Opening times, making appointments and what to do when we are closed

Combs Ford Surgery
Combs Lane
Stowmarket
IP14 2SY
Tel: 01449 678333

News:

Chlamydia Screening

Are you aged 15-24? If yes, please contact the surgery and ask to make an appointment for your free chlamydia test. It only takes a few minutes to do and results are sent to you confidentially.

Cervical Screening Programme

We recommend that all women aged between 25 and 64 regularly attend for cervical screening. Cervical screening has reduced cancer rates by 50% since it first began. You will be written to inviting you to attend either every 3 years or 5 years dependent on your age. When you receive your letter, please telephone the surgery to make an appointment with the practice nurse.

Announcements

01 Sep - 01 Oct
NHS Smokefree

Find out about all of the free NHS services available to support you as you go try to give up smoking.

01 Aug - 01 Oct
NHS Summer Health

Stay safe in the sun, including sunscreens, sunburn relief, heat exhaustion, eczema and moles. Summer holidays are great fun for children, but can bring risks. Find out more

01 Jul - 01 Oct
Change for Life

Would you like loads of tips and help to make changes for a healthier future? As part of Change4Life, you will receive tons of helpful information, recipes, tools, tips, and games for the kids.

BBC Health

UK radiotherapy 'lagging behind'

Too few UK cancer patients are receiving state-of-the-art radiotherapy care, experts from Cancer Research UK say.

ME 'virus link' found in children

ME, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in children could be caused by a virus, scientists say.

Gaps persist in cancer survival

Despite significant improvements in cancer survival rates across England, regional differences remain, national statistics show.

'Genetic link' to breast cancer

Researchers have identified a series of genetic variations which may play a role in a common breast cancer.

Bipolar 'not linked to violence'

People with a mental illness are no more likely to be violent unless they abuse drugs or alcohol, a study suggests.

NHS in Wales faces £380m cutbacks

The Welsh NHS faces making £380m worth of cutbacks by April, with managers saying it is the biggest challenge they have faced in 20 years.

Diabetes drug advice 'not heeded'

A type two diabetes drug is still being prescribed in the UK two months after it was recommended for withdrawal, BBC Panorama learns.

Junior medics 'leaving training'

Nearly one in four junior doctors drop out of their NHS training after two years, figures show.

Gum and heart link 'breakthrough'

Scientists say they have established one reason why gum disease may increase the risk of heart disease.

Reading Arabic 'hard for brain'

Israeli scientists believe they have identified why Arabic is particularly hard to learn to read.

Yahoo Health

US smoking rate still stuck at 1 in 5 adults (AP)

AP - U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday.

FDA cites claims on 2 green tea beverages (AP)

AP - Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages.

FDA relents from midodrine withdrawal plan (AP)

AP - Federal regulators have backed off a plan to remove a Shire PLC low blood-pressure treatment from the market after warning in August that the drug has not been proven effective.

Judge won't let stem cell money keep flowing (AP)

AP - A federal judge has turned down the Justice Department's request to temporarily delay his order that could shut down federal funding for some stem cell research.

Japan confirms its first case of new superbug gene (AP)

AP - Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.

Picking right blood pressure medicine challenging (AP)

AP - It's hard to predict which pills will best lower which patient's high blood pressure, but researchers are hunting ways to better personalize therapy — perhaps even using a blood test.

The Down Side to Downsizing Your Waistline (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Weight loss may have an unwanted side effect, according to a new study in the journal Nature: It may send a flood of environmental pollutants into the bloodstream.

For Bonobo Males, Mom Is the Best Wingman (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - To most human males, the thought of your mother anywhere near your sex life is probably horrifying. Not so for the bonobo, one of our closest primate relatives. A new study confirms that hanging out with mom boosts male bonobos' chances of getting intimate with a fertile female.

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 7, 2010 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Lack of Sleep May Be Linked to Childhood Obesity (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Infants and preschoolers who don't get enough sleep at night are at increased risk for later childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

MedPage Today

Adult Smoking Hits Plateau

(MedPage Today) -- One in five U.S. adults continues to smoke tobacco -- a percentage that hasn't budged since 2005 -- suggesting that more aggressive efforts are needed to reduce smoking-related diseases and deaths, the CDC said.

Pandemic H1N1 Similar to Seasonal Strains (CME/CE, with video)

(MedPage Today) -- In general, the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus did not cause more serious disease than other recent influenza A strains, researchers found.

Nevirapine Reuse Possible in Exposed Children With HIV (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In most HIV-infected children being exposed at birth to nevirapine (Viramune) doesn't rule out using the drug again later, researchers reported.

PCV-7 Vaccine May Promote Serotype 19A Infection (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Infants receiving a three-dose regimen of heptavalent PCV-7 pneumococcal vaccine were more likely than unvaccinated controls to pick up a nonvaccine pneumococcal strain associated with invasive infection and antibiotic resistance, researchers said.

