Clinics & Services

We strongly support the emphasis and trend towards health education. Each person is largely responsible for his or her state of health. Prevention is better than cure and many serious conditions can be prevented by a healthy lifestyle without the need for drugs.

Six ways you can help yourself to a healthier lifestyle:

• Be a non smoker
• Be a reasonable weight
• Take regular exercise
• Eat a high fibre, low fat diet
• Avoid excessive exposure to the sun

Clinics

Asthma Clinic

• Peak Flow Monitoring
• Inhaler technique
• New medications
• Nebuliser service

For appointment ask at reception

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Nurse Bridgena McCallan is a specially trained nurse in the management of respiratory disease and runs weekly COPD clinics. Nurse McCallan will determine whether you have COPD. You will be counselled, advised regarding treatment and reviewed as necessary. In order to manage the list of patients attending this clinic please contact surgery for an appointment, if you cannot attend on the date given another appointment will be given to you.

Diabetic Clinic

Practice nurses Bridgena McCallan / Jacqui McCarthy and Clare Crummey are fully trained in the management of diabetes. A diabetic clinic is run each week in Springfield Road Surgery, where patients are assessed, diagnosed, advised regarding treatment and monitored. When you receive an appointment please make every effort to attend, however if you cannot attend please let reception staff know and your appointment will be given to another patient.

Anti-coagulation Clinic

Practice Nurses Jacqui McCarthy and Bridgena McCallan deal with patients on Warfarin medication.

Carers Clinic

A carer is someone who looks after family, partners, friends or neighbours in need of help because they are ill, frail or have a disability. The practice runs a dedicated clinic for carers. To access this clinic please contact the receptionists who will pass on your details to Ciara McClarence from the Belfast Carers Association and you will be contacted in due course.

Cervical Smears

The surgery is keen to promote prevention of women’s diseases and it is very important for all women between 20 and 65 to have a cervical smear test every three years. There are many early stages of cervical cancer and if picked up early, this is totally curable by simple treatment and no large operation is necessary. We have specially trained nurses to perform cervical smears.

When you attend for a smear could we ask you to bring a stamped, self-addressed envelope, with you in order that you may receive your smear result. This has proved to be a confidential way to receive results as the patient recognise their own handwriting when letter arrives by post.

Appointments are available on request or by recall system. If you speak to doctor or nurse and decide you do not want a smear please sign refusal form, either at surgery or by post, this means you will not be contacted again by the practice for five years. If you have had a smear taken outside the practice e.g. at a hospital or family planning clinic, please inform practice – this will save you getting unwanted invitations from us. Your help in this matter will be very much appreciated.

Test Results

To obtain results of tests please telephone after 12.00pm

Nurses at both surgeries will advise you when to enquire about your test results. When these are available, nurses will give the details. For abnormal results your doctor will have looked at the result and left an appropriate message for you.

If making an appointment to discuss hospital letters or investigations, please allow at least three weeks for us to have received the hospital letter and it may be worthwhile checking with our reception staff that we have received the report before making the appointment.

Community Health

District Nurse

The district nurse provides an invaluable service of nursing care in the home. Your doctor or hospital may refer you to the district nurse.

Social Workers

Social workers provide emotional, as well as practical support for our patients. Patients may ring social workers directly and ask for an appointment or their doctor may refer the social worker.

Community Psychiatric Nurses

These nurses are specially trained to support those who are ill emotionally, by giving and monitoring medication, intensive therapy, counselling and support. Please contact surgery for details.

Health Visitors

The Health Visitors are specialised nurses who assess the physical, emotional and social health needs of families with young children. They provide a service for all age groups promoting health and preventing ill health. They give immunisations to babies as well as advice on child growth and development. They are experts on infant feeding and carry out many screening procedures on children under five. Your doctor and health visitor at both surgeries hold joint child development clinics as follows: -

Springfield Road Surgery – Thursday morning 9.30am – 12.30pm
Riverdale Surgery - Thursday morning 10.00am – 12.00pm

If your child is registered with the practice you will automatically receive an appointment to attend one of these clinics. The practice strongly advise all parents to comply with these appointments, however if the above day or time is unsuitable, please contact the surgery to arrange an alternative appointment.

District Midwives

Community midwives are part of an integrated service within the Royal Jubilee Maternity Services. The surgery has a named midwife – Anne McAteer – who will endeavour to provide continuity of care for each woman and their baby both antenatal and postnatal. Antenatal clinics are:
Springfield Road Surgery Monday afternoon 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Riverdale Surgery Thursday afternoon 2.00pm – 4.00pm

Postnatal examination can be made by appointment, by midwife or at reception.

OTHER SERVICES AVAILABLE

Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Chiropody and Dietetic services are available to you through referral by your doctor. We also can refer to direct access X-Ray facilities and Ultrasound Scanning, at hospital

Primary Prevention

In our opinion the best time to offer help and encouragement in health education is at the normal consultation. Within this setting we offer the following: Eg advice on smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and immunisation.

Smoking Advice

The practice will initially be holding smoking cessation clinics with specialist nurse from Ulster Cancer Foundation from January 2005. Members of practice staff will also undertake training to become a specialist trainer and will run clinics in both surgeries. Please contact reception staff for further details.

Screening

Eg Blood pressure checks, cholesterol checks, cervical smears etc.

Family Planning

Doctors and nurses have experience in giving advice.

Maternity

Special antenatal and postnatal clinics are held in both surgeries. This is on a shared basis with local maternity hospitals.

Minor Surgery

Doctors will assess patient and make appointment to carry out minor surgery procedures e.g. removal of sebaceous cyst / joint injection.

Travel Immunisation / Vaccinations

Practice nurses carry out the above at the surgery except for Yellow Fever vaccination. For this vaccination, please make an appointment with the doctors so that your requirements can be determined and appropriate prescription given. It is best to have this at least eight weeks in advance of your travel to ensure adequate cover.

Flu Vaccine

It is very important that you attend for your flu vaccine when invited. Flu vaccine is given annually to the following groups of patients:

• All those aged 65 years and over
• All those aged over 6 months in the following clinical frisk groups
  Chronic respiratory disease, including asthma
  Chronic heart disease
  Chronic renal disease
  Diabetes
  Immunosuppression (due to disease or treatment, including asplenia or splenic dysfunction)

The flu immunisation is not a live vaccine; this means you cannot get the flu from the vaccine!