Clinics & Services

Adult Immunisation

At the Beaumont Practice, we offer the following vaccines to adults:

Vaccines for 'at-risk' people:

Flu jab
Chickenpox vaccine
BCG (TB) vaccine
Flu jab for pregnant women
Whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women
Hepatitis B vaccine for at-risk patients
MMR for non-immune adults
Men ACWY vaccine for students

Vaccines for over-65s

Pneumococcal PPV vaccine
Annual flu vaccine

Vaccines for 70s

Shingles vaccine
Flu vaccine

For further information on any of these vaccines, please visit NHS Health A-Z Vaccines information by clicking on the link below:

//www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/vaccination-schedule-age-checklist.aspx

Cervical Smears

The aim of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme is to reduce the number of women who develop cervical cancer and the number of women who die from the condition. Since the screening programme was introduced in the 1980s, the number of cervical cancer cases has decreased by about 7% each year.

All women who are registered with a GP are invited for cervical screening:

aged 25 to 49 – every three years
aged 50 to 64 – every five years
over 65 – only women who haven't been screened since age 50 or those who have recently had abnormal tests

Being screened regularly means any abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix can be identified at an early stage and, if necessary, treated to stop cancer developing.

However, cervical screening isn't 100% accurate and doesn't prevent all cases of cervical cancer.

Screening is a personal choice and you have the right to choose not to attend.

Read about:

why cervical screening is offered

when cervical screening is offered

For further information please visit the link below:

//www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cervical-screening-test/Pages/When-should-it-be-done.aspx

Child Health Surveillance

The Surgery provides a comprehensive child health surveillance service including developmental and pre-school checks.

In conjunction with the Health Visitor and your Practice, your child should be reviewed at key points and receive vaccinations.

Below is a standard example of a child development schedule up to school age.

PRE-SCHOOL REVIEWS – CHILD DEVELOPMENT

10 – 14 days - Visit from Health Visitor to mother and baby

6 - 8 weeks - Medical assessment by Doctor

8 weeks - 1st diphtheria / tetanus / polio / whooping cough and HIB vaccination

12 weeks - 2nd diphtheria / tetanus / polio / whooping cough and HIB vaccination

16 weeks - 3rd diphtheria / tetanus / polio / whooping cough and HIB vaccination

7 – 9 months - Development review by Health Visitor and Doctor

12 months - Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccination by Health Visitor

24 months - Development Review by Health Visitor

3 Years - Development review by Health Visitor and Medical Assessment by Doctor

3 ½ Years - Pre-school booster vaccination

Child Immunisation

It is essential for children to be fully immunised and we advise that current Department of Health recommendations should be strictly adhered to.

This means:

A full course of three doses of polio, pneumococcal, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough,

HiB (Meningitis) and meningitis C vaccines monthly from the post-natal visit at two months,

Measles mumps and rubella at fourteen months and booster diphtheria, tetanus, and polio at four and fourteen years.

In addition, MMR II is given also at the age of four or fourteen.

Bookings for vaccinations and immunisations can be made by calling the practice.

Invitations to attend are sent automatically by the Health Authority who maintain the database of childhood immunisation.

Further information can be found on the NHS Immunisations Website

Chronic Disease Management

There is a growing epidemic of chronic disease in the UK due to tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and other risk factors. Whilst it is important to prevent these diseases from happening in the first place (which we are also trying to do - termed 'primary prevention'), it is also important to prevent them from getting worse or causing other problems in patients who already have them (this is called 'secondary prevention'). With good management of chronic diseases, people can live longer.

A good example of this is diabetes - if you don't manage a patient with diabetes properly, their diabetes will get worse, and over a number of years, they may end up with kidney failure, blindness, heart attacks, strokes, gangrene of the legs and so on which will result in being hospitalised. If we treat a patient's diabetes and get their sugars under good control, we can stop them from getting most of these things and reduce unnecessary hospitalisation. Clearly, this is very good news for the patient (as it stops their lives from being hampered by illness, infirmity and disability), but it's also good for the NHS in general because the cost of treating these complications and subsequent hospitalisation would otherwise be very expensive.

Offering good co-ordinated care that is in line with national and local guidance reduces the fragmentation of care and also reduces the risk of clinical error (including medication errors) and thus litigation risk. In summary, by optimising the management of a patient's chronic disease, EVERYONE is a winner.

