Are you aware that Bolton has a “Get Active Team” which is part of the Bolton Council’s Adult Services?

If you would like to know more about their programme of physical activities, check out their website by clicking here.

If you would like to register for their newsletters, please visit the site and register with your email address.

LETS KEEP BOLTON MOVING 

Let’s Keep Bolton Moving are there to support and encourage the people of Bolton to positively change their lives through the five ways to wellbeing – Connect, Keep Learning, Be Active, Take Notice, and Giving.  For further information, click here.

BETTER HEALTH LET’s DO IT (weight loss)

If you’re overweight, losing weight has many health benefits. Making small, simple changes to what and how much you are eating and drinking can really help you lose the pounds.  Better Health can help you to succeed.  For further information, including a free download of the NHS weight loss plan, click here.

Cervical screening, also known as a smear test, is a preventative health test for women and people with a cervix. It aims to detect abnormal cell changes in the cervix, which could potentially develop into cervical cancer, before they become cancerous. Regular screening can significantly reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer. 

All those eligible for screening – women and people with a cervix aged 25-64 – need to respond to their cervical screening invitations and to book an appointment at their GP practice.  

Cervical Screening or Smear Tests as many of us refer to them as are one of the best ways for all women and people with cervix to protect themselves against cervical cancer.  Cervical Screening (a smear test) is a procedure that checks the health of your cervix.  The procedure is carried out by our trained, experienced Practice Nurse. Cervical Screening is NOT a test for cancer, it is a test to help prevent cancer by detecting any changes to the cells of the cervix. 

All women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 years of age are eligible for cervical screening. 

If you have received an invitation for cervical screening call the surgery to speak with one of our Medical Receptionists who will help you to book an appointment with one of Practice Nurses. 

At the moment in England women and people with a cervix aged 25-49 years are routinely invited for screening every 3 years. As there is now better testing for HPV, in the UK the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) has recommended that those testing negative with no recent history of HPV will now be invited every 5 years instead of 3 years.

All invites will now be sent via the NHS APP – so please ensure you are signed up!!! Letters will be sent for those where digital invite is not an option.

If you would like to know more about cervical screening including a brief video on how cervical screening is done please CLICK HERE.

Below is a great video about cervical screening aimed at patients with learning disabilities and autism. Please have a look:

If you have any worries or concerns or questions about cervical screening and would like to discuss the procedure with one of our practice nurses to help put your mind at ease please let us know and we can book a telephone consultation for you.

NHS Health Checks are designed to help you to prevent Diabetes, Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Stroke & Dementia. 

If you are aged 40 to 74 and DO NOT have any of the following conditions you are eligible for a free 3 yearly NHS Health Check. 

• Heart Disease
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Transient Ischaemic Attack
• Inherent High Cholesterol (Familial Hypercholesterolemia) 
• Heart Failure
• Peripheral Arterial Disease
• Stroke
• Being Prescribed Statins to Lower Cholesterol 

Some services provided fall outside the scope of the NHS and therefore attract charges. Examples include the following:

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

Our reception staff will be happy to advise you about appointment availability.

Please see below for BMA guidance on the fees that GP’s can charge.

*GPs
Work in surgery, indicating time element where appropriate	£186.20
Extract from records	£48.40
Report on pro forma (eg 20 minutes)	£61.90
Report written (eg 30 minutes)	£94.15
Medical examination and report in surgery (eg 45 minutes)	£135.20
Session (eg 3 hours)	£560.60

  Taken from: https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/fees/check-your-fee/fee-finder-government-agreed-fees-gps

Please do not hesitate to contact the surgery for more information.

If you need help with an urgent dental problem, call the Urgent Dental Service on 0333 332 3800, available from 8am to 10pm everyday, including weekends and bank holidays

Please Note:

• The number should NOT be used by patients who have a regular dentist during normal surgery hours.
• This is an appointment only service – the Urgent Dental Care providers do not operate a ‘drop-in’ service at any Manchester locations.
• Each one off urgent dental care appointment is a fixed NHS patient charge Band 1, currently £22.70.  this fee shall be paid each time you access Urgent Dental Care Services.

When you call you will assessed by a member of the team according to a strict criteria.  The following conditions include:-

• Dental and soft tissue infections
• Severe dental and facial pain
• Fractured teeth or tooth

If you need help finding an NHS dentist, please visit www.nhs.uk