Chronic Disease Management
There are now quite a number of chronic disease clinics run by the Nursing Department. The point of these clinics is to help patients cope as well as possible with certain chronic diseases that they may have. We thought that you might like to know about these clinics as you may receive a letter inviting you to one or more of them.
Ischaemic Heart Disease Clinics
(Originally known as “The Heart Clinic”) This is an annual clinic consisting of two appointments for patients diagnosed with heart disease. The first appointment is for a fasting blood test, which requires you not to have eaten for 12-15 hours before the blood test with the Health Care Assistant. The second appointment takes place about ten days after the first and is the clinic appointment itself and is usually with one of the Practice Nurses.
Stroke Clinic
This is an annual double appointment clinic for patients who have had a stroke or mini-stroke. The two clinic appointments follow the same format as the heart disease clinic, that is a fasting blood test with the Health Care Assistant and a clinic appointment about ten days later with a Nurse.
Atrial Fibrillation Clinic
This is an annual double appointment clinic for patients who have Atrial Fibrillation. This clinic follows the same format as the heart disease and stroke clinics.
Diabetes Clinic
This is a six monthly appointment clinic for patients diagnosed with diabetes. If a diabetic patient is seen regularly at the hospital then they do not need to be seen at the surgery. Every patient sees a Nurse every six months and then once a year the patient is asked to make an appointment to see their GP two weeks later.
Click onto the left-hand icon for further free and impartial advice on Diabetes. Diabetes UK is the largest organisation in the UK working for people with diabetes, funding research, campaigning and helping people live with the condition.
Heart Failure Clinics
This is a new six monthly double appointment clinic for patients diagnosed with heart failure (where the heart does not pump efficiently). The first appointment is with a Practice Nurse and the second follow-up appointment takes place about a fortnight later with a patient’s GP.
Click onto the left-hand icon for further free and impartial advice on Heart Disease. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is the leading UK charity fighting heart and circulatory disease.
COPD Clinic
This is an annual clinic for patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (a smoking related lung disease). It usually consists of a single appointment with a nurse but sometimes another appointment is also required for a spirometry breathing test.
Asthma Clinic
This is an annual single appointment clinic for patients who have been diagnosed with asthma who have been using inhalers within the last year or so.
In recognition of the fact that some patients will have two or more of the above chronic diseases, we try to send patients combined appointments where possible. However, it is only practically possible to combine the first four clinics and not the last three. Therefore, a patient with heart disease who has also had a stroke will be sent two combined appointments each year instead of four.