fully accessible to patients with mobility issues.

If you have mobility issues we can provide a wheelchair or any member of staff would be happy to assist you when onsite.

Vaccination Schedule

2 months:

6-in-1 vaccine, given as a single jab containing vaccines to protect against six separate diseases: diphtheria; tetanus; whooping cough (pertussis); polio; Haemophilus influenzae type b, known as Hib, a bacterial infection that can cause severe pneumonia or meningitis in young children; and hepatitis B   (One Injection)

Rotavirus (Oral)

Men B vaccine (One Injection)

3 months:

6-in-1 vaccine, second dose  (One Injection)

Rotavirus, second dose (Oral)

Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine , (One Injection)

4 months:

6-in-1 vaccine , third dose (One Injection)

Men B vaccine second dose (One Injection)

Between 12 and 13 months:

Hib/Men C booster, (One Injection given as a single jab containing meningitis C  and Hib)

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, (One Injection)

Pneumococcal (PCV) vaccine, second dose (One Injection)

Men B vaccine third dose (One Injection)

3 years and 4 months to 5 years old (pre-school):

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, second dose (One Injection)

4-in-1 (DTaP/IPV) pre-school booster (One Injection given as a single jab containing vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis) and polio)

Around 13-18 years:

3-in-1 (Td/IPV) teenage booster , given as a single jab which contains vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and polio (One Injection)

Travel Advice & Vaccinations

The surgery no longer provides travel advice to patients given the complexities and risks associated with foreign travel.

Advice regarding vaccinations should be sourced privately by contacting one of the clinics below (please note you are likely to be charged for this service). 

They will be able to review your itinerary and provide information on the vaccinations required.

A number of travel vaccinations are available free of charge under the NHS, this includes:

Should the clinic recommend any of the above vaccinations, upon receipt of their advice note; we will issue prescriptions and make arrangements for them to be administered by our Practice Nurse.

Unfortunately we will not prescribe any of the above vaccinations without written paperwork of them be required.

Belfast Travel Clinic

169 Upper Newtownards Road

Belfast

BT4 3HZ

Telephone: 028 9065 7138

www.belfasttravelclinic.com

Boots Travel Vaccinations & Health Advice Service

Services are provided in the following branches:

Boucher Road

Donegal Place

Sprucefield

www.boots.com/healthhub/travel-health/travel-vaccinations

As well as ensuring you have had all the necessary travel vaccinations, it is always a wise precaution to pack some essential items in case of illness on holiday. Our nurses will be happy to help if you have any questions. And if you are taking prescription medicines, don't forget to pack these too and ensure that you take enough supplies for the whole of your trip. Bon voyage!

Holiday Kit

• Paracetamol
• Travel sickness tablets if required
• Plasters
• Rehydration solutions eg Dioralyte
• Anti-diarrhoeal tablets eg Imodium
• High factor sunscreen

Other Essentials

• Insect repellent
• Condoms/ other contraceptives

Medical Insurance

• Don't forget to arrange appropriate medical insurance
• If visiting Europe, it is also recommended that you apply for an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which allows you to receive free healthcare in participating countries (EEA countries and Switzerland). Forms can be obtained from most Post Offices.

Other information can be sourced from http://www.masta-travel-health.com/

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

 

 

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

 

 

We perform some minor surgical procedures at the surgery so that you do not have to attend hospital unnecessarily.

These include:

Examples include the following:

• Joint Injections
• Incisions
• Excisions

We would ask you book a consultation with a GP to review your medical needs. The GP will discuss the procedure and any risks involved.

If minor surgery is appropriate and you agree to the procedure, we will ask you to book a double appointment

Please ask at Reception for more details

Non-NHS Services

We are happy to provide a number of additional services which do not lie within our NHS remit.

Please be aware that charges will apply for these non-NHS services

Examples include the following:

• Medicals for pre-employment, and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.)
• Insurance claim forms
• Private letters
• Private sick notes

If the service you are looking for is not listed, please ask at Reception.

 We do not offer:

• Driving licence identity verification service 
• Sports medicals / Participation in hazardous events medicals
• Camp America medicals
• Passport identity verification services
• Fitness to fly letters 
• Proof of address letters
• Housing Executive support letters - Housing Executive have advised that they are not needed or accepted by them. 
• PIP support letters - please be aware that PIP will contact us directly to clarify your medicals conditions declared in your application. 
• Power of Attorney applications - this is a specialist request and requires the expertise of Consultant Psychiatrists 

Please speak to Reception to see if we can assist.

Meningitis ACWY vaccination

Meningococcal disease is a rare but life-threatening disease caused by meningococcal bacteria which are divided into several groups The most common are A, B, C, W and Y. Infants, young children, teenagers and young adults have the highest risk of meningococcal disease.

In the UK over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of cases of meningococcal W (MenW) disease and there is no sign of the numbers declining. Older teenagers and young adults are more at risk of getting meningitis and septicaemia from MenW.

This is why it’s important that young people aged 14–18 (including those in school years 11–14) have MenACWY vaccination to protect against meningococcal disease.

What is meningococcal disease?

Meningococcal bacteria can cause meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain) and septicaemia (blood poisoning). Both diseases are very serious and, especially if not diagnosed early, they can kill.

The early symptoms of meningococcal disease are similar to those of flu, so you need to be able to recognise the symptoms very quickly (even if you have been vaccinated, the vaccines offered through the routine immunisation programme do not protect against all forms of the disease).

A full description of the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia can be found at www.meningitis.org and www.meningitisnow.org or see page 6 and 7.

What causes meningococcal disease?

There are five main groups of meningococcal bacteria that can cause meningitis and septicaemia – A, B, C, W and Y. The same bacteria that cause these serious diseases are also commonly carried in the back of the nose and throat, especially in young adults.

How common is it?

Meningococcal group C disease is now rare since MenC vaccination was introduced to the national immunisation programme in 1999. MenB is now the most common cause of meningococcal disease in children and young adults, while MenW and MenY used to mainly cause serious illness in older adults. Recently, however, there has been a large increase in MenW disease in the UK, resulting in several deaths among infants and teenagers.

Why do I need to get the vaccine?

As an older teenager, you are at higher risk of getting MenW meningococcal disease, so you need to get vaccinated to protect yourself.

Vaccination also reduces the risk of you carrying the bacteria and so protects other people around you. You may have had a MenC vaccination as a baby and again more recently but this will not protect you against other meningococcal groups. Even if you recently had the MenC vaccine, for example in school, you should still get the MenACWY vaccine when it is offered to you. The MenACWY vaccine will increase your protection against MenC and help to protect you against three other meningococcal groups (A, W and Y). It is still important to know the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia because there are many other bacteria that can also cause these illnesses, including the group B strain, which is not covered by this vaccination.

Please click on the links below to either download the Men ACWY factsheet or to link to the NHS website

Men ACWY Factsheet

Men ACWY NHS website

Before a Medical Certicate (Sick line) is issued, the Doctor will normally need to see the patient to discuss their illness.

A Fitness to Work certificate is not normally issued for the 1st weeks absence from work; you can submit to your employer an SC2 form (Statutory Sick Pay Employees Statement of Sickness) which you can complete youself without having to see a Doctor.

These can be downloaded from the HMRC website of by clicking on the link below.

SC2 Download

Patients requiring a Repeat Sick Line can request this from Reception. We would like to remind you that we are unable to forward date sick lines.