New Baby Information

Congratulations on the birth of your baby!

We understand this is a changing and sometimes uncertain time and we are here to support you as much as we can. Please click the link below to access our New Baby Leaflet.

New Parent Leaflet

ICON

What ICON Stands for?

ICON is all about helping people who care for babies to cope with crying.

ICON stands for

• I – Infant crying is normal
• C – Comforting methods can help
• O – It’s OK to walk away
• N – Never, ever shake a baby

Please follow the link below for more information.

ICON – Babies cry you can cope – Advice and Support | ICON (iconcope.org)

Health visitors

Health Visitors are all trained nurses who have extra training and qualifications in child health. They are a fantastic source of information about child development and health, parenting strategies, breastfeeding, nutrition and community support. They also offer help with social, emotional and environmental issues that affect families.

Leeds Health Visiting Services

How do I contact my health visitor Leeds?

If you need to contact a member of the health visiting service please contact the SPA on 0113 843 5683.

Child health checks

Appointments are sent out automatically for routine child health checks.

6-8 weeks old – you will be sent information about this and asked to make an appointment at the practice.

You will also be offered routine health reviews for your child, with your health visitor, at 6-8 weeks, 8-12 months and 2-2½ years old.

Child Immunisations

Immunisations are given by our practice nurses in accordance with the NHS vaccine schedule.

Further information on the schedule and vaccines in general can be found on NHS choices vaccinations.

Immunisation Schedule

There are a number of services that can help you when it comes to looking after yourself if you have diabetes.

Routine care

The majority of people with diabetes are looked after by the practice diabetes team.

You will receive an invite for both the annual health check and the 6 month review. Both of the appointments will be a nurse and you will need to have a blood test before each appointment.

There are times when you will need to be seen more often than twice a year, for example after you are first diagnosed or if problems are detected during one of the routine reviews. We arrange these additional reviews as needed and may be a nurse or one of the Doctors.

The practice team

There are nurses in the team who are able to prescribe diabetes medications.

The diabetes lead for the practice is Dr Keene.

Specialist care

If there is a particular problem identified with your diabetes care that we cannot help you within the practice, then we will refer you to a specialist service.

For the majority of specialist problems we use Leeds Community Healthcare diabetes service, though for some people we also refer to Wharfedale General Hospital or St. James’s.

Self help and support groups

There are 8,760 hours in a year and over a year you will only spend 2 to 3 hours receiving support and advice about your diabetes from professionals. The vast majority of care comes from ‘self care’.

We suggest that all people who develop diabetes should attend the self-management education programme, which is 6 hours of extra education offered to those with a new diagnosis of diabetes (your nurse will mention it).

There is also a local PEP Diabetes support group as we recognise people live with diabetes for years and so need on-going support and advice.

Protect yourself from flu.

What is flu?

Flu occurs every year, usually in the winter, which is why it is sometimes called seasonal flu. It is a very infectious disease that can come on very quickly. The most common symptoms of flu are fever, chills, cough, headache, pains in your joints and muscles and extreme tiredness. Healthy people usually recover within 3 to 4 weeks, but some people can develop serious life-threatening complications and need to be admitted to hospital.

Colds are much less serious and usually start with a stuffy or a runny nose, sore throat and cough.

How do we prevent the spread of flu?

Flu is unpredictable and there can be different strains of the virus. However, over the last ten years, the flu vaccine has generally been very good at targeting the circulating strains.
The flu vaccine is available every year on the NHS to help protect adults and children who are most at risk of flu and its complications.

Can I have a free flu vaccination on the NHS?

Flu can affect anyone but if you have a long-term health condition flu can make it worse, even if the condition is well managed and you normally feel well.

We provide flu vaccines if you are:

• aged 65 or over,
• pregnant,
• aged 2, 3 or 4 (by nasal spray),
• over six months of age and have one of the following conditions:
  • chronic respiratory disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis and cystic fibrosis. Also, people with severe asthma who need to continuously or repeatedly use their inhaler, take steroid medication, or who have been admitted to hospital because of their asthma
  • chronic heart disease, including heart failure, congenital heart disease, and heart disease caused by high blood pressure
  • chronic kidney disease, such as kidney failure and people who have had a kidney transplant,
  • chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis,
  • chronic neurological diseases, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, motor neurone disease or multiple sclerosis,
  • diabetes
  • a suppressed immune system, due to disease or treatment. This includes people who have a damaged or no spleen, those people with HIV, people having chemotherapy or other immunosuppressant treatment, and those on high doses of steroid medication.
• very overweight with a BMI over 40.
• living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility (not including prisons, young offender institutions or university halls of residence),
• receive carer’s allowance or you are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill,

For more information please see the Department of Health Website.

Flu Clinic

Every autumn, around September, we start our flu clinics. We aim to vaccinate as many of those at risk, as indicated above.

You can book online if you are registered for online services, or call reception to make an appointment.
Keep an eye out under the news of this website for when the clinics start.

Some things are not covered by the NHS

Private Medical Services

You may have to pay a fee for certain services that are not covered by the NHS. These fees reflect the time it takes for the doctor to look at your medical records and some admin time.

Services include things like private health certificates, insurance claim forms, HGV/taxi medicals and some travel vaccinations.

This is our current list of Non NHS fees.

More information about why we charge can be found on the BMA website.

Private Medical Forms

There are also times when we are asked for information about a patient’s health, such as when you are applying for a mortgage or life insurance. We only do this with your permission and you have the right to see the report before it is sent. To avoid any delays, please make sure you sign the consent form that the company gives you.

