Dundrum Surgery, 14 Church View, Dundrum, Newcastle, BT33 0NA 028 437 50700
Clough Surgery, 1 Castlewellan Road, Clough, Downpatrick, BT30 8RD 028 44 811535

Noticeboard

COVID VACCINATION CLINIC

We will be offering Covid-19 vaccinations to our patients as per Department of Health guidance. Please do not contact us as we will contact you when it is your turn.

PATIENTS AGED 50-64YRS

Patients aged 50-64yrs who have not received the flu vaccination should contact the surgery to book an appointment with one of the Nursing Team.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

To help reduce the potential spread of infection, we are advising all patients to phone the surgery.

When you ring us, our staff will ask you some questions to determine your condition. Some of these questions may include if you have a temperature or a cough. These questions help us to determine the best action to take but also helps protect our staff and other vulnerable patients.

If appropriate, you may receive a call back from a GP or be given other relevant advice. Please ensure the practice has up to date contact numbers for you and that you are available for a GP to call you back.

If you need a repeat prescription, please ring the practice on 028 4481 1535 and select option 2. Please advise which chemist you wish your prescription to go to as you will not be able to collect it from the practice.

Coronavirus related fit notes should be downloaded from NHS 111. Patients can self-certify for up to 7 days and self certificates can be accessed online at HMRC website.

For general Coronavirus queries, please refer to the Public Health website - htpps://www.publichealth.hscni.net/news/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov

SEASONAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION - 2020/2021

If you are eligible for the flu vaccination, but do not wish to have it, please let us know so we can update your medical records.

SHINGLES VACCINATION PROGRAMME - 2020/2021

Shingles vaccines are available for eligible patients born between 2 September 1949 and 1 September 1950.

If you were born between 2 September 1940 and 1 September 1942 or 2 September 1943 and 1 September 1949 and have not already received the shingles vaccine you are also eligible to receive it.

Please contact the Surgery to arrange an appointment with the Nurse to get your Shingles Vaccine.

PIP's LETTERS

Unfortunately, due to increasing workload in general practice, GPs will no longer be able to provide supporting letters for PIPs.

PROTECTION FROM MENINGITIS AND SEPTICAEMIA

As part of the NHS vaccine programme, patients born between 2 July 1996 and 1 July 2001 who have not already received the Men ACWY vaccine, will be eligible to request the vaccine up until the age of 25 years. First time university students up to the age of 25 are also eligible.

This meningococcal ACWY vaccine protects against meningitis (inflammation of the brain) and septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y.

The number of cases of meningococcal W disease continues to increase year on year so it is vital that young people are offered protection.

GROWING DEMAND FOR APPOINTMENTS

Due to our growing list size we are having a significant increase in demand for GP appointments. There is a province wide shortage of GPs and over the next few months you may need to wait longer for routine appointments. We are actively trying to recruit additional GPs to join our Primary Care Team.

NEW ADVICE ON VITAMIN D INTAKE - see further information section for more details

COUNTERSIGNING PASSPORT AND DRIVING LICENCE APPLICATIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

The Doctors at Dundrum and Clough Surgery are no longer able to countersign passport and driving licence applications and photographs. Please refer to the recognised professions on the passport website - www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications and DVLA website - www.nidirect.gov.uk for further information.

NON NHS SERVICES

Most of the Practice's clinical and non-clinical services are provided without cost under the NHS.  However, there are some items, for which we charge, as they are not provided under the NHS.  Please click on the clinic and services tab above for a detailed list of our current non NHS fees. 

ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING - see further information section for more details

BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING

A blood pressure monitoring system is now available to use in a private side room in Clough Surgery. Please feel free to take your own blood pressure whenever you wish, hand the blood pressure reading print out to the receptionist along with the completed form so that your medical records can be updated. At times, a GP or Nurse may ask you to do this.

