Clinics
All clinics run on an
appointments system.
*Plain English note - Phlebotomy is the word we use which means having a blood sample taken, so if the Doctor says that you need a blood test, then you should make an appointment at reception for Phlebotomy clinic
Diabetic clinics
- Run by Sister Vivien Wright.
Clinics are at Llanharan
Medical Centre all day on Tuesday and Pencoed all days Thursday.
Blood tests must be
carried out prior to clinic and usually 2 weeks before your appointment
to allow time for the results to be obtained. An annual urine test is
necessary, please ask for a sample pot and form when you attend for
your blood tests with the Health Care Assistant.
INR Clinic
- Run by Sister Lynne Jones.
Clinics operate on Monday
pm at Pencoed Medical Centre and Thursday pm at Llanharan Medical
Centre. These clinics are for patients who take a drug known as Warfarin.
Warfarin is a drug which “thins the blood” and is used for various
medical conditions such a an irregular heart beat or post heart valve
replacement.
It is vital that you
attend INR clinics on a regular basis. An appointment for your next
clinic will always be arranged before you leave surgery. If you need to
cancel this appointment for any reason please rebook for the next clinic
or speak to the Nurse running the clinic for further guidance.
Never take a dose of
warfarin that has not been advised even if you suspect you have missed a
dose for some reason. In these circumstances contact the clinic nurse
for advice.
Smear clinics
- Run by the Practice Nurses.
These clinics run form
Llanharan surgery on a Monday and Thursday, morning and afternoon
appointments are available. Smear tests are carried out normally on a 3
yearly basis unless otherwise directed by the Cervical Screening
Programme. Please do not attend before your smear is due as you will not
be able to have your test done early. It is now possible to do your
smear test at any time during the monthly cycle apart from when you are
having your period.
Smear tests are a very
important screening tool and as should you should make every
effort to arrange an appointment to have yours done as close to your
review date as possible.
Phlebotomy clinics.
Run by Health Care Assistants.
Clinics run at both sites
on Tuesday, Wednesday mornings at Pencoed and Thursday morning at
Llanharan surgery.
The clinics are very busy
and are exclusively for taking Bloods samples. Please do not ask the
health care assistant to carry out any other procedures for example
Blood pressures as time will not allow and you will be asked to make
another appointment for theses to be done.
Blood Pressure
clinic. Run by Health
care assistants.
Clinics for checking your
blood pressure and having ECG/blood testing performed.
An annual urine sample
and blood testing is required as a minimum so please check when your
next test are due. These tests are very often fasting so you will not be
allowed to eat from 12 midnight the day before your tests are due.
Asthma clinics. Run by Gillian Evans.
Asthma clinics are at Pencoed Surgery on Monday afternoons and Llanharan surgery Wednesday afternoons.
Asthma clinics are for people who take any inhalers or medication for respiratory problems. Clinic attendance is advised on an annual basis even if you are well but still take regular inhalers.
It is important that you contact surgery to speak to either a nurse or a Doctor if you asthma becomes troublesome.
Please bring your peak flow monitoring book with you when you attend clinic.Contraceptive clinics Run by Practice nurses
This is an annual health check by the nurses to allow you to have your pill prescription renewed and reauthorised (it is essential that all women who are taking the pill come to see the nurse for review on an annual basis). You should not see the Doctor to have your contraceptive pill prescription renewed. Please allow 48hrs to get your new prescription, so make sure that you make your review appointment before you run out.
If you are not having any problems with your pill and simply want to have your prescription reissued for another year, then you should see the nurse. Any change of pill or change of contraception method would need to be dicussed with the Doctor. In summary:
Routine annual review = Appointment with nurse
Change of contraception or starting contraception = Appointment with Doctor
Travel clinics - Run by Tina Morgan
Ideally, please make your appointment 6 weeks prior to your holiday so that you can discuss any vaccinations in plenty of time. If you have a long or complicated itinery, then it's best to book in to be seen in our yellow fever clinic where the full list of vaccines can be checked and we can tailor your schedule to your travel plans (yellow fever clinic appointments are longer, whereas ordinary nurse appointments are only 10 minutes long and do not allow sufficient time to discuss any complicated travel arrangements)
Yellow fever clinic: This clinic operates from our Pencoed surgery every other Monday afternoon. Travellers who need yellow fever should have it at least 10 days prior to travelling. Ideally, the same as other vaccines (6 weeks before travelling). Unfortunately, your yellow fever vaccination is not covered by the NHS and there is a £50 charge for vaccination*. When you ring for your appointment, there will be a short questionnaire to fill in (name, date of birth, destination, date of travelling and whether direct from the UK or not). It is helpful also if you provide a contact number so that the nurse can get in touch prior to your appointment, if necessary, to discuss any problems. Yellow fever and malaria leaflets are available through the surgery or via the websites listed at the end of this page.
*July 2010
Malaria: You should visit the Chemist FIRST. Most malaria tablets can be obtained directly from the Chemist without having to see your GP. A few are available on private prescription only (a "private prescription" is a prescription for medicines that are not eligible to be provided free on the NHS - there will be a charge at reception for the prescription and a charge payable to the Chemist for the medicine itself). If your Chemist tells you that the medicine you need is one of the ones that are only available on prescription, then you should make a telephone consultation with the Doctor to discuss it further. A face to face consultation is not necessary and there is no need for you to come and wait in the waiting room to be seen. We can phone you on your mobile to discuss your requirements with minimal disruption to your day.
Our fee for issuing a private prescription is £10. When you take that prescription to the Chemist, they will then charge you for the cost of whatever medicine is on the prescription.
For an up to date list of our fees, please see the individual sections relating to either Pencoed or Llanharan Surgery by clicking the button on the left.
Useful travel websites:
http://www.nathnac.org/travel/index.htm - A high quality travel advice website which was created by the Department of Health in 2002 and is recommended by our travel nurses as a legitimate source of reference.
http://www.malariahotspots.co.uk/ - A website, administered by a leading pharmaceutical company, which gives advice about malaria
http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home.aspx - A travel website developed by NHS Scotland and recommended by our travel nurse.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/ - The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office