Information for carers and the help we provide.

Who is a carer?

Many carers are not known by their GP practice as there is confusion around how to define the term ‘carer’.

A carer is a person of any age (including children) who provides unpaid support to a partner, relative, friend or neighbour who couldn’t get by without their help. This could be due to old age, frailty, disability, a serious health condition, mental ill health or substance misuse. Parents of children who are disabled or who have a serious health condition are also considered to be carers.

It is estimated that 10% of patients are carers.

Improving carer identification

As a practice, we want to increase the number of people on our carers’ register so that we can look after you better. We do this by:

• Asking patients with long-term conditions to name their carers
• Running awareness-raising campaigns to get carers to tell us about their caring responsibilities

What we offer to improve healthcare for carers

• Flu vaccination – most carers are eligible for a free flu vaccination to protect themselves and the person they care for
• Regular health check appointments to help you keep fit and well
• More flexible appointments
• Carer support groups
• Referrals to carers’ services for more specialised information, advice and support

Dedicated services for carers

If you care for someone and would like additional support then the following services may help

• Carers Leeds
• Carers Trust

Services available to help with bereavement.

Online

For general advice about bereavement you might find the NHS choices article on bereavement useful.

If you are looking for advice about dealing with the practical aspects (such as legal issues) of someone dying then try the Bereavement Advice Centre.

The Leeds Bereavement Forum collates allot of information on the services available in Leeds.

In person

There are also several organisations and charities that provide specialist advice and support to those that have been bereaved:

• Cruse (bereavement care in Leeds area)
• Sands (stillbirth and neonatal death charity)
• The Compassionate Friends
• Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service » Leeds Suicide Bereavement Service (lslcs.org.uk)
• Child Bereavement UK
• Winston’s Wish (for bereaved children)

Advocacy means helping another person to communicate their views and wishes.

GPs often act as advocates for patients when dealing with issues in the hospital or by making sure that their patients’ and/or families’ voices are heard when a decision is needed about their care.

Advocacy involves looking at choices together and helping patients to make decisions. It may be writing a letter of support or communicating on behalf of the patient.

When advocates who are not part of social services or the NHS are needed, they can be found in Leeds at:

• Advonet
• Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust -Complaints, comments, compliments or concerns (leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk)

Additional support as you get older.

Clinical Care Co-ordinators

As you get older the range of problems you face can grow, to the point where it might be difficult to cope, know what to do for the best, or make it difficult for you to leave your house.

We have a small team of nurses at the practice who support older people with complex needs to sort out problems you can find yourself faced with.

The sorts of things they can help you with are

• Mobility issues
• Memory problems
• Loneliness and isolation
• Housing issues
• Practical issues such as help dressing and cleaning
• Health issues

Their role is to help you understand the range of services available and support you in deciding the best course of action.

If you feel they could be of help then ask your Dr to put you in touch.

District Nurses

District Nurses carry out many roles for housebound patients, including:

• General nursing procedures and investigations
• Post-surgery care
• Assessment of patients’ needs
• Care for terminally ill patients
• Loaning of equipment
• Looking after wounds and leg ulcers
• Educating patients about self-care

Referrals can be made by a Dr or nurse at the practice, patients themselves or by carers and family members.

Dementia services

It is very important that anyone who has problems with their memory has a proper assessment. If these problems are due to dementia then early diagnosis and referral have many benefits for the patient, their carer(s) and family. It can help them to plan and access the treatment and support they need and to improve their quality of life.

Please book with one of Dr’s who can make the initial assessment and refer you to the memory clinic if needs be.

Adult Social Care

Leeds city council help people aged over 18 to live as well as possible with their illness, disability or other problems. It can include help with things like washing, dressing, eating, getting out and about and keeping in touch with family and friends.

Adults who may need extra care and support include:

• Older people
• People with learning disabilities
• People with physical disabilities
• People with mental health problems
• People with drug and/or alcohol issues
• Carers

They offer a wide range of support and help and their adults and health page is a good place to start.

Or call them 0113 222 4401 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)

This can be done by you, a family member, a friend.

If you have difficulty using the telephone please email them at [email protected].

AVSED

Aireborough Voluntary Services to the Elderly (AVSED) is a charity working across Aireborough (including Yeadon, Rawdon and Guiseley; LS19 and LS20 postcodes)

Their aim is to prevent social isolation of local older people and help them live happy, healthy and independent lives.

Health checks for people with a diagnosed problem

If you have one of the following conditions then you will be invited for an annual health check.

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Kidney disease
• Heart disease
• Asthma
• Chronic bronchitis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Learning disabilities
• Dementia
• Severe mental health problems

We invite all people for their annual health check in the same month as their birthday. You may need a blood test before the appointment, in which case the invite will say this.

The appointment will be 20 minutes long, however if you have more than one problem it will be longer.

Linking Leeds is a city-wide social prescribing service for anyone aged 16+ and registered to a GP surgery in Leeds. We are currently offering telephone appointments to link you with services and activities within your community to improve and maintain your health and wellbeing. This includes: 

• Housing Matters
• Money Management Skills
• Meaningful activities
• Social activities 
• Emotional and Mental Wellbeing
• Healthy Lifestyle 
• Coronavirus support: If the spread of the coronavirus has left you feeling isolated, worried or without essentials including food and utilities. 

If you would like to book an appointment or have any questions, you can contact us on 0113 336 7612 or make an online referral at https://bit.ly/LinkingLeeds.