Clinics and Services

As well as routine surgeries, the doctors and Practice Nurses provide a range of medical services and clinics which include: 

Asthma

The practice provides a full service for our asthma patients, including yearly reviews, spirometry and many aspects of respiratory medicine. 

Vascular  

Patients with a medical history of vascular disease are offered yearly reviews, monitoring and regular assessment where necessary under the care of Sally Brind. 

Diabetes

Appointments are made by referral only. Clinics are held by Sally Brind  at different times throughout the week at The Avenue surgery. In addition patients are offered the opportunity to benefit from specialist input from the community diabetes team.

Smoking Cessation

Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of ill health in this country. It is a major cause of cancer, heart attacks, angina and chest diseases.

• Do you want to stop smoking?
• Have you got some will power?
• Are you available for regular monitoring and support?

If so, individual help by trained practice nurses can be arranged on most days but must be booked in advance. Advice and information is available on nicotine replacement therapy and drug therapies. Please ask a receptionist for details. Please download the following questionnaire and return it to the surgery before you make your first appointment

Download Smoking Cessation Questionnaire  

Contact NHS Smokefree website or call them on 0800 1690169 

Contraceptive Advice and Services

If you would like advice on any aspect of contraception, fertility awareness or sexual health, please make an appointment with your GP or a Practice Nurse. Dr Rushton & Dr Hughes provide a family planning service in the form of Mirena coil fitting and Dr Bird & Dr Rushton are qualified to insert long acting contraceptive implants.

Minor Surgery

Our doctors are trained in a full range of minor surgical techniques and we offer a minor surgery service for many procedures. Please make an appointment with your doctor to discuss this. 

Cervical Screening

Reminder cards will be sent to women aged 25-64 when their smear is due. Please book a "double appointment" to ensure the nurse has sufficient time with you. Follow up letters will be sent out to patients who have not attended and are overdue for appointments. It is vitally important patients attend for this service.

Breast Screening

Women over 50 years of age will be called to attend at the nearest local clinic for a mammogram. Appointment letters will be sent to the patients who are required to attend every three years. The results are sent directly to the patients as well as to the practice. 

Maternity Services

The Midwife provides "shared care" and advice during the antenatal and postnatal periods. She attends The Avenue Surgery on Tuesdays from 09:00 to 16:00 Please contact reception for an appointment.

The Midwife may be contacted at the Princess Royal Hospital. Telephone: 01444 441881 ext. 8414, between 08:30 and 09:30

Sigmoidoscopy Clinics

Dr Robert Denney also works as GPs with Special Interest, seeing patients who are referred by GPs across Mid Sussex.

For more information, please see the relevant pages in our Further Information section.

Carer's Support Service

If you are currently a carer and feel you need support then please contact the Practice.

Travel Health

PLEASE CONTACT US AT LEAST 6 WEEKS BEFORE YOU INTEND TO TRAVEL

If you are possibly planning or have booked a trip abroad and are seeking travel health advice, Silverdale Practice offers a travel clinic service with one of our travel health specialist nurses.

We would first ask you complete a travel risk assessment form so we can assess your risk, the recommended vaccines, any necessary malaria tablets (if you’re travelling to a malarious region) and the advice most appropriate for your needs. Once you have completed and returned this form to the practice, we will contact you to make an appointment with one of our nurses.

We regret that no traveller will be seen without a completed risk assessment form. Under the services a GP provides for travel, there is an obligation to give vaccines to provide, free of charge protection against hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus, polio and diphtheria and travel advice. However if there is not enough time before you travel or you require to be seen at specific times or days of the week then you may want to investigate private travel clinics in Sussex.

Silverdale practice are pleased to be able to offer a more specialist service with a greater choice of vaccines you may require, for example rabies or yellow fever which you would otherwise have to travel to a private travel clinic for. These vaccines are not free on the NHS. At this present time payment can only be made by cheque or cash.

To help us give you the best possible care, it is essential that you help us in our work by following the instructions below.

Every potential traveller MUST complete a travel risk assessment form.  How do you do this? Fill in the form below and our nursing team will contact you.

Travel Questionnaire

Alternatively, you need to collect a form directly from the surgery, complete and return it and we will contact you to make an appointment.

We would also ask you to go to Fit for Travel site (links below) and look up the destination you are travelling to, print off the information, read it and bring with you when you attend your appointment

Many thanks for your co operation and we look forward to helping you travel safely.

Health Links

www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk

www.nathnac.org

Flu Clinics

The flu jab is the best protection against the virus each autumn.  Healthy people don’t need to be vaccinated; for most people flu is uncomfortable but not serious. 

You can get a free flu jab if:

• you are 65 or over;
• you are living in an old people’s home or nursing home;
• you have a long-term (chronic) condition such as a heart problem, asthma, kidney disease, diabetes;
• you have a lowered immune system due to disease or treatment such as steroid medication or cancer treatment;
• you don’t have a spleen, or if your spleen doesn’t work properly.

