A learning disability is different for everyone. No two people with a learning disability are the same.
Learning disabilities usually become apparent in childhood, but some people are not diagnosed until they are adults. Learning disabilities are lifelong conditions.
Someone with a learning disability might take longer to learn new things or understand complex information. They may learn in a different way, or need information presented to them in lots of different ways.
This could affect someone’s ability to do lots of everyday things, like managing money or socialising.
Many people with learning disabilities can live independently. Other people might need more support with day-to-day life.
Microsuction is the procedure of choice for ear wax removal as it has been found to be safer and more effective than ear irrigation (syringing). There is a lower risk of infection, and the procedure avoids contact with the internal ear structures. Microsuction uses a small vacuum to suck out the wax from the ear canal. Please note that this clinic appointment is not diagnostic; it is for the removal of ear wax only.
What do I need to do before my appointment?
Please prepare for your appointment by using olive oil drops from your local pharmacy in the affected ear; 2-3 drops twice daily for the 7 days preceding your procedure. Sodium bicarbonate 5% drops may be used as an alternative. This treatment is to soften the wax which will in turn help in providing successful microsuction. NEVER insert cotton buds into the ear canal as this could push wax further into the ear, or worse, perforate the ear drum.
What to expect after your appointment?
After the ear suction, we may provide you with some aftercare instructions, such as avoiding excessive water exposure or using ear drops to maintain ear health. If you continue with hearing loss, or other related symptoms such as tinnitus, following successful microsuction, you should visit your general practitioner (GP) for review as it is likely that there will be other factors causing your symptoms.
As with all procedures, there are risks, however these are minimal. Some people may feel dizzy following the procedure as structures within the ear can affect balance. For this reason, we advise you to consider your travel arrangements prior to the procedure, as you should not drive while dizzy.
Unpaid Carers Support
Why it’s important to talk to your GP
If your GP (General Practitioner) knows that you are a carer, they can provide you with really useful support, advice and information. For example, they can refer you to local support networks in your area or help you understand what you’re entitled to as a carer – such as a free flu jab.
It’s important to tell them about your caring responsibilities so that they can offer support. You may find it helpful to use this letter template to help register your role.
It’s helpful for your GP to know about any extra pressures you are facing that might have an impact on your physical health or emotional wellbeing.
Your GP can also let you know about available support or services in your area. They may be able to recommend or refer you to suitable specialists including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, continence advisers and dieticians or other more general sources of support your primary care team can offer.
What should I tell my GP?
Tell your GP that you have caring responsibilities as soon as possible. They can then record this on your medical records. If they know you are a carer and likely to be under pressure at times, they will be able to offer more tailored advice and, if necessary, provide more support when they diagnose and treat you in the future. GPs in England are being urged to adopt new measures dedicated to ensuring young carers are offered flu vaccinations, regular health check ups and mental health screening routinely.
What kind of help can my GP provide?
You could ask your GP or local practice about:
any recent developments on treatments for the condition of the person/ those you care for how you can balance the caring needs of the person you look after with your own local services such as continence services and patient transport to hospital appointments other sources of support and advice – this could include the social services department and local voluntary agencies how to arrange home visits if your caring responsibilities make it difficult to attend appointments at the surgery.
Further support
Looking after yourself
Life can become very hectic especially if you have lots of caring responsibilities. It’s easy to overlook your own health needs, but attending appointments, check-ups and screenings is vital for yourself as well as any loved ones.
If you have not seen your GP for some time, why not arrange a health check? This is likely to involve checking your blood pressure, weight and urine as well as a general discussion about your health and how you are feeling both emotionally and physically.
Your local pharmacist may also be able to offer helpful advice.
Are there other health professionals who could help?
It can be reassuring to know that there are a number of healthcare professionals who you should be able to turn to for support. Here are some of the key roles: District nurse District nurses provide support to individuals and carers in their own homes. They are normally based in GP surgeries and your local surgery or GP can provide more advice on how to access their support and assistance. Your district nurse may be able to help by: carrying out treatments such as dressing wounds or giving injections to avoid you and the person you care for having to visit the surgery assisting with rehabilitation after an illness or operation supporting you in caring if the person you care for has a terminal illness giving you advice and assistance in aspects of healthcare for the person/people you care for. This could include providing guidance and training on lifting and handling more safely, first aid and administering medication or treatments. advising you on your own healthcare and preventing health issues helping to arrange equipment for the person you care for such as walking aids or bed rails putting you in touch with professionals from other community, social and voluntary services who can assist you.
Healthcare specialist
If you, or someone you care for, has a particular condition, you could always ask your doctor to put you in touch with specialists in the area or with charities that offer support through their healthcare professionals such as specialist cancer nurses who work for Macmillan Cancer Support. These are just a few examples. You could also ask about other specialist professionals, working in social services or occupational therapy, who are trained to help offer expertise or services to meet your particular needs.
Occupational therapist
Working with people of all ages, occupational therapists – often referred to as OTs – will look at what support you have in the home and any practical assistance and aids needed to carry out routine daily living tasks. They assess what support is needed in the home, or in another setting, to help someone with disabilities or ageing needs for example live more independently. Occupational therapy may be arranged through your GP or via social services.
