Other Information

Patient Choice

You can now choose where to have your treatment if you are referred to a specialist. This choice is available for most specialities and you will receive further information from the secretaries if you and your GP decide you need further care.

This choice will include the Royal Berkshire Hospital along with other NHS hospitals in Oxford, Newbury, Slough, Basingstoke and Swindon amongst others. The choice also includes private providers in the area. In the future it is likely that this choice will increase to include other hospitals further afield.

The information you receive from your GP will help you choose between these hospitals.

NHS DIRECT

NHS Direct is a 24-hour nurse-led telephone helpline (0845 4647) providing confidential healthcare advice and information on:

• What to do if you are feeling ill
• Health concerns for you and your family
• Local health issues
• Self-help and support organisations

You are encouraged to use this service.

When you call NHS Direct you are asked to provide some basic information about yourself and to describe the nature of your call. If you need advice about a health problem, you are asked if you are calling for yourself or on behalf of someone else and are required to explain:

• What the symptoms are, how they are affecting the patient and when they began
• What the patient is already taking
• Details of any existing medical conditions
• Anything else you think might be relevant

NHS Direct nurses use their skills and expertise together with a comprehensive computer system to advise you on the most appropriate course of action to take.

The service has its own website at: www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

PATIENTS WITH DISABILITIES

To Get Help And Advice For People With Disabilities Contact Social Services on 0118 974 6800.
As we get older or if we are born with a physical disability or become disabled through an accident, many questions spring to mind about aids and equipment and how to find them. The following is a small sample of what is available.

Large Print The contents of our booklet can be provided in larger print for those patients who have difficulty in reading standard print. Please ask our practice manager.

Hearing Aids Hearing aids are available from the NHS following referral by a GP or nurse and assessment at the local hospital. Replacement batteries can be provided from the surgery once you have been issued with an aid.

Wheelchairs Manual wheelchairs are available from the NHS. Your doctor will refer you for an assessment to the wheelchair clinic at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. You will be provided with a basic chair for your needs or given an option of a voucher towards the cost of purchasing one.

Walking Sticks, Crutches and Walking Frames These are available from the NHS. Ideally you will have been assessed by a physiotherapist to see which is best suited for your needs. Remember to replace the ferrules as they wear out and might become slippery on wet surfaces. Your physiotherapist will advise you but you can buy ferrules from places like Boots (ask for the "Aids for Living" catalogue) or Shopmobility in Reading.

Bath Aids If you are going to need equipment long term, you are advised to ask your GP or hospital consultant for a Social Services assessment. In the short term, it might be possible to hire things like bath boards, shower seats etc from the Red Cross. Many items can be purchased from locally based companies such as Redland Healthcare.

Specialised Equipment and Environmental Controls Things like voice-activated telephones, specially adapted light switches and power sockets, larger remote controls for your TV etc are also available from Social Services or you can buy them from locally based companies such as RehabTeq.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

NURSE TRAINING

From time to time student nurses may be invited to join the practice to gain experience in general medical practice, community nursing, health visiting and midwifery.

MEDICAL STUDENT TRAINING

Occasionally, we invite medical students in their later years of training to join the practice in order to gain experience in all aspects of general medical practice. A GP or fully qualified nurse will always accompany these students.