Patients aged over 75 are encouraged to book an annual health check appointment and those unable to attend the surgery are provided the same level of service on a home visit basis. A review of patients is completed to ensure an annual health check has been offered.
Patients not seen in over 3 years will still be able to access services at the practice provided they remain registered at the practice.
If you’re planning to travel outside the UK, you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world.
Vaccinations are available to protect you against infections such as yellow fever, typhoid and hepatitis A.
In the UK, the NHS routine immunisation (vaccination) schedule protects you against a number of diseases, but does not cover all of the infectious diseases found overseas.
When should I start thinking about the vaccines I need?
If possible, see the GP or a private travel clinic at least 6 to 8 weeks before you’re due to travel.
If you are arranging these vaccines with the practice please ensure you provide at least 4 weeks notice as appointments with the nurse (with travel vaccine training) are limited. If you are travelling in an emergency you will be provided with a list of your vaccinations to allow you to seek advice and get the vaccines provided by a private travel clinic/pharmacy (costs to be confirmed with chosen provider)
Some vaccines need to be given well in advance to allow your body to develop immunity.
And some vaccines involve a number of doses spread over several weeks or months.
You may be more at risk of some diseases, for example, if you’re:
If you have a pre-existing health problem, this may make you more at risk of infection or complications from a travel-related illness.
Which travel vaccines are free?
The following travel vaccines are available free on the NHS from your GP surgery:
These vaccines are free because they protect against diseases thought to represent the greatest risk to public health if they were brought into the country.
Which travel vaccines will I have to pay for?
You’ll have to pay for travel vaccinations against:
Yellow fever vaccines are only available from designated centres.
The cost of travel vaccines that are not available on the NHS will vary, depending on the vaccine and number of doses you need.
It’s worth considering this when budgeting for your trip.
PLEASE SEE BELOW SOME USEFUL LINKS FOR TRAVEL ADVICE
Travel Health Pro
An up-to-date website for travel health advice for destinations worldwide and a wealth of useful resources for travellers and health professionals
Fit for Travel
‘Fit for Travel’ is a free public access website providing up to date health information for the UK public on avoiding illness and staying healthy when travelling abroad.
MATERNITY CARE
West Middlesex Antenatal Clinic
Please complete following your positive pregnancy test so you can be booked in for your first appointment in a timely manner
Maternity services — Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (chelwest.nhs.uk)
NWL Abortion Service
Please call 020 3350 4300 for an appointment at one of their clinics. Alternatively via www.nwlondonicb.nhs.uk/abortion
MENTAL HEALTH (Adults)
NHS talking therapies (formerly IAPT), for anxiety and depression is provided by West London NHS Trust and offer evidence-based therapies for people over 18 who have a GP or live in the London Borough of Hounslow.
They can help you with common problems like stress, anxiety and depression. It could be that you’re feeling low, having trouble sleeping, or feeling frightened. These are all things that they can help with.
They offer a range of treatments either online, over the telephone, web-based or in person. There are also a number of different formats such as groups, workshops, couples therapy or individual therapy. They aim to provide individuals with a choice of time, day and location suited to the needs of the individual in a timely manner.
How to access this service
You can ask for a referral from your GP or any other health or social care professional. They will fill in a form explaining how you are feeling.
You can also refer yourself online. You can find out how to refer yourself and more information about the service here https://www.westlondon.nhs.uk/our-services/adult/iapt/iapt-hounslow.
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)
CALM is leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and the cause of 18 deaths every day.
Calm
The Calm app is the number one rated app for sleep, meditation and relaxation. Meditation aid for patients and clinicians alike.
MIND
MIND act as advocates providing advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
ARC Hounslow
ARC Hounslow offer support with mental or physical health problems, social needs, carers support, vocational needs and community integration
Telephone 020 8538 1150
Email cnw-tr.archounslow@nhs.net
ARC Hounslow :: Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (cnwl.nhs.uk)
NW London suicide postvention bereavement service
The service is available for residents of NW London who have recently been bereaved by suicide and can offer:
Guidance on where to find bereavement support services or more specialist support
People can self refer to the service in a number of ways:
– by emailing sbls@bwwmind.org.uk
– by ring or text 07436 191 667
MENTAL HEALTH (Youth)
Hounslow Youth Counselling Service
Young people aged 11-25 HYCS offer a free, 1-2-1 counselling service just for young people. The service is available through self-referral to those that live, study or work in Hounslow. It also has a great ‘Self Help Hub‘ which provides signposting to other resources available for all.
Kooth
Free online anonymous counselling for 10-16 year old children.
Family Lives
A charitable organisation offering comprehensive family support services. They also work in many different areas offering tailored support around issues such as bullying, special educational needs, parenting support and support for specific communities.
LIFESTYLE & NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE
Healthy Hounslow
Want to lose weight, become more active or stop smoking? Healthy Hounslow offers a variety of FREE self-referral services for Hounslow residents to help create healthier, happier futures.
The Doctor’s Kitchen
Tips and advice on healthy eating with a variety of free recipes created by a GP who has improved his own health through nutrition.
Social Prescribing
Social prescribing can help individuals with local services that can help improve their health and wellbeing. Please speak to reception if you wish to be referred to this service.
We provide a range of services and clinics.
Please review our list of non-NHS work that we offer at our GP surgery, which attract a fee. This includes certificates, forms, medical examinations and various travel vaccinations.
When your doctor is asked to give medical information about you in the form of a report, letter or certificate, the request kick starts a series of processes.
This takes time and is not always straightforward or simple to complete. Some of the information is not available easily and will mean the doctor has to sort and select the right information for the request.
The doctor also must establish who is funding this work and if it is not part of their NHS work, agree a fee for this.