NHS Talking Therapies
Talking therapies, or psychological therapies, are effective and confidentialtreatments delivered by fully trained and accredited NHS practitioners. They can help if you’re struggling with things like feelings of depression, excessive worry, social anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
You can access talking therapies for free on the NHS.
You can refer yourself directly to an NHS talking therapies service without a referral from a GP, or a GP can refer you.
Help is available in person, by video, over the phone or as an online course.
If you or a loved one are having a mental health crisis, you can call a local NHS mental health helpline for 24-hour advice and support. You can call for yourself, your child, your parent or someone you care for.
If someone’s life is at risk or they cannot be kept safe, call 999 or go to A&E.
Social Prescribing Services
ONSIDE is a charity established in 1993, steaming from a belief that everyone has the right to be a valued human being and to be treated in a just and fair manner.
Currently working across Worcestershire & Herefordshire, providing a wide range of support services to ensure fairness and equality for all members of our community who may be vulnerable, disadvantaged or discriminated against.
Advocacy is a way of supporting people to ensure they have their voice heard and their views and wishes are listened to.
Onside provide skilled and trained advocates to offer practical and proactive guidance and support to ensure people facing disadvantage are treated fairly as citizens, have equal rights within all aspects of their lives and have access to the right services.
Dementia Support Services
Onside provides a range of services to support people living with dementia. The specialists are support for people living with young onset dementia, the provision of peer support and dementia cafes for people of all ages living with dementia.
Social Prescribing
Social Prescribing aims to support individuals to take greater control of their health and feel more empowered to look after themselves.
Social Prescribers are based within GP practices and secondary care settings. GPs and other health and social care professionals can refer in to the service.
Social Prescribing links patients with non-medical support to address people’s needs in a holistic way. It recognizes that people’s health is determined primarily by a range of social, economic and environmental factors and aims to support people to address and deal with issues relating to these factors.
Lifestyle Advisor Service
If you would like to feel healthier and happier, Onside Lifestyle Advisors can help you to do just that. They can provide the support you need to make small changes in your life that can make a big difference. This free service provides one to one and or group healthy lifestyle support for anyone aged 16 plus.
They will provide practical tips, advice and support to help you develop the knowledge and skills you need to make changes to your lifestyle.
People Like Us (PLUS)
Combatting Loneliness and Isolation in Worcestershire, People Like Us (PLUS) is a service that works across Worcestershire to support adults of all ages who are experiencing loneliness or isolation. PLUS enables individuals to connect with others and supports them to become more active and engaged in their communities.
Support Into Employment
Onside provide two main options for Employment Support depending on an individual needs:
Building Better Opportunities (BBO)
Onside Independent Advocacy are part of Fusion, a partnership between local Housing Providers and Voluntary Organisations and proud to be carrying out the Building Better Opportunities (BBO) project funded through the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.
Advocacy Works Employment Support
Advocacy Works provides a wraparound community advocacy service prioritizing vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals who are on Inclusive Growth projects but also working with wider agencies to support Worcester City residents facing personal or systemic barriers which are holding them back on their journey into employment or to sustain employment.
Support Services – Mental Health
Onside provide two main options for Mental Health Support depending on an individual needs:
A cognitive therapy based peer support program Mood master provides a range of simple tools and techniques to help people manage life’s emotional ups and downs more effectively, cope better with everyday stresses and worries and improve their overall quality of life.
The Peer Support Service has been specifically designed to help people to make the change of progressing from secondary to primary care mental health services as easy and as seamlessly as possible.
The service offers additional support alongside the clinical support of Gateway Workers in the Worcestershire Healthy Minds team. It does not replace any clinical services. Onside provides this service in Worcester, Malvern and Bromsgrove.
Primary Care Network
In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, GP practices across England have begun working together with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services to form Primary Care Networks (PCNs).
PCNs aim to further improve access, availability and quality of primary care services to local people by:
increasing the number of healthcare staff working in and with GPs
providing people with better access to a wider range of support for their needs
developing community teams that support people in their own homes
expanding services available in GP practices.
A key feature of practices coming together, is introducing new roles into general practice which helps GPs focus their skills where they are most needed, such as diagnosing and treating patients. These roles include:
Clinical Pharmacists
Social Prescribing Link Workers
First contact Physiotherapists
Physician Associates
Community Paramedics
What is a Neighbourhood Team?
A Neighbourhood Team is constituted by a group of staff from a number of different teams/ professions: social care for adults and children/families, health, district and borough teams, along with the voluntary sector.
The staff from these different teams work together to deliver a number of key objectives: To improve care coordination for people with multiple long term conditions To provide better, local and faster access to services Helping to activate proactive care Reductions in permanent admissions to residential/nursing care Reductions in non-elective emergency hospital admissions Reductions in forced evictions and homelessness Better health outcomes (including less obesity, smoking and teenage pregnancy, and more breastfeeding) Improve emotional wellbeing Ensuring that the ‘voice of the service user’ is clearly heard This type of care delivery requires a fully integrated response across health, social care, housing, employment, benefits and voluntary sectors.
Neighbourhood Teams bring together a range of professionals, including district nurses, therapists, GPs, and social care staff into one of 13 teams providing care and treatment to patients in their own homes. The aim is to deliver more proactive and responsive care to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions or repeat GP appointments wherever possible.
Pershore and Upton Neighbourhood Team cover:
UPTON SURGERY
ABBOTTSWOOD MEDