The Practice provides all esstential and additional services including the following:
Cervical screening, contraceptive services, vaccinations and immunisations, child health surveillance, maternity services and minor surgery procedures.
The Practice also provides the following enhanced services.
- A Memory Assessment Clinic (commencing July 2013)
- Childhood vaccinations & immunisations
- Influenza vaccination for the over 65's & under 65's at risk
- Minor Surgery/Joint injections
- Anti-coagulation monitoring
- Intra-uterine contraceptive device fitting and review
- HPV vaccination for girls under 18 who missed the program in school
The full range of services available in the Practice include the following:
Memory Assessment Clinic
Penny’s Hill Practice Memory Assessment Clinic
Penny’s Hill Practice are offering an assessment of patients who may be at risk of developing dementia.
Patients with memory problems and possible dementia or related conditions can be assessed, referred for further investigation where appropriate and treated without delay.
It is a common experience that dementia and similar conditions are
under-recognised this means that individuals and families may receive less than optimal care and treatment.
Dementia is concentrated amongst people over 75 years and is often
associated with other pathologies. It also occurs, though less commonly, among younger people (50 years and over – very rarely amongst even younger people) when it can easily be mistaken for other conditions.
Patients and families are sometimes reluctant to be referred to Mental
Health Services for fear of stigma.
Clinic information
The clinic has been welcomed by the Partners of the Practice.
Patients will be contacted by a letter inviting them to book an appointment at the memory assessment clinic. They will also be asked to complete a consent form and bring it with them to their appointment.
The Penny’s Hill Clinic provides 20 minute appointments on a Wednesday morning.
A consultation room is available within the Treatment Room. This is equipped with computer access and facilities for interview and routine Examination and blood test, if needed.
The Assessment
The main assessment will be completed by an experienced Health Care professional in the treatment room.
People appropriate for assessment at the clinic are identified by clinicians within the Practice. This may be as a consequence of observations during routine clinical contact or attendance at screening or monitoring appointments for ‘at risk’ groups.
The Clock Drawing Test and a structured schedule are used as initial
screening for problems of cognition and mood respectively.
The materials prepared for this consultation provide a basis of core
information from which future actions, investigatory and therapeutic, can follow.
It is important, therefore, that this is thorough but concise. The
materials will be shared with the patient and, in most cases, with main carers, who will be invited to go on the Practice carers register
The essential ‘inclusion criteria’ are interpreted flexibly:
age 60 years or older,
with a history of cardiovascular disease(CVD) stroke, peripheral vascular disease or diabetes.
Patients aged 40 and over with Down ’s syndrome
Other patients aged 50 and over with learning disabilities
Patients with long-term neurological conditions which have a known neurodegenerative element, for example, Parkinson’s disease.
Family Planning
All the doctors and nurses will be pleased to offer advice on any aspect of family planning and the full range of contraceptive services offered, including cap and coil fittings.
Maternity Care
Each doctor offers maternity care in conjunction with the midwife who sees her patients on Wednesday afternoons.
Child Health Surveillance
Regular developmental checks for the under fives are carried out by a doctor or health visitor.
Cervical Smears
As a preventative measure, all women between the ages of 25 and 49 should have a smear test done every 3 yrs. From age 50 every 5 yrs. This is a simple procedure and takes only a few minutes. This service is carried out by the practice nurses during normal surgery hours. Women of other ages may require a smear if their doctor thinks it appropriate.
Minor Surgery
All of the doctors undertake minor surgery and we have fully approved facilities in our Treatment Room for this. If you think that you may have a problem that would be suitable for a minor operation within the medical centre please talk to your doctor about it.
Immunisation and Holiday Vaccinations
In addition to the services outlined above, we are able to offer holiday and routine vaccinations, including Yellow Fever for which we are a registered centre. A charge will be made for certain immunisations which are not covered by the NHS. A list of these charges is held at Reception.
TREATMENT ROOM
We have a fully equipped treatment room which is staffed by experienced nursing staff. A full range of investigations is available with daily transport of pathological specimens to the hospital laboratories. Minor surgery, vaccinations regular dressings and many other procedures are also undertaken.
Treatment Room Appointments - Please note this is NOT a Walk In Clinic. Appointments need to be made at least a week in advance either by phoning the practice or at the Reception Desk.