The Practice offers a Chaperone Service to both male and female patients. Patients are advised to request a Chaperone at the time of booking the appointment where possible, so that arrangements can be made, and the appointment isn’t delayed in any way. However, we will do our best to accommodate any requests at the time of the appointment.
Chaperones are trained individuals who can be present for intimate examinations to protect both the patient and the clinician from allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
We are also able to offer Interpreter services via a third-party service. This must be requested at the time of booking the appointment, as we need to book an interpreter for the appointment from the service that provides them. Interpreters are available for sign-language and many foreign languages.
We run a weekly diabetic clinic with a GP and an Advanced Nurse Practitioner who specialises in Diabetes. During these clinics, annual reviews are carried out which include Feet Checks, Blood tests, Blood pressure and BMI monitoring, and assists patients with the management of their condition.
We have a small team of dedicated Community Nurse Specialists who provide care in the community for care homes in the area and for patients who are unable to leave their home.
These nurses carry out a range of services including:
- General nursing procedures and investigations
- Post-surgery care
- Assessment of patients’ needs
- Care for terminally ill patients
- Looking after wounds and leg ulcers
- Education patients about self-care
The NHS does not cover some of the services you may require and therefore you may be requested to pay a fee which is recommended by the British Medical Association.
These services include:
- Taxi medicals
- HGV medicals
- PSV medicals
- Insurance reports
- Sports medicals
- Firearm Certificate medical reports
- Private letters
- DVLA reports
- Personal Independent Payment (PIP) reports
- Universal Credit – ESR reports
- Council Tax reports
- Blue Badge reports
For all forms that need completing by a doctor, please ensure you have signed the form giving your consent for medical information to be disclosed, or that you attach a signed letter to this effect.
Forms relating to children under 16 years of age, need the signed consent of a parent/guardian.
To enquire about these and the fees associated please contact the Surgery.
Registered patients can fill out an online Travel Risk Assessment here.
This must be completed at least 12 weeks prior to travel.
Once you complete this risk assessment, it will be sent to our Practice Nurse to assess and we will then contact you to arrange an appointment or for further advice.
We offer NHS travel vaccinations which include:
- Diphtheria/Tetanus/Polio (DTP)
- Typhoid
- Hepatitis A
- MMR
There may be other vaccinations recommended which would necessitate a visit to a recognised travel clinic.
Please visit the following sites for further travel information:
Once a week we have a Community Mental Health specialist at the Surgery. If a Doctor feels it is necessary they will refer you to have an appointment with the specialist. These appointments are longer than our normal Clinician appointments (30 minutes), so that the Mental Health Specialist can gain a full understanding and find the best way to help.
The term ‘social prescribing’ is used to describe a service which supports people to access a range of non-medical services and activities in their local area.
Social prescribing can help people with different social, emotional or practical needs to find the right support and improve their health and wellbeing.
The service can help you:
- Get support to improve your physical health.
- Find employment or volunteering opportunities or learn a new skill.
- Tackle money, housing, work or benefits issues.
- Cope with a particular condition or difficulty.
- Access ways of improving your emotional wellbeing such as befriending schemes, peer support or arts and leisure activities.
We have a range of care professionals who provide this service. A Clinician may suggest this service during a consultation or you may ask about this whilst speaking to a Clinician.
We regularly run Phlebotomy clinics at the Surgery. These are carried out by trained Phlebotomists.
Blood test appointments are available:
- If a Clinician thinks you need a blood test you will be booked into one of these clinics.
- If you need a blood test as part of an annual review this will be booked at the same time as when booking your review.
- If you need a blood test based on recommendation from another service, please call the Surgery to book an appointment.
- Please note that a blood test must be requested by a Clinician. Patients can not book a test unless clinically approved.
An electrocardiogram is used to detect abnormal heart rhythms and to investigate the cause of chest pains. Where a Clinician thinks it necessary for you to have an ECG, or if requested by another service, you will be booked in to have one. These are carried out by our Nursing Team.
The NHS health check is a free health check-up for adults in England aged 40-74. It aims to spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia because as we get older our risk of developing one of these conditions increases. You can find more about NHS Health Checks here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-health-check/what-is-an-nhs-health-check-new/.
We currently host Reed Wellbeing every Thursday at Thorpewood to carry out NHS Health Checks for our patients. If you are eligible you should receive an invite from us to book yourself in, or alternatively, you can call Reed Wellbeing on 0808 175 0413 or visit https://norfolkhealthchecks.reedwellbeing.com/.