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Travel vaccinations and advice

If you’re planning to travel outside the UK, you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world.

When should I start thinking about the vaccines I need?

You should aim to get advice at least eight weeks before you’re due to travel, as some jabs need to be given well in advance to allow your body to develop immunity. Some vaccines involve a number of doses spread over several weeks or months.

Please remember that as Travel is an optional service for the Practice to provide, you may need to wait longer for an appointment than you would for a normal medical appointment. Let our Reception Team know that you need to book an appointment with one of our Practice Nurses trained to provide Travel Vaccinations.

You may be more at risk of some diseases, for example, if you’re:

  • travelling in rural areas
  • backpacking
  • staying in hostels or camping
  • on a long trip rather than a package holiday

If you have a pre-existing health problem, this may make you more at risk of infection or complications from a travel-related illness.

Which travel vaccines do I need?

You can find out which vaccinations are necessary or recommended for the areas you’ll be visiting on these websites:

Some countries require proof of vaccination (for example, for polio or yellow fever vaccination), which must be documented on an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) before you enter or when you leave a country.

Saudi Arabia requires proof of vaccination against certain types of meningitis for visitors arriving for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.

Even if an ICVP is not required, it’s still a good idea to take a record of the vaccinations you have had with you.

Find out more about the vaccines available for travellers abroad

Which travel vaccines are free?

The following travel vaccines are available free at the Practice on the NHS (you may have to pay a prescription charge):

These vaccines are free because they protect against diseases thought to represent the greatest risk to public health if they were brought into the country.

Which travel vaccines will I have to pay for?

You’ll have to pay for travel vaccinations against:

Yellow fever vaccines are only available from designated centres (our Practice does not provide yellow fever vaccines).

Please ask a member of our reception team for the current cost of the vaccines we provide.

e-Consultation

If you need help with a non urgent medical or admin matter you can now contact us online.

Submit new request

Advocacy services

Advocacy means helping another person to communicate their views and wishes.

GPs often act as advocates for patients when dealing with issues in the hospital or by making sure that their patients’ and/or families’ voices are heard when a decision is needed about their care.

Advocacy involves looking at choices together and helping patients to make decisions. It may be writing a letter of support or communicating on behalf of the patient.

When advocates who are not part of social services or the NHS are needed, they can be found in Leeds at:

Alcohol and drug services

Do I need help?

Take the alcohol test is an excellent online tool which helps you work out if you’re at risk of alcohol-related problems and some simple things you can do to reduce the risk.

Or alternatively, if you’d prefer it in paper format:

Getting help

Forward Leeds

Forward Leeds has a wide range of services that support young people, adults and families in Leeds with alcohol and/or drug use.

It is the service that our Dr’s will refer you to if you need help, you can also self-refer to the service.

Here is the list of Forward Leeds services.

Or call them on 0113 8872477

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is a national network of free self-help groups aimed at helping people recover from alcoholism.

Some people find them very useful and our Doctors often recommend them.

The best way of finding out about them and your closest group is at Alcoholics Anonymous.

Annual health check

Health checks for people with a diagnosed problem

If you have one of the following conditions then you will be invited for an annual health check.

  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Kidney disease
  • Heart disease
  • Asthma
  • Chronic bronchitis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Learning disabilities
  • Dementia
  • Severe mental health problems

We invite patients to be seen for all of their health conditions in one appointment which means appointments can range from 15 to 60 minutes depending upon the type and number of conditions you have. You may need to have blood tests as part of your appointment. You will be reminded when it is time for your annual review which will be with a member of our Nursing Team.

Following your annual review, your medications will also be reviewed either by our Pharmacist or one of our GP’s who may ring you or invite you in to discuss these further with you if needed.

You will be contacted by the Practice if any of your test results need further investigation.

All the information collected as part of your review together with your test results are available to view as part of your online record which can be viewed after you have registered for our online services.

Bereavement

Online

The Practice is here to support you in times of bereavement but you may find the general advice about bereavement from the NHS choices article on bereavement useful.

If you are looking for advice about dealing with the practical aspects (such as legal issues) of someone dying then try the Bereavement Advice Centre.

The Leeds Bereavement Forum can signpost you to the most appropriate service to support you.

In person

There are also several organisations and charities that provide specialist advice and support to those that have been bereaved:

Carers

Information for carers and the help we provide.

Who is a carer?

