Clinics & Services

Managing life with a health condition isn’t always easy. Understanding and keeping track of medications, treatments, tests and appointments with healthcare professionals are important, but also a health condition can affect our emotions, how we feel about ourselves, our social life, hobbies and day to day routines at home. Feeling confident managing all of that can be a challenge.

At The Wellbridge Practice we have a health coach as part of our team. Clinical healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses can be really important to help us manage the medical aspects of our health, and health coaches can help us manage the emotional and practical impact in our day to day life.

The health coaches are there to support people with health conditions to feel more confident, and have lots of experience talking about a whole range of subjects:

• managing pain and fatigue
• preparing for appointments
• accessing information to understand conditions and treatments
• feeling more confident getting out and about
• building a network of support around you
• accepting and coming to terms with having a health condition

Our health coach, Karen, supports surgeries across the Purbeck area, and is a part of our team here to support you. Lots of patients and their carers say how hard it is when healthcare professionals only have ten minutes, but health coaches have up to 45 mins for each session to listen to you and support you.

Sessions with our health coach might be for you if you…

• have a long term health condition or are a carer for someone with a health condition
• don’t feel very confident about coping with your health condition
• would like the chance to talk to someone for more than 10 mins who is focussed on seeing you as a whole person.

Your GP, practice nurse or any member of the Wellbridge team can refer you to the Health Coach, so if you are interested in this, please mention it to one of the team.

The Diabetic Eye Screening Programme is operated by Health Intelligence (commissioned by NHS England). If you are eligible, and are referred by the practice, the service will contact you directly to invite you for screening.

We run an in house, nurse led service for the treatment of venous ulcers. This covers the dressing and on-going assessment of leg ulcers. 

Some patients are eligible for a full NHS Healthcheck, these are for patients aged 40-74 and who have not previously been diagnosed with certain conditions, ie high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, dementia, or previously had a stroke. The NHS Healthcheck will help identify your risk of developing such conditions, the check will involve a blood sample and blood pressure being taken.

If you would like a healthcheck but are outside of the eligible age range above, or have already been diagnosed with one or more of the conditions listed above you can still book in for a well person check with one of the practice nurses, this would be a check of your blood pressure, height and weight, and family history. The nurse can discuss with you your eligibility for certain screening, ie cholesterol, cervical screening and breast check, but any screening is likely to be undertaken at a later appointment.

Both types of check are completely free, please call reception who will be able to identify if you are eligible for the full NHS Healthcheck, or book you in for a well person check if necessary.

Please complete the health questionnaire you received when you registered, and you are welcome to book in to see the Practice Nurse for a health check as listed above. This helps us to get any information we need from your last doctor and spot potential health problems early on.

If you are a new patient and require medication you need to book in with a GP to ensure your medications are offered at the correct time so your medication doesn’t run out.

We can offer details of local Smokestop services which are available to help patients who wish to give up smoking.  Please ask at reception for details.

Tuesday afternoon – There are some tests and other advice recommended for women who may be thinking of planning a baby. The aim is to ensure maximum health of your new baby.

Every third Thursday afternoon, first floor of the surgery from 2pm-3.30pm with the Health Visitor.

Smears are usually performed by the practice nurse, or may be done by a doctor. The test can detect cell changes in the cervix (neck of the womb) that can sometimes lead to cancer. If the changes are present, treatment is nearly always simple, effective, and without major surgery – this is a preventative test to stop cancer before it starts. We recommend a test every THREE or FIVE years.

If you are a woman aged between 25 – 65, then you are probably one of the eight out of ten who have had your smear test already. If you are one of the other two and still uncertain, why not make an appointment with a Practice Nurse or your Doctor and talk about it first? It is most important at any age – and we would especially encourage ladies aged 45 to 65 to have a smear.

Patients who have had a total hysterectomy do not usually need a smear. Ask your doctor if you are not sure.

Confidential advice on contraception (including emergency contraception, teenage, and menopause contraception) is available from the doctors, the nurse practitioner and practice nurses.

For emergency contraception during out of hours please telephone Dorset Emergency Care Service on 111

There is an IUCD (coil) fitting service available currently run by Dr French. If you are interested in the 3 year contraceptive implant then do please contact us for further information

Please see your doctor who will arrange any treatment needed. Some minor skin operations can be done at the surgery. (Cosmetic surgery is not done here but we can advise on a hospital specialist who is able to do this.)

We offer an initial assessment of casualty type injuries within surgery opening hours.  We will then either offer the next available appointment to see the Practice Nurse, for any treatment that may be necessary, or advise you to go to the nearest hospital casualty department.  See the minor injuries section for what we can treat.

The nearest full scale Accident and Emergency Department is in Dorchester.

(The next nearest full service is at Poole. There are nurse-led minor injuries departments at Weymouth and at Swanage but these have a more restricted service.)

Children’s vaccinations take place on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings by appointment or at other times if an appointment is made with the Practice Nurse.

Adult vaccinations are done by appointment with the practice nurse. In case of injury you may require a tetanus vaccination, although normally a full course of three followed by two booster doses at 10-year intervals are all that is required for lifelong protection.

We particularly recommend this for patients of all ages with heart, chest or kidney disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases. It is also recommended for all people aged over 65 years, and for residents of nursing and rest homes. Please contact the reception staff in October for details of the dates of our flu vaccination clinics.