Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have an emergency service for your patients out of hours?

• Within hours, we are often available to do home visits if you are unable to get to the practice and want a private GP assessment.
• When the practice is closed (weekdays from 6pm to 8.30am and at weekends) we have an Out of Hours Emergency Service which covers evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays.
• We operate this service with doctors from another local practice. Whether you need urgent advice on the telephone or a home visit by the doctor, this can be arranged. 
• The Out of Hours doctors invoice our patients directly for any services they provide – domiciliary visits, telephone advice and prescriptions.

Can you email a prescription to me as I’m abroad?

• UK prescriptions are not valid in some EU countries including Germany and Italy. However, UK prescriptions are valid in Spain and Ireland.
• Prescriptions written by a UK doctor are not valid in the USA though. This would require a doctor registered in the USA to write the prescription.
• Additionally, UK guidance states “a prescription issued in an EEA member state (EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or Switzerland can be dispensed in the UK”. However, a medicine prescribed in one country might not be available or it may have another name.

When should I start thinking about taking a statin?

• Statins are given to patients for three reasons.
• One reason is as part of the long-term medical treatment of heart attacks and strokes. This is usually a high dose, in order to prevent another heart attack or stroke.
• Sometimes if you have type 1 diabetes or kidney disease a statin is also recommended.
• The other reason is to prevent either of these events occurring in the first place.
• Checking your cholesterol (lipid) levels in a blood test can reveal if your cholesterol is too high or not.
• Lifestyle measures that can bring down cholesterol include a healthy diet, avoiding certain types of foods, exercising and avoiding smoking and cutting down on alcohol.
• Foods to avoid: butter, hard cheese, cakes, biscuits, fatty meat
• Foods to eat more of: nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, brown rice and oil fish.
• Depending on your age, if your cholesterol test is high and you are not sure whether you should be taking a statin, we can organise a CT scan of your heart arteries and an ultrasound of your neck arteries to confirm whether or not there are fatty deposits in your arteries putting you at risk of a heart attack or stroke.
• There are alternatives to statins if you are intolerant of these.
• However, a recent study has suggested that statin intolerance has been over-stated.

Can you prescribe me weight loss medications?

• Yes, we can, depending on your weight and after a consultation with one of our doctors.
• Weight loss medications are just part of the solution to reaching a healthy weight. A healthy diet and regular exercise are also fundamental.
• Weight loss medication is usually an injectable medicine that you take once a week. The brand names currently used are Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) and Wegovy (Semaglutide).
• Studies have shown these medications are very effective if used appropriately.
• Ozempic is the brand name for Semaglutide when given to patients with diabetes. It is not licensed for weight loss without diabetes. Wegovy is the same medication under a different name and is licensed for the management of obesity.

What travel vaccinations do I need for my holiday?

• We are able to offer all travel vaccinations (except for yellow fever).
• Our doctors can advise you before your appointment what vaccinations you should have.
• https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/countries is a good resource for what vaccinations are required as well as other travel advice.

How quickly do blood tests take?

• The actual blood test usually takes less than a minute.
• We have twice daily couriers to the lab. Depending on the urgency we can request a courier between these times.
• Once received in the lab most blood tests are processed by the next day but some can take a few days.
• Wound, stool and urine samples usually take a few days before the results come back.

Can I bring my dog to the practice?

• Guide dogs are welcome at the practice.
• Unfortunately, as the practice is a medical setting, other dogs and pets are not.

How quickly can you get a prescription to me?

• We ask that repeat prescription requests are sent prior to your medication running out.
• Prescriptions are usually written within 24 hours (working days) of your request.
• This can usually be done on the same day depending on your doctor’s clinical commitments.

Can you refer me to see a specialist without seeing the doctor?

• Usually you will need to make a consultation with a doctor to assess the need for a referral, the most appropriate specialist to see, and whether there is anything that can be done to improve things before seeing the specialist.

Do you have a wheelchair ramp?

• We do not have a wheelchair ramp as the gradient would be too steep.
• There are only 6 steps to the practice and we can help you enter the building and leave.
• We can also offer home visits for those patients unable to get to the practice.

I suffer from recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Is there anything I can do to help improve this?

• Recurrent urinary tract infections are defined as two or more proven infections in the last 6 months or 3 or more infections in the last 1 year.
• Recurrent episodes can be treated with a short course of antibiotics as if treating a single episode of UTI.
• They can also be treated with a single pill antibiotic taken preventatively to a specific trigger.
• Sometimes a daily antibiotic is recommended, rotating every 3 months to another antibiotic.
• In post-menopausal women sometimes vaginal oestrogen applications help.
• Behavioural and hygiene measures include: avoiding dehydration, wiping front to back after defaecation, and delaying urination after intercourse.