If you have a serious allergy to hens’ eggs, you shouldn’t get vaccinated, and it’s not generally advised if you’re pregnant.

If in doubt about whether you should have this or not please ask a member of staff.

Pneumococcal Vaccination

There is a pneumo jab to protect against serious forms of pneumococcal infection. For most it's a one-off vaccination. If you would like more information, contact the surgery.  You can have this vaccination if you have not had it before and:
 

• you are 65 or over;
• you have chronic disease of the heart, lungs, liver or kidneys;
• you have diabetes;
• you don’t have a spleen, or if your spleen doesn’t work properly;
• your immune system doesn’t work properly (due to HIV, chemotherapy etc);
• you have a CSF shunt; or you have a cochlear implant; or
• you are under 5 years old and have previously had pneumococcal meningitis / bacteraemia;

If in doubt about whether you should have this or not please ask a member of staff.

Sickness Certificates - Statement of Fitness to Work

For the first seven days of illness or inability to work, you should complete a self certification form which is available  from your employer or on the HMRC website.

After this period, a medical certificate, or "Fit Note", from your doctor will be required.

Following a hospital admission your doctor can issue a certificate without seeing you.

For further information see Directgov.

Non NHS Services

Please note that Private / Non NHS work is at the GP's discretion. We no longer do medicals or statements of fitness for activities or extreme sports. Examples of the medicals we no longer do are:- Tall Ships, Marathons, Diving, Sky Diving. There are a number of local private services that have been set up to carry out this non NHS work. Unfortunately were are unable to recommend any specific service. If in doubt please contact Dawn Ward, our Reception Team Lead and she will be happy to advise.

Certain services such as private sick certificates, “To Whom It May Concern” letters, Medical Reports/full examinations are not covered by the NHS and a charge will be made for these services.

Your account will need to be settled before work commences.  Payment is made by cash or cheque. We regret we do not have electronic debit card facilities. We will be happy to give you a receipt.

Please allow at least ten working days for the completion of medical reports and letters.

NHS Ultrasound Services at Silverdale Practice (at the Avenue Clinic on London Road) This service is provided by Diagnostic Ultrasound Services and the Director is Sally Hill. For detailed information about your scan please visit: www.oxtedultrasound.com

This centre offers a choice of ultrasound scans on the NHS under the AQP (any qualified provider) initiative.

You must be referred by your GP.

Most scans are performed within two weeks of being referred.

These include:

• Gynaecology
• General abdominal (liver, kidneys, pancreas, spleen and aorta)
• Prostate
• Musculo-skeletal
• Vascular
• Small Parts - which include testes, thyroid, lumps & bumps and hernias.

A report is sent immediately to your GP and you will need to make an appointment with your GP to duscuss the results.

Further Information

For further information or private appointments please email: ultrasound.scan@gmail.com

Care co-ordinators

We are your care coordinators and we are here to help you.  Our aim is to ensure you feel supported and have access to the services that are right for you.

If you are living with a medical condition and require some additional support – whatever it is - we are here to help. Equally, if you are a carer for somebody else, we are available to help both you and the person you care for.

Finding the right support can be a difficult and daunting task. We can help you find the right path to follow, for example we can help you with:

• Care providers
• Befriending and Bereavement Services
• Funding support including Social Services
• Sensory services (For hearing and sight)
• And much, much more… 

...we can even help you to care for your pets!

If you would like a chat to find out more about what we may be able to do for you please just ask for Kat, Tracey, Kelly or Louisa at reception or on 01444 233 450 – we would love to hear from you!

Or download their leaflet Care co-ordinator Leaflet.docx

Your GP has referred you on for a further consultation at the hospital if you have a query about your referral please call one of the following numbers.

 GPs do not get notified when appointments are made and that the Specialist Departments decide on the priority of the appointment when they triage the GP referral letter.

 Contact numbers

Action for Deafness referrals please call 01444 415582

SHC Audiology referrals please call 0800 622 6282

CAMHS referrals please call 01444 472673

Linwood referrals please call 0300 304 0052

Time to Talk referrals please call 01444 251084

Memory Team referrals please call 0300 304 0026

Community Dermatology please call 01903 896625

Community Ultrasound please call 01883 734038

Community Urology please call 01903 503447

Healogics referrals please call 01444 220549

Nightingale Primary Care Centre please call 01444 414100

Orthopaedic, Physiotherapy and Rheumatology referrals please call 0300 303 8063

All other referrals please call 01293 300270

Outpatients at the hospital please call 0300 303 8360

If you are still struggling to find out information about your referral please call the surgery and ask to speak to Jan or Vicky in the secretarial team.

Please note the waiting lists for certain specialities are long at the moment if you want to find out where you are on the waiting list or when your appointment is likely to be please call 0300 303 8360.

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