Warts are usually harmless, but may be unsightly. Warts on the feet are called verrucas and are sometimes painful. Warts and verrucas usually clear in time without treatment. If required, they can often be cleared more quickly with treatment. For example, by applying salicylic acid, or by freezing with liquid nitrogen or a cold spray, or by covering with tape.

‘Smoking Cessation Clinic – Smokefreelife Nottinghamshire

Free confidential Stop Smoking Clinic held at Blidworth Surgery every week.

We will provide you with free Nicotine Replacement Therapy for 6 weeks combined with weekly behavioural support.

Please call 0115 7722 515 to make an appointment or ask at reception for more details.’  

www.smokefreelifenottinghamshire.co.uk    

Our Minor Injury Service offers a local, fast and reliable alternative to A&E for minor injuries. We are able to treat the following injuries:

• Cuts, grazes and lacerations
• Sprains and strains
• Bites and stings
• Infected wounds
• Minor head injuries
• Minor eye infections, foreign bodies and scratches
• Minor scalds and burns
• Bruises

Please contact the surgery and request an emergency appointment, and avoid waiting unnecessarily in accident and emergency.

It is important if you have diabetes to have your feet checked at regular intervals.  Please visit the website below or ask in the nurse in practice for further information.

www.diabetes.org.uk/putting-feet-first

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges. Examples include the following:

• Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.)
• Insurance claim forms
• Passport signing
• Prescriptions for taking medication abroad
• Private sick notes
• Vaccination certificates

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

Private providers

There has been a significant increase in patients going privately and then asking the GP to prescribe specialist medication as an NHS prescription on behalf of the private provider. This is not the same as NHS shared care.

Where a specialist has asked us to take over the prescribing of a medication, we will do this as long as it is within the competence of the GP.  However, sometimes we are asked to provide medication that we are not able to prescribe and if this is the case we will inform you directly.

Patient safety

Private providers may not adhere to the same safety standards as NHS providers. Patient safety is our priority, and we need to be as certain as we can that we are prescribing safely.

Problems often arise when patients no longer pay to see the private specialist, leaving the GP to prescribe the medication without access to any specialist input. This is risky for patients and GPs are not insured for this.

Commissioning

GPs are not funded to carry out non-NHS work. Undertaking significant amounts of private work can lead to GPs subsidising the cost of private healthcare. At a time of ever increasing demands on primary care, this takes away significant resources from other patients, and promotes health inequality.

British Medical Association Guidance

The BMA has clear guidance on responding to private healthcare, which can be seen here (General practice responsibility in responding to private healthcare). Therefore, going forward, we are no longer able to prescribe new specialist medication on behalf of private services.

The private clinic will remain responsible for prescribing the medication for you and making sure it is safely monitored.

We can refer you to NHS services and will be able to enter into shared care prescribing with them, once an appropriate agreement is in place.

To ensure this policy is fair and non-discriminatory, this will apply to specialist prescribing on behalf of all private providers, not for specific patient groups or health conditions.

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your travel arrangements. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below

Europe & Russia	North America
Central America	South America
Carribean	Africa
Middle East	Central Asia
East Asia	Australasia and Pacific

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible – at least 6 weeks before you travel – as a second appointment will be required with the practice nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

Some travel vaccines are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge. This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.