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Clinics & Services

In addition to general medical consultations we are pleased to be able to provide specialist clinics and services covering the following areas:

  • Antenatal clinic – run by the midwife on Wednesday mornings. The doctor is available for consultation should the need arise.
  • Mother and baby clinics – run separately. We offer a full range of vaccinations, developmental assessments and post-natal checks.  Both mother and baby will be invited in for an appointment.
  • Asthma and diabetic clinics – run by an experienced practice nurse. The doctor is available should the need arise.
  • Flu vaccine clinic – held from September and is recommended for patients aged 65 and over, as well as those who have medical needs.
  • Travel vaccinations – we offer a travel vaccine service. Please plan at least two months ahead of your travels and make an appointment with the nurse.  There may be a charge for some vaccines.
  • Our Yellow Fever Clinic is currently suspended until further notice and the nearest Surgery offering Yellow Fever vaccinations is now Harold Road Surgery. Please contact them directly for advice on 01424 720878.
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  • Contraception – we offer a full range of contraception services and pre-conceptual advice. If you need emergency contraception please ask for a same day appointment, either with the doctor or nurse.
  • Counselling – There is a counsellor attached to the practice that patients can be referred to through the doctor.
  • Ear Microsuction – Currently suspended until further notice as per NHS guidelines.

 

Fit note (Sickness Certificates)

You do not require a doctor’s Fit Note for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a ‘Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work – ’Fit Note’

The ‘Fit Note’ was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer’s support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)

Non-NHS services

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with 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

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability. 

**Our practice does not complete the medical proforma in relation to any applications for firearms/shotgun license or a renewal of a license.

Private and non-GP requested blood tests:

The practice does not undertake blood tests for the hospital or as part of a private consultation (unless they are part of specified ongoing treatments involving a very limited number of drugs prescribed by GPs under specific shared care advice from consultants).

All tests that are required by the hospital must be undertaken by the hospital.

If you need blood tests as part of a private consultation you must arrange this with a private provider as the practice does not offer this service.

Why is this?

The clinician who requests the test is responsible for reading the results. The practice cannot and should not do hospital or private blood tests as the result would come back to the practice and not the clinician or private provider who requires them.  A general practice clinician cannot take responsibility for reading the test results for a specialist consultant or private service.

Some drugs (e.g. chemotherapy) may only be prescribed by hospital consultants because they require specialised monitoring blood tests and for your safety, such blood tests must be taken by the team at the hospital.

Please find a list and prices of our Non-NHS Services here.
Click here for prices

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 the countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible – at least 8 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 are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge. This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.

Please telephone our reception team and we will arrange a call with a specialist nurse to discuss your requirements.

Click here for more information on travel vaccinations

Subject Access Requests (SAR)

A SAR is a request that can be made in writing, by email or verbally asking for access to the personal information a company or organisation holds on you. This is a legal right that any individual in the UK is entitled to exercise at any point for free. 

You can ask someone else to submit a subject access request for you, for example, a solicitor or family member acting on your behalf. You may be asked to provide confirmation that you have asked them to do this.

Whilst a SAR gives you the right to obtain a copy of your personal data, it should be noted that there are other ways to obtain your health and care records. The NHS is seeking to empower people and transform their experience of health and care by giving them the ability to access, manage and contribute to digital tools, information and services – for example, most patients can now request access to their GP record online, including via the NHS App.

We will usually process your request within 30 days. As long as we have received proof of your identity. Identification should also be presented upon collection of your health records due to the sensitive nature of the information.

Following your request, we may write back to you within the 30-day time frame to request you to narrow or modify your requirements. This may also result in an extension of a further 60 days whilst we examine your request.

Information is provided in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), Chapter 3, Article 15 (Recitals 63 & 64).

If you require a SAR, please complete and send the following form to us.

DSAR application form - click here

Online records Access

The easiest way to get access is to your online medical records is to create an NHS login through the NHS app (link below). Although you can also access your GP records via the internet on a computer, the first bit is easiest if done through a smartphone. 

If you use the NHS app, you will have to set up an account using a unique e-mail address and then ‘authenticate’ yourself to the NHS system to prove you are who you say you are.

This will involve confirming your name, date of birth and contact details. The NHS login has several levels of authentication and to gain access to your records you will need the highest level of authentication. This generally involves you recording a short video of yourself to prove you are a real person as well as uploading a copy of a suitable identification document.

Once you have suitably authenticated yourself to the NHS app and created your NHS login you can approach your practice and ask for access.

We will ask you to complete a short application form and will assess whether having access to your record is safe for you.

Your request will be passed to the Patient Services Manager and Partners to review. It may be the practice wishes to contact you to discuss your request if there are any concerns raised so that access can be given safely.

We do not have a set time frame for processing these requests, however the team are working through them as quickly as they can.

As of November 2023, all approved requests will automatically have prospective access to detailed records.

 

NHS App

© Hastings & Rother Healthcare 2023

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