Services

Patients wishing to quit smoking can see the Practice Nurse for help. We provide a full range of nicotine replacement therapy accompanied by 2 weekly follow-ups to help patients stay motivated in their endevour to quit smoking and improve their quality of life.

The practice provides a nurse led Diabetic service primarily for patients with Type 2 diabetes. We provide support for those patients with Type 1 diabetes who are primarily managed by the hospital. There are also joint diabetic reviews with the community Diabetic specialist nurse, a doctor from St. Thomas’s Endocrine department, and the practice Nurse practitioner once every 2 months.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is the result of damage to the lungs caused by smoking. We provide nurse led clinics to help with smoking cessation. We also provide clinics to assess the damage and initiate appropriate treatment and support. We have a clinic every week led by a doctor and a nurse who specialise in COPD. We have access to pulmonary rehabilitation courses which take patients through a 6 week exercise programme to maximize lung capacity.

We provide cardiovascular disease risk checks which involve taking a history to assess your risk, measuring your blood pressure and weight, and usually arranging a blood test to check for cholesterol level and diabetes. We are then able to offer advice and treatment for diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and exercise which are all part of living healthily.

We also offer other more specific screening checks such as sexual health screening and advice for 16 to 25 year olds. Alternatively if you wish to have a full sexual health check you can attend the Lydia clinic at St Thomas’s hospital without an appointment.

We are able to carry out medical examinations for HGV drivers, PSV drivers, and Taxi drivers for the London Carriage Office. We also perform diving medicals for those who wish to do their PADI qualification. In addition, we provide medicals for patients who are taking out critical illness cover and life insurance. Reception is able to provide you with the cost of these medicals.

We are able to offer the full range of contraceptive options, from contraceptive pills, depot injections, implanon insertions / removals and intra-uterine devices.

For further information and advise and to help you decide what method of contraception you would prefer, book an appointment with a doctor or nurse.
 
We also provide full sexual health screening for male and female patients of any age. If you have symptoms and are concerned or would simply like a check up, book an appointment with one of the doctors or nurses and we can arrange for a full sexual health screening check for you.

We can test for Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Thrichomoniasis, Syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B and C, herpes and warts.

We also offer Chlamydia self test kits for 16-24year olds that can be picked up from reception or given to you when you see one of the doctors or nurses.

Additional resource for sexual health for young people- http://uchooseonline.co.uk/

Cervical screening is a national screening programme aimed at detecting pre-cancerous changes at the cervix. If abnormalities are detected treatment can be initiated and thereby help prevent cancer.

All women between the ages 25-64yrs are recommended to have a cervical screening.

From ages 25-49 this is 3 yearly and 50-64yrs 5 yearly.

At present it is not recommended for women under the age of 25yrs as changes in the young cervix is normal.

Women over 64yrs who have had 3 consecutive negative cervical smears are taken out of the re-call system as the natural history and progression of cervical cancer means that such women are unlikely to develop the disease.

If a woman has never been sexually active the risk of developing cervical cancer is low but not obsolete. If a woman is not currently sexually active but has been in the past she still should have cervical screening.

Cervical screening is performed by taking a sample of cells from the cervix (neck of the womb). It is done by inserting an instrument (speculum) to open the vagina and then a brush is used to sweep around the cervix.

If we know when your last cervical smear was taken and the result you should receive a re-call letter inviting you to book for a smear when it is next due. When your smear is due, book an appointment with a doctor or nurse when you are not menstruating and we will perform the smear for you.

Should you receive an abnormal result, please do not hesitate to contact a clinician for further information to help you correctly interpret it.

A baby clinic is run at the Surgery every Wednesday at 1pm. This is to immunise children and to ensure they are up to date with their childhood vaccinations. It is very important for children to have all their routine childhood immunisations as this is the most effective way of keeping them protected against infections diseases.
 
Ideally, children should have their jabs at the right age to protect them as early as possible and minimise the risk of infection. Mothers who cannot come on Wednesdays can book a regular appointment with the nurse on any other day.

Immunisation Quick Guide

Travel clinic slots are by appointment only. This service is provided every day of the week.
Vaccinations are not needed every time you travel abroad. If you do happen to need a jab the type of travel jab you need depends of which country you are visiting and your activities while there. It is important to see the nurse for travel health advice well in advance so your vaccine can work properly.

We currently offer cryotherapy for some warts and verrucas in monthly clinics held at the practice. Please ask at reception for details of the next clinic or speak to your GP by phone or appointment if you would like advice about the lesion you are worried about. Some of our GPs do injections for joints and remove some skin lesions with a cautery device during normal clinic appointments.

Minor procedures which require cutting out lesions such as moles or fatty lumps are done locally with a referral from your GP. Please make an appointment with your GP if you wish to discuss this further.

We have a practice counselling service with a counsellor who has a clinic in the practice once a week to help you talk through emotional issues including bereavement and depression. Please make an appointment with your GP for a referral if you wish to make use of this service.

We also have access to a variety of more specialist psychotherapy services including CBT available locally on the NHS. If you have more particular issues such as depression and anxiety, phobias, anger management, post-traumatic stress, or other problems then these services may well be appropriate. Again please make an appointment with your GP if you think you have concerns that may be helped by this service.

A note on confidentiality-

It is the policy of Lambeth Walk Group Practice that all patients can expect that any information given to a member of staff will be held in a secure and confidential manner.
We are here to listen and not to tell. Even if you are under 16 years old, we are here to provide a confidential service for you.

This means that nothing will be said to anyone including parents/ teachers / family members etc. without your permission.

The only reason why we might have to consider passing on information without your permission would be to protect you or some-one else from serious harm. We would always discuss this with you first.

We have service policies about confidentiality, which our staff have agreed with. We deal with breaches in confidentiality very seriously.