EXAMPLES OF CHRONIC DISEASE

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)

• Angina/Heart Attacks

• Heart Failure

• Strokes

• Diabetes

• Asthma

• COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

• Renal (Kidney) Failure

• Osteoporosis

• Cancer Care

• Drug & Alcohol misuse

• Mental Health Disorders like Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar disease, Schizophrenia and so on.

Family Planning

Healthcare services provided by contraception clinics

We offer a range of services and can provide:

confidential advice about contraception
the combined oral contraceptive pill
the progestogen-only pill
progestogen contraceptive injections
confidential advice about STIs , STI testing and treatment
cervical screening
"well woman" screening

We can also refer you for the following:

insertion or removal of the contraceptive implant
free emergency contraception
unplanned pregnancy advice
pre-conception (pre-pregnancy) advice and information on fertility problems
fitting and checking of caps, diaphragms, IUDs (intrauterine devices, or coils) and IUSs (intrauterine systems, or hormonal coils)

Some contraception clinics may also offer specialist services, including:

counselling for incest, rape and sexual abuse
vasectomy (male sterilisation) counselling and procedures
pre-abortion and post-abortion counselling and referral
gynaecology clinics
menopause clinics
female sterilisation counselling and referral

General Health Checks

The NHS Health Check is a free check-up of your overall health. It can tell you whether you're at higher risk of getting certain health problems, such as:

heart disease
diabetes
kidney disease
stroke

If you're over 65, you will also be told the signs and symptoms of dementia to look out for.

If you're aged 40-74 and you haven't had a stroke, or you don't already have heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease, you should have an NHS Health Check every five years.

Any follow-up tests or appointments are also free of charge.

How will the NHS Health Check help me?

As well as measuring your risk of developing these health problems, an NHS Health Check gives you advice on how to prevent them.

The risk level varies from person to person, but everyone is at risk of developing heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and some types of dementia.

Your NHS Health Check can detect potential health problems before they do real damage.

What happens at the NHS Health Check?

An NHS Health Check takes about 15 minutes.

The health care professional – often a nurse or healthcare assistant – will ask you some simple questions about your lifestyle and family history, measure your height and weight, take your blood pressure and do a blood test – often using a small finger prick test.

Based on this, they will be able to give you an idea of your chances of getting heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes.

If you're over 65, you will also be told the signs and symptoms of dementia to look out for.

You will then receive personalised advice to lower your risk. This could include talking about:

improving your diet and the amount of physical activity you do
taking medicines to lower your blood pressure or cholesterol
how to lose weight or stop smoking

If you prefer, you can ask to see a man or a woman, but the questions aren't embarrassing and you won't have to take your clothes off during the check.

Read more about what happens at an NHS Health Check.

Find out about the pros and cons of having an NHS Health Check.

Lifestyle Management

We can help you:

stop smoking
loose weight
get more active
eat healthier
relax and unwind

Levels of good and bad health are influenced by some of the choices we make, such as smoking, how physically active we are and whether we eat a healthy diet. Healthy lifestyle services support you to identify unhealthy behaviours and find the motivation to adopt a healthier way of living.

NHS Health Checks programme

If you are 35-74 years old, you are eligible for an NHS Health Check. This programme aims to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease through identifying people at high risk of these diseases and reducing the risk through the promotion of lifestyle changes, or who are living with undiagnosed disease.

Weight management courses

Being a healthy weight is important for your health. It helps to prevent developing a long-term condition and also helps to manage existing long-term conditions.

The programme is free to Islington residents and people registered with an Islington GP. Anyone can attend if they are over 18 with a BMI in excess of 30, or a BMI of 25 with a long-term condition (e.g. hypertension or diabetes) or a BMI of 27.5 for south Asian communities.

Stop Smoking Services

The benefits of stopping smoking for your health are well known. Smoking causes a lot of damage to the body and puts you at risk of life-threatening health conditions.

NHS Stop Smoking Islington is a free service for those people who want to quit smoking. The service uses a tailored approach so you can choose to take part in group sessions or attend

one-to-one sessions.

For more information on the lifestyle services available in Islington, check the Health and

well-being pages on the council website

Maternity Care

Congratulations if you are pregnant or considering becoming so in the future.

We encourage all newly pregnant women to see their GP for a health check. Antenatal care begins once your pregnancy has reached eight weeks, when we ask you to make a booking appointment with the midwife.

Make your booking appointment at the surgery or telephone our reception020 7272 3155.

Antenatal care will be undertaken mostly by the midwife but you are also able to see your GP at any time if there are problems.

