There are still emergency options and urgent services available for your sexual health including young people if needed.

Salford’s Sexual Health service is currently operating from the Lance Burn Health Centre, Churchill Way, Salford but no walk-in services are available.

Appointments can be offered but please do not attend any appointments if you have any of the COVID-19 symptoms or are in the isolation period of seven or 14 days.

Staff will assess you by phone and will arrange for you to collect medication if necessary, by appointment only. 

You can contact the service on 01204 390771 or 0161 206 1099/1094 between 8am and 5pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 8am to 8pm on Tuesday and Thursday.

Saint Mary’s Hospital provides full maternity care for women including pre-conceptual counselling, antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care. This care is provided by obstetricians (doctors who specialise in the care of pregnant women) and midwives with areas of expertise in a particular field.

Obstetric Triage Department 

Telephone: 0161 276 6567 (24 hours)

If you are more than 20 weeks pregnant and booked under our care, you can speak to one of our midwives who will advise whether or not you need to attend the hospital.  Please have your pregnancy notes to hand when you call, as we make ask you to provide information from them.

Accident and Emergency Department

Your local Accident and Emergency department can still be used if you have an emergency or accident not related to your pregnancy (chest pain, difficulty breathing, collapse, etc). Always inform the staff in the department you are pregnant.  If your condition may affect your pregnancy, you will be referred to Triage for assessment.

Make sure you have your green handheld pregnancy notes with you at all times.

Termination of pregnancy

Deciding to have a termination can be a difficult decision to make. Talking through the options with a doctor or nurse at a contraception and sexual health clinic can help you to reach your decision.

Telephone: 0345 365 0565

This guide can help you understand the vaccines offered in the UK and when to have them. It also explains how they work and why they’re safe and important. If you have any questions or concerns regarding vaccinations, please contact us.

We operate a texting service for all of our patients to remind them of their appointments or of clinics that we run – we require your UK mobile phone number to do this (please note, we are unable to text or call non-UK numbers).

This facility also allows you to cancel your appointment via your phone, which saves you time.

If you do not wish to receive text messages, please let us know and we can update your details on our system.

The Practice cannot be held responsible for messages sent to or received by the wrong person.

New Data Protection Regulations from May 2018 (GDPR)

Under the new Data Protection Regulations introduced from 25th May 2018, we will continue to contact patients via text messages regarding the delivery of care if they have provided consent for us to do so.

If the Practice is sending a text message about recommended treatment for the management of a specific health issue, then this is defined as providing appropriate care for a patient and not as marketing purposes.

Patient Transport Services (PTS)

Provide for those patients whose medical condition means they cannot get to their appointment any other way.

The service provides a range of vehicle types and levels of care appropriate for the patient’s medical needs to ensure the patient travels as safe and as comfortable as possible to their appointment. PTS is a vital resource for those who need it and recently revised criteria, based on national guidance, is applied to all new requests. This means all patients will be assessed on their suitability for transport using a short and simple series of questions when booking.  Please make sure you have your NHS number at the time of booking, otherwise your request will not be able to be processed. 

To request PTS you need to contact 0800 092 4020.

Salford Ring and Ride 

Provide a door-to-door service for people of all ages who find it difficult to use public transport. It also offers cross boundary services.

To register & General Enquiries Tel: 0161 745 7451   Booking line: 0161 745 9001

Salford Local Link

Provide door to door service public transport. This is a shared service so you may be travelling with other passengers:

Tel: 08456 055505

Further information

The Patient Transport Service provides ambulances to patients who need support to reach their healthcare appointment, or for their admission to and discharge from hospital, due to their medical/clinical needs.

Services which are out with the NHS Contract

The National Health Service provides most healthcare to the majority of people free of charge, but there are exceptions. GPs are self-employed and are contracted to provide NHS general medical services for their patients.

Sometimes, GPs are asked to provide additional services which fall outside their contract and in these circumstances, they are entitled to make a reasonable charge for providing them.

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Your questions answered

Isn’t the NHS supposed to be free?

The National Health Service provides most healthcare to the majority people free of charge, but there are exceptions: for example, medical reports for insurance companies.

Surely the doctor is being paid anyway?

It is important to understand that GPs are not employed by the NHS, they are self-employed and they have to cover their costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc – in the same way as any small business. The NHS covers these costs for NHS work, but for non-NHS work the fee has to cover the Doctor’s costs.

In recent years, more and more organisations have been involving Doctors in a whole range of non-medical work. Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked to do non-medical work is because they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to be sure that information provided is true and accurate.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their NHS patients are:
– accident/sickness insurance certificates
– certain travel vaccinations
– private medical insurance reports
– Referral for private care forms
– Statements of fact relating to general health e.g. for children’s dance classes
– Letters requested by, or on behalf of, the patient
– Holiday cancellation claim forms

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are:
– medical reports for an insurance company
– some reports for the DSS/Benefits Agency
– examinations of occupational health

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients. Most GPs have a very heavy workload – the majority work up to 70 hours a week – and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time, so many GPs find they have to take some paperwork home at night and weekends.

I only need the Doctor’s signature – what is the problem?

When a Doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. In order to complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, the Doctor might have to check the patient’s entire medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the Doctor with the General Medical Council or even the Police.

What can I do to help?

If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once.

Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight

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Examples of Non-NHS Services include the following: 

• Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.) 
• Insurance Claim Forms 
• Prescriptions for taking medication abroad 
• Private Sick Notes 
• Vaccination Certificates 

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and Practice Reception Staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability. 
 

The NHS offers screening, free of charge, to identify pre-existing health problems of which you may not be aware, nor be exhibiting any symptoms. The NHS screening may be as part of a national programme for specific demographic groups or may be opportunistic screening when a patient discusses a related problem with their GP.

The first time you are prescribed a medicine to treat a long-term condition, you may be able to get extra help and advice about your medicine from your local Pharmacist through a free scheme called the New Medicine Service (NMS).

An interpreting service is available free of charge for patients using GP and NHS Hospital Services in England. This includes interpreting for people who are deaf or deaf/blind.

We do not allow children to act as interpreters during your treatment or appointments.

A member of the Team from the Practice or the Hospital Department dealing with your treatment or appointment will arrange the interpreter. To make sure we can support you effectively we need you to do certain things so please do let us know you need interpreting help as soon as possible. Preferably, this should be as soon as you make an appointment with your GP.

• If you are going into Hospital, contact the Ward or Department to let them know you need an interpreter, as soon as you receive your Hospital appointment. You may need a friend or relative who speaks English to tell us that you need an interpreter, the first time.
• Be sure to let us know if you will not be coming for your appointment or treatment. If you do not tell us you might stop another patient getting the help they need.
• Be sure to tell us if you will be late for your appointment or treatment. Another patient somewhere else might need the interpreter. If you are late the next patient might miss their appointment or not get the help they need.
• Let us know if you have had any problems with communication during your appointment or treatment. This will help us improve the service.
• Tell us if communication was good. This also helps us provide a good service.

District Nurses

District nurses have been at the front line of health care in the community for many years. If you can’t leave your home due to poor health, problems getting around or a long-term condition, your district nurse is here to help.

District Nurses carry out many roles for housebound and older patients, including:

• General nursing procedures and investigations
• Post-surgery care
• Assessment of patients’ needs
• Care for terminally ill patients
• Loaning of equipment
• Looking after wounds and leg ulcers
• Educating patients about self-care