Clinics & Services

All GP practices are contracted to provide essential services for the basic treatment of ill people.

The management of long term conditions (i.e. asthma, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure etc) is led and provided by the nursing team with the support of the GPs and the Pharmacist.

We also provide the following additional services:

Child health surveillance & immunisations -  together with the health visitor

Contraceptive services

Maternity services - antenatal and postnatal clinics  together with the midwives from the Lorn and Islands Hospital.

Travel immunisation for adults - please note that not all travel vaccinations are available on the NHS.

Cervical smears 

Freezing of warts and other small skin lesions

We also hold contracts with NHS Highland for the following additional services:

Annual flu immunisation - for the elderly and those at risk

Regular monitoring - by blood and urine tests, of patients on a range of drugs for arthritis and bowel problems

Regular reviews for patients with drug abuse problems

IUCD removal

Minor surgery

Injections - muscles/tendons/joints

Invasive procedures - incisions/excisions

Outreach clinics are also available for physiotherapy, chiropody and mental health services and are held in the practice, although not in all surgeries. Referrals to these clinics are made following consultation with your GP, although self referral to physiotherapy and chiropody is available in some circumstances.

Travel Vaccinations

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your travel arrangements. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below

Europe & Russia	North America
Central America	South America
Caribbean	Africa
Middle East	Central Asia
East Asia	Australasia and Pacific

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible - at least 6 weeks before you travel - as a second appointment will be required with the practice nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

Some travel vaccines and malaria tablets are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge. This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.  A one-off fee of £20.00 is charged per person (children will not be charged), which includes standard Hepititis A, Tetanus/Diptheria/Polio and Typhoid vaccines.  Depending on where you are travelling to, there may be some vaccines which will have a separate charge attached.  The nurse will inform you of these.

Travel Health Questionnaire

 To help us offer the appropriate advice, please fill out the online form before coming to see the nurse.

Travel Questionnaire

Travelling in Europe

If you are travelling to Europe a very useful booklet has been published with advice and guidance to help you get the most out of your holiday. To download a PDF version please click:-

http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/travelling-in-europe-2012-13-pbNA3011314/

Occupational Health Service

We provide a full range of occupational health services from our Connel Surgery

Please contact our Occupational Health administrator Shiralene Cave, 01631 710229 to arrange an appointment or discuss your requirements.

Approved provider for:

• Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Other Non-NHS Services

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
• Passport signing
• Prescriptions for taking medication abroad
• Private sick notes
• Vaccination certificates
• HAVS Medical Assessment

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

Request Medical RecordsInformation Sharing

The Practice complies with the Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation. Identifiable information about you will only be shared with others in the following circumstances: 

• To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. to and from district nurses and hospital services 
• To help you benefit from other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent 
• When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases

Emergency Care Summaries

Emergency care summaries (ECS) are copied from the practice computer system and stored electronically. This allows NHS staff to look at pertinent information when your GP surgery is closed. They must ask you if you agree to this BEFORE they look at your information.

The ECS contains the following: 

• Your name 
• Your date of birth 
• The name of your GP surgery 
• An identifying number (known as a CHI number) 
• Information about medicines prescribed for you by your GP 
• Any bad reactions you have had to medicines

As a patient, you are automatically enrolled in ECS unless you specifically ask not to be. Should you wish to opt out, please contact the Practice Manager. Anonymous patient information will also be used at local and national level to enable the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care. If you do NOT wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Patient Confidentiality

Information on all our patients is held on computer by the practice. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you may have access to this information. Your medical records are confidential and are only seen by members of the Primary Health Care team involved in your care. However, as a teaching and training Practice, there will be times when other professionals have access to your records. These include: 

• Medical students - to support their learning 
• Audit assistants or medical visitors – to ensure high standards of care are being maintained by the Practice
• Research assistants – as part of approved research projects.

Everyone with access to records is bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the Primary Health Care Team. You have the right to object in writing to such access and your objections will be respected except where access is essential to protect you or someone else from risk of serious harm or death.

No identifiable information will leave the Practice premises except when required for home visits by GP or nurse.

The practice is involved in training. You may find from time to time that the doctor you are seeing is consulting with a student present who will be either an under or post-graduate (i.e. newly qualified doctor). You may be asked for your consent to record your consultation either on audio or video tape. As part of the assessment for their final year in general practice fully qualified doctors use videos of consultations for training purposes. You will always be asked prior to any consultation and you will be at no disadvantage should you decline. You may also withdraw your consent after the consultation if you so wish and the recording will be erased. Videos are treated with the same level of confidentiality as medical records