Child Health Checks

Appointments are sent out automatically by the practice and the local health authority for routine child health checks.

The first will be with a GP at the practice when your baby is around 6 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 development checks, including baby checks at 6-8 weeks, are performed by GPs by appointment.

You will be sent a text message or a letter inviting you to attend an appointment at the practice for a postnatal examination and baby check. Baby immunisations may also be available at the same time.

Childhood Immunisations

Immunisations are given by our Practice Nurses or other Healthcare Professionals in accordance with the NHS vaccine schedule.

If you choose not to vaccinate your child this leaflet may be helpful.

Not sure what to do if your child is unwell?

The NHS cervical screening programme invites women from age 25 to 64 for cervical screening. You get an invite every 3 years if you are aged 25 to 49. After that, you get an invite every 5 years until the age of 64. You need to be registered with a GP to get your screening invitations.

Cervical screening is also for anyone within this age range who has a cervix, such as trans men and non-binary people. You can talk to your GP about this or visit Trans and non-binary cancer screening | Cancer Research UK for more information.

To arrange a cervical screening appointment, please contact the Practice.

NHS Health Checks provided by your primary care team at Upton Surgery are available to book now. You will be invited via SMS or letter.

Everyone is at risk of developing heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes or kidney disease, but these diseases can often be prevented. 

An NHS Health Check provided by your primary care team can help you by assessing your risk and giving you personalised advice on how to reduce your risk.

The NHS Health Check is for adults in England between the ages of 40 and 74 who are not already receiving primary care for a cardiovascular condition.

Minor Injuries

The Practice provides a Minor Injuries Service for patients.

Treatment can be provided for:

• Minor cuts and bruises
• Dislocation of fingers
• Foreign bodies in eye/other parts
• Wounds requiring more than a plaster to dress
• Minor burns
• Animal bites
• Crushed toes/fingers/nails

All patients with minor injuries will be assessed and treated on arrival by a nurse or doctor as appropriate.

We do not have the facilities to treat some moderate or any severe injuries.

Minor Surgery

Several of the partners perform minor surgery, including cryotherapy, for a variety of conditions. Your registered doctor will discuss the options available with you.

Appointments are required for every procedure. 

All patients with minor injuries will be assessed and treated on arrival by a nurse or doctor as appropriate. You may be advised to attend Malvern Minor Injuries Unit or A and E at Worcester or Gloucester.

We do not have the facilities to treat some moderate or any severe injuries.

We offer a joint Mother and Baby Check between 6-8 weeks from birth. Please make contact with the practice, allowing 2-4 weeks in advance for your appointment. The appointment last 30 minutes.

What happens at a 6 to 8 weeks baby check?

Your baby will be invited for a thorough physical examination. This is usually done by a GP.

Your baby’s eyes, heart, hips and – for boys – testicles will be checked. They’ll also have their weight, length and head circumference measured.

A GP or health visitor will discuss your baby’s vaccinations with you. These are offered at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks and 12 months old, and before your child starts school.

What happens at your postnatal check?

• You’ll be asked how you’re feeling as part of a general discussion about your mental health and wellbeing.
• You’ll be asked if you still have any vaginal discharge and whether you have had a period since the birth.
• Your blood pressure will be checked if you had problems during pregnancy or immediately after the birth.
• You may be offered an examination to see if your stitches have healed if you had an episiotomy or caesarean section.
• If you were due for a cervical screening test while pregnant, this should be rescheduled for 12 weeks after the birth.
• You’ll be asked about contraception.

Find out more about your 6-week postnatal check on NHS.uk

Annually, during Autumn, we run a programme to vaccinate patients against influenza. All patients over 65 or in the ‘at risk’ categories are eligible for immunisation. The categories are Respiratory Disease including Asthma, Diabetes, Heart Disease or Renal Failure.

If you are over 65 you will also be eligible for a Pneumovax Immunisation (if you have not had this previously). Please mention this to the receptionists when you telephone us to make your appointment.

Is it for you?

Flu (influenza) is a very common illness that is highly infectious and spread by the coughs and sneezes of people who have it.

To protect people who are most at-risk of serious illness or death if they develop flu, the Department of Health recommends flu vaccination every year for everyone in the groups below:-

• People aged 65 years and over
   
• All those aged 6 months or older with the following conditions:-
  • Chest problems, including certain asthmatics on steroid inhalers or steroid tablets and those with chronic bronchitis or emphysema
  • Chronic heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Chronic liver disease
  • Chronic neurological disease
• People who are immunosuppressed, have no spleen or whose spleen does not work properly
   
• Pregnant women

Those in contact with people who may be at risk of developing serious complications from flu:

• People living in long stay residential care homes
• Carers
• Healthcare professionals

All doctors and advanced nurse practitioners offer advice on family planning and most methods of family planning.

Also several of our doctors fit intrauterine devices (coils) and contraceptive implants.

All of our practice nurses can advise you about the different types of contraception we can offer and signpost patients to a doctor if this is something they would like to discuss further.

Regular planned contraception is the simplest, most efficient way to avoid an unplanned pregnancy.

Diabetes is a serious illness that requires regular follow-up. We can provide most of this care within the practice, but we also use external services provided by outside agencies where appropriate.

The specialist nurse in the Diabetic Clinic will perform your annual check and blood test, management of co-existing diseases that impact upon diabetes, retinal eye screening services and referral for insulin support where needed.

It is very important to note that hospital-based diabetic clinics are moving away from full annual checks to a problem-solving approach. Therefore, even if you have been to a hospital clinic for an annual review, they are unlikely to have performed the complete range of tests that are recommended for annual follow-up. We very strongly encourage you to come to the annual check that we offer all diabetics, even if you have been seen in the hospital too.

There is lots of helpful information at the Diabetes UK website.

You can know your diabetes risk score, using the ‘know your risk’ tool on the Preventing Diabetes Website (all you need to know is your waist size and weight):

The new NHS Digital Weight Management Programme (DWMP) offers online access to tier 2 weight management services for those living with obesity plus diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure) or both. With three levels of support and a choice of Providers, it is designed to offer service users a personalised level of intervention to support them to manage their weight, improve quality of life and improve longer term health outcomes.

The aims of the programme

The programme offers online access to weight management services, to a large population living with obesity plus diabetes or hypertension or both, in order to support service users to manage or reduce their weight, and improve longer term health outcomes.
It aims to reduce health inequalities by providing additional human coaching for people with characteristics that suggest they may be less likely to complete behavioural and lifestyle change programmes designed to reduce and manage their weight. This includes people of younger (working) age, people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, men, and people living in more deprived communities.

The programme offers free, online access to weight management services for those who have a BMI greater than 30 and who also have diabetes or high blood pressure, or both. The BMI threshold will be lower at 27.5 for people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, as we know people from these ethnic backgrounds are at an increased risk of conditions such as Type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI. The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme is an accessible and convenient way to help you develop healthier eating habits, be more active and lose weight. You will only be able to access this programme if you have a smartphone or computer with internet access.

We provide blood tests for reviewing medication, monitoring long-term conditions and where requested by a GP to investigate symptoms.

Blood tests are carried out by our trained healthcare assistants in our Phlebotomy clinics.

The practice will only contact you about your test results if you need more tests or treatment.

How do I access my results?

Blood test results can be accessed online through the NHS App or by calling the surgery after 10am.

Should you need to discuss your blood test results with a doctor, we can arrange a results phone call for you.