Many carers are not known by their GP practice as there is confusion around how to define the term ‘carer’.

A carer is a person of any age (including children) who provides unpaid support to a partner, relative, friend or neighbour who couldn’t get by without their help. This could be due to old age, frailty, disability, a serious health condition, mental ill health or substance misuse. Parents of children who are disabled or who have a serious health condition are also considered to be carers.

It is estimated that 10% of patients are carers.

Improving carer identification

As a practice, we want to increase the number of people on our carers’ register so that we can look after you better. We do this by:

  • Asking patients with long-term conditions to name their carers
  • Running awareness-raising campaigns to get carers to tell us about their caring responsibilities

What we offer to improve healthcare for carers

  • Flu vaccination – most carers are eligible for a free flu vaccination to protect themselves and the person they care for
  • Regular health check appointments to help you keep fit and well
  • More flexible appointments
  • Carer support groups
  • Referrals to carers’ services for more specialised information, advice and support

Dedicated services for carers

If you care for someone and would like additional support then the following service may help

Child health

Health visitors

Health Visitors are all trained nurses who have extra training and qualifications in child health. They are a fantastic source of information about child development and health, parenting strategies, breastfeeding, nutrition and community support. They also offer help with social, emotional and environmental issues that affect families.Health visitor service website

Child health checks

Appointments are sent out automatically for routine child health checks.

The first will be with a GP at the surgery when your baby is around 6 weeks old.You will be sent information about this and asked to make an appointment at the practice.

You will also be offered routine health reviews for your child, with your health visitor, at 6-8 weeks, 8-12 months and 2-2½ years old.

Child Immunisations

Immunisations are given by our practice nurses in accordance with the NHS vaccine schedule.

Further information on the schedule and vaccines in general can be found on NHS choices vaccinations.

End of life care

We work closely with other services to help support people and their families at this very difficult time.

The local service

Together as a team we work with individuals and their families to address physical, emotional, social, spiritual and financial issues.

The core team includes a GP, District Nurse and MacMillan Nurse.

Please book with your GP if you or someone you care for needs help now.

Advice

The Sue Ryder website has some excellent articles called Practical & Emotional Advice, we recommend them highly. Don’t forget to click on the ‘load more’ button on the bottom of the first page, its easy to miss.

Other useful sites

NHS choices page on end of life care.

Wheatfields hospice

St Gemma’s hospice

Flu vaccination clinic

Protect yourself from flu

What is flu?

Flu occurs every year, usually in the winter, which is why it is sometimes called seasonal flu. It is a very infectious disease that can come on very quickly. The most common symptoms of flu are fever, chills, cough, headache, pains in your joints and muscles and extreme tiredness. Healthy people usually recover within 3 to 4 weeks, but some people can develop serious life-threatening complications and need to be admitted to hospital.

Colds are much less serious and usually start with a stuffy or a runny nose, sore throat and cough.

How do we prevent the spread of flu?

Flu is unpredictable and there can be different strains of the virus. However, over the last ten years, the flu vaccine has generally been very good at targeting the circulating strains.

The flu vaccine is available every year on the NHS to help protect adults and children who are most at risk of flu and its complications.

Can I have a free flu vaccination on the NHS?

Flu can affect anyone but if you have a long-term health condition flu can make it worse, even if the condition is well managed and you normally feel well.

We provide flu vaccines if you are:

  • Aged 65 or over,
  • Pregnant,
  • Aged 2, 3 or 4 (by nasal spray),
  • Over six months of age and have one of the following conditions:
    • Chronic respiratory disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis and cystic fibrosis. Also, people with severe asthma who need to continuously or repeatedly use their inhaler, take steroid medication, or who have been admitted to hospital because of their asthma
    • Chronic heart disease, including heart failure, congenital heart disease, and heart disease caused by high blood pressure
    • Chronic kidney disease, such as kidney failure and people who have had a kidney transplant,
    • Chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis,
    • Chronic neurological diseases, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, motor neurone disease or multiple sclerosis,
    • Diabetes
    • A suppressed immune system, due to disease or treatment. This includes people who have a damaged or no spleen, those people with HIV, people having chemotherapy or other immunosuppressant treatment, and those on high doses of steroid medication.
  • Very overweight with a BMI over 40.
  • Living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility (not including prisons, young offender institutions or university halls of residence),
  • Receive carer’s allowance or you are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill,

For more information please see the Department of Health Website.