Many patients see their doctor as the embodiment of the NHS and all that it provides – free care at the point of delivery. However not all work doctors are asked to do is paid for by the NHS and many GPs are self-employed.
This means they must cover their time and costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc – in the same way as any small business. The NHS only pays for NHS work, any work outside of the NHS must be funded by other means and this is why fees are charged.
Your doctor receives large amounts of request and which is often to do with whether your general health allows you to do something e.g. to work, receive benefits, drive, play sport, attend school, own a house, a firearm or it is for insurance, court or other medico-legal reasons.
All requests will vary in complexity, volume and consistency ranging from signing a certificate which can take minutes, to an in-depth report with an examination that can take hours.
When your doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true.
In order to complete even the simplest of forms, they may have to check your entire medical record (some of which may not be accessible on a computer or on site).
Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police.
Your doctor is inundated with work. They have to balance their time with treating the sick, keeping their practice afloat and making sure they are doing all of this safely and within their professional duties as a doctor.
With certain exceptions written within their contract, doctors do not have to carry out non-NHS work. However, many choose to for the benefit of you and other families they treat.
Where a doctor chooses to undertake the work, we advise them to inform and always agree a fee in advance of undertaking work.
Should their volume of work prove to be greater or more complex than expected, the doctor will contact you to discuss how to proceed.
– Not all documents need a signature by a doctor and can be done by other professionals. Please check the form and accompanying guidance as you may get a quicker response that way.
– If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your doctor if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.
– Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight. Urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this will cost more.
– Don’t book an appointment with your doctor to complete forms without checking with your doctor’s administrative staff as to whether you need to or not.
When you attend a test of any kind, you will be told how long you should expect to wait for the results. This is a guideline, and we ask that you wait this time before checking for your results.
Please note that we have a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. We will only give test results to the person they relate to unless that person has given prior permission for their release or if they’re not capable of understanding them.
There are different ways you can access the results of tests that have been done at our GP surgery.
Please note that the results of tests carried out during hospital visits are not normally sent to the practice.
If a doctor asks you to have a repeat test, it is usually because:
Please do not worry if the doctor has asked you for a repeat test. The doctor will speak to you or request to see you directly if they need to discuss the results.
You can read more about blood tests, how to prepare for them and the different blood tests used on the NHS website here – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/blood-tests/
If your illness has made you miss 7 or less days off work the GP will not issue you a sick note as advised by the Government. You can self-certify by completing a self-certification (SC2) form which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website. If your employer requires evidence for a shorter illness a fee may be charged for a non-NHS funded letter from the Doctor.
We do not offer sick notes for children. If they have had a short illness such as a cough or cold, the parents should be able to self-certify this with the school. You can show the school the text message appointment confirming the GP appointment if they ask for proof. This policy also applies to exams which were missed due to illness.
If your child has a long-term health condition, certification will be provided by the responsible specialist.
If you are registered with our GP surgery, you can access some health services online. This means you can do some tasks when it is better for you and avoid telephoning the practice.
Below are some of the main online services we use in our GP surgery:
If you would like to benefit from online services and prefer to use an app, you can use the Airmid app. Airmid is the patient-facing app for the provider of our clinical system. If you don’t want to use an app you can still access SystmOne Online.
To sign up for online services you’ll need to visit us. You can visit any of our surgeries and ask to be registered for the service. You’ll need to provide some ID.
Access your complete medical record and contribute to it using information from medical devices and wearables, Apple Health and Google Fit.
To use the Airmid app, you must set up your NHS log-in.
This is the same login as you would use for the NHS App. For help and guidance on how to do this, please visit the NHS website.
You can find out more about the NHS App, how to download it and get support here (https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/).
You’ll need to provide extra proof of who you are to get full access to your NHS account.
If you’re a patient at our practice you can use the new NHS App, a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.
You can still contact the practice by phone or in person, this is just another option, which other patients have found is more convenient and saves them time. More information including “how to” leaflets and videos of patients and why they are using GP online services are available at www.nhs.uk/gponlineservices
Your NHS account allows you to access your services through the NHS App or website. It also allows you to access authorised apps such as Airmid and PATCHS.
To have an NHS account, you must be aged 13 or over and registered with an NHS GP surgery in England or the Isle of Man.
You can find out more about how to set up your NHS login, you can visit the NHS website: How to set up NHS login
You may find it easier to have an app on your phone to access your account but you don’t have to. If you prefer, you can access your NHS account online: Log in – NHS App Online (service.nhs.uk)
To help manage online requests from patients, we use PATCHS.
This is an online form where you can tell us what you need help with by answering a few simple questions. You can use PATCHS to contact us about a health query or concern, or to ask for help with an administration query related to your health. If you already have your NHS Login, you will be able to log in to PATCHS using that. If not, you can register through the link below.
PATCHS is a way to access your GP practice Online but like all appointments there are a limited number per day. Once these appointments are filled PATCHS will be closed until the next day.
You can register for PATCHS via your registered branch practice website. You’ll be asked to enter your email address and set a password.
Once you have registered, you can access PATCHS by clicking the link on your registered branch practice website or opening the PATCHS app on your smartphone. Login by entering your registered email address & password.
Choose the appropriate option and answer a few simple questions to help your GP understand your problem.
Your answers are sent to your GP who responds as quickly as possible. Initial responses may be via online message or phone, with face-to-face or video consultation appointments scheduled if necessary.
SystmOnline allows patients or someone acting on behalf of the patient to proactively manage their care. The online services available include the ability to view an online Electronic Medical Record (EMR) as well as booking appointments and managing medication.
SystmOnline is available as an online service if you prefer to use a computer. If you prefer to use an App on your tablet or smartphone, you can find information on the Airmid app.
You can get
support and find
some Frequently
Asked Questions
about SystmOnline
below.