NEW PATIENTS

We welcome new patients. However, from 5 April 2016, we are only able to accept new patients who reside within our Practice Area as approved by HSCB. (see our Practice Area map under New Patients)

REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS ONLINE

Did you know that you can order your repeat prescriptions online?  Call into Dundrum or Clough Surgery for personalised login details and then follow the links on the website.

WHOOPING COUGH VACCINATIONS

Whooping cough vaccinations are advised for pregnant women who are 16 weeks and over. This is to prevent whooping cough in newborn babies. If the surgery has not yet contacted you, please phone to arrange this vaccination. It is safe to have the flu and the whooping cough vaccinations together.  The flu vaccinations can be given at any stage in pregnancy.

Have you used the FREE Minor Ailments Scheme? For further information click on the link under further information.

Please see our Self Care section under our further information.

10 minute appointments

Get the Most out of your 10 minute Appointment

The easiest way is to break it down into dos and don’ts…

Do

Get to the point…
There is no need for embarrassment or coyness, and the quicker you mention why you are really there, the more time the GP has to deal with your problem. Clearly this can be difficult with emotional problems as it can be hard to open up, but as for the rest, just get on with it.  The GP will tease out what he or she needs from you in terms of more information.

Get it all out at the beginning of the appointment…
If you have two items to discuss, list them at the beginning rather than say, ‘And while I’m here’ or ‘There are a couple of other things’. If you list them at the start the GP and you can plan out the time. The GP may ask you to make another appointment if complex problems need to be addressed.

Bring your diary…
A really good ‘history’ helps us GPs to help you. If you can tell us exactly what happened and when, that makes our job much easier. For example, ‘I was sick on Monday, fainted on Tuesday’. And tell the GP what you have tried – ‘I took Paracetamol and it didn’t help…’

Be descriptive….
GPs listen to stories all day. Using certain words to describe symptoms will help us to identify the problem more quickly. Is your pain dull or sharp? Does it burn? Does your headache feel like a tight band or sharp and stabbing? What are you unable to do compared to when you are well?

Use the rest of the team effectively…
Chasing a referral to the hospital? Ring the receptionist/secretary. Need a blood pressure check? Use the blood pressure monitoring system in Clough Surgery. Need travel advice? Complete the travel questionnaire and leave into the Surgery prior to making an appointment with the Nurse. Need to see a physiotherapist? Online self-referral to the local Hospital through our website. Worried about your toddler’s weight? See the health visitor. Check advice on our website with regard to self-care, minor ailments, online repeat prescribing, making/cancelling appointments and much more useful information. Many services do not need you to see the GP first these days.

Don't

Come in with a huge list of stuff…
If you have four items it’ll probably take you six to eight minutes to talk about all of them. The GP then has to think about each problem, examine you and prescribe the right treatment - all in a couple of minutes. Cramming in too much into 10 minutes is a false economy, making it more likely that the GP will make a mistake.

Expect us to solve everything in one visit…
We live in a convenience culture world but medicine can be a complex business. Most GPs see people who have several ongoing problems at once which need monitoring and maintenance with the help of the rest of the team (nurses, administration, pharmacists and health visitors). Occasionally you will need to wait for referrals to a specialist or try a treatment to see how you get on.

Think that seeing patients is all that the GP does…
The GP is running late. Sound familiar? About 50% of a GP’s work is administrative.  This is because in between appointments he or she is likely to get constant interruptions with urgent messages (home visit requests, prescription amendments, emails from the Health Board, calls from the hospital or coroner, queries from the pharmacist, urgent letters and reports etc).  Often there will be a significant amount of paperwork on a GP’s desk, so if the doctor appears a bit browbeaten it’s because they are constantly multi-tasking. Even more reason to follow the DOs above!

This advice is to help us to help you to get the most out of a 10 minute appointment. Remember if you cannot attend an appointment, please cancel it as DNA's are a significant loss of GP time and someone else is missing out on an appointment.