More Human Trials Needed for HIV Vaccine Hunt

(MedPage Today) -- HIV vaccine researchers are calling for more and better human trials as part of the quest for ways to block transmission of the virus.

Patients Expect More from PCI than It Delivers (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Cardiologists fully understand the limits of percutaneous coronary interventions -- but their patients are often overly optimistic about the benefits of PCI, a new survey revealed.

Splint Matches Cast for Kids' Wrist Fractures (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In children with wrist fractures, a splint works as well as a cast, researchers reported.

Behcet's Takes Higher Toll in Men (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Men with Behçet's disease are much more likely than women to die of this chronic multisystem vasculitis, a large French study found.

City Living Can Drive You Crazy (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Increased social fragmentation in large cities is a large part of the reason that psychotic disorders are more common in urban areas, researchers have suggested.

Tapentadol Eases OA Pain (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- The centrally acting, extended-release analgesic tapentadol provided effective pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis, but with fewer of the gastrointestinal side effects seen with oxycodone, a phase III study found.

Opening Hours

Appointments

Home Visits

Out of Hours Care

Normal Surgery Hours

	Morning	Afternoon
Monday	08:00 - 13:00	13:00 - 18:30
Tuesday	08:00 - 13:00	13:00 - 18:30
Wednesday	08:00 - 13:00	13:00 - 18:30
Thursday	08:00 - 13:00	13:00 - 18:30
Friday	08:00 - 13:00	13:00 - 18:30

Extended Opening Hours - Tuesday 07.00-08.00 and Saturday 08.00-11.00

'Extended hours' surgeries - these appointments are in addition to our normal service. It is hoped that those patients that can be seen during normal opening hours will continue to do so. This service is specifically designed for those patients who find it difficult to attend a routine/ review appointment during normal working hours. Appointments must be pre-booked in advance. Please note that you will not be seen without a pre-booked appointment under any circumstances.

Click Here to book/cancel your appointment online

Appointments

You now have a choice of how to book a Doctor's appointment -

Via the Receptionist by phoning 01449 678333 and hold the line. You can ring between 8am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Via the new automated telephone system 01449 678333 and press "1". You can ring 24 hours per day to make , check or cancel an appointment.
Via the internet by registering for a unique password. You can book 24 hours per day.

A range of appointments are offered - "pre bookable" and "on the day".

We may offer

An appointment with our Nurse Practitioner who can help with minor illness/minor injuries, e.g. sore throats, chest and urinary infections.
To talk to a Doctor or Nurse on the telephone for help and advice.
An appointment with the Doctor. Our Reception Staff are happy to advise you of your Doctor’s availability
Urgent cases are seen on the day and you may be seen by your normal doctor or our Duty Doctor.
We offer a number of pre-bookable appointments for those patients needing to know the exact date and time of their appointment, i.e. to arrange transport.

Click Here to book/cancel your appointment online

To help us make your appointment as quickly as possible please consider the following

Let us know if more than one person in the family needs to be seen. We can give you a longer appointment if necessary.
Tell us if you want someone to accompany you during an examination or a private room to discuss any matters. Remember that the results of tests can only be given to the patient.
You can book to have a telephone consultation with a doctor. He or she will ring you at an agreed time on the telephone number you have given.

You can help us by:

Being on time for your appointment
Letting us know if you need to cancel
Calling for a home visit or urgent appointment before 10am
Ringing for a repeat prescription after 11am
Ringing for the results of tests after 11am. Reception staff will able to let you know whether the test is back but not the result.

Evening and weekends

An Out of Hours Doctor service is offered for all patients registered with our practice when our practice is closed. For urgent advice and treatment, please call the usual Surgery number and you will be given the telephone number to use.

Home Visits

Please telephone with your request for a visit before 10.00am if possible. Please give the name and address of the patient and be prepared to give some idea of why a visit is needed. This helps our doctors understand the urgency of the case. Visits should only be requested for urgent treatment/care and where possible patients should try to come into the surgery to see their doctor.

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit.

consultation

New Out of Hours Provider From April 2010

You may have seen in the news recently that NHS Suffolk has commissioned a company called Harmoni to provide care for patients when Doctor’s surgeries are closed.

The service will operate between 6.30pm and 8.00am Monday to Friday, and all day at weekends and bank holidays.

From 6.30pm on 1st April 2010 if you need to

seek urgent medical advice you need to dial the following

number—

0300 130 3066

You can also dial the main surgery number and you will be given the number to dial.

Announcements

BBC Health

Yahoo Health

MedPage Today

Normal Surgery Hours

Extended Opening Hours - Tuesday 07.00-08.00 and Saturday 08.00-11.00

Appointments

Evening and weekends

Home Visits

Practice Information