IMPORTANT HEALTH ADVICE:

If you are planning to become pregnant you should take folic acid supplements - even if you are healthy and have a good diet. Once pregnant, continue to take the supplements for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. If you take folic acid supplements it reduces the risk of having a baby born with a defect of their spinal cord such as spina bifida. It probably also reduces the risk of having a baby born with a cleft lip and palate, and of premature labour.

For most women the dose is 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) a day, if you are unsure please ask.

Eat a well balanced diet and include plenty of fluids, particularly if you feel nauseated.

Avoid eating soft cheeses, pate and un-pasteurised food products because of the risk of listeria.

Try to reduce alcohol if your intake is frequent or high. The government now recommend pregnant women should not drink alcohol during the course of their pregnancy.

If you smoke please consider stopping. Smoking is harmful to your unborn child, not to mention you. If you need help please ask, we run a smoke stop clinic and are very keen to help you stop.

Wear gloves and wash your hands if you are unable to avoid emptying cat or puppy letter trays.

Avoid lambing or milking ewes (not common these days!!)

Sexual Health & Contraception

Healthcare services provided by contraception clinics

We offer a range of services and can provide:

confidential advice about contraception
the combined oral contraceptive pill
the progestogen-only pill
progestogen contraceptive injections
confidential advice about STIs , STI testing and treatment
cervical screening
"well woman" screening

We can also refer you for the following:

insertion or removal of the contraceptive implant
free emergency contraception
unplanned pregnancy advice
pre-conception (pre-pregnancy) advice and information on fertility problems
fitting and checking of caps, diaphragms, IUDs (intrauterine devices, or coils) and IUSs (intrauterine systems, or hormonal coils)

Some contraception clinics may also offer specialist services, including:

counselling for incest, rape and sexual abuse
vasectomy (male sterilisation) counselling and procedures
pre-abortion and post-abortion counselling and referral
gynaecology clinics
menopause clinics
female sterilisation counselling and referral

You can also visit a clinic close to you, click on the website below to find a clinic near you:

//www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk/

Weight Management

If you've tried and failed to lose weight, a visit to your GP could help.

Your GP or practice nurse can:

assess your general health
help identify the cause of your weight gain
work out if there are any health issues causing you to put on weight
discuss a plan to help you lose weight that suits you

Read on to find out what type of help you can get from your GP surgery.

Assessing your weight

First, your GP or practice nurse will want to assess whether your current weight is healthy or not. This means measuring your weight and height to calculate your body mass index (BMI).

You may also have your waist measured. Measuring your waist is a good way to check you're not carrying too much fat around your stomach, which can raise your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

You can have a healthy BMI and still have excess tummy fat – meaning you're still at risk of developing these diseases.

Your GP may take your blood pressure and carry out other tests, such as a blood test, to check for any health conditions that may be related to your weight.

You can also check your BMI by using our BMI calculator.

Diet and exercise

If you're overweight, changes to your diet and physical activity levels are the first step to helping you lose weight.

Your GP or practice nurse can help you assess your current diet and levels of physical activity, and set personal goals for change.

Your diet

You may be asked to keep a food diary – a written record of everything you eat – for one week.

This can help you and your GP identify habits, such as adding sugar to your tea, that you can change.

Exercise

Your physical activity levels can be measured with an activity diary.

Your GP may also suggest that you wear a pedometer for a week. A pedometer measures the number of steps you take and gives an indication of your daily activity levels.

Other weight loss services

Your GP surgery may refer you to other services, such as local weight loss groups. These could be provided by the NHS, or may be commercial services that you pay for.

If it's appropriate, you may be referred for exercise classes under the supervision of a qualified trainer.

Depending on where you live, the exercise programme may be free or offered at a reduced cost.

//www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/weight-loss-guide/Pages/weight-loss-guide.aspx

Well Man Clinic

We offer a range of health checks for men.

Your GP or Practice Nurse will assess the following:

your lifestyle, including diet, exercise, alcohol and smoking
medical history
weight and height
blood pressure
cholesterol
a urine test for diabetes or kidney infection
hearing and vision
lung function

You can also discuss your general health and have.

Please contact reception to book an appointment - 020 7272 3155.

Well Woman Clinic

We offer a well woman clinic, where you may be seen by a female doctor or practice nurse.

The well woman clinic will often provide advice on:

gynaecological problems
family planning (including fitting an IUD coil)
cervical smears
breast disease
the menopause

You can also discuss your general health and have your urine, weight, cholesterol and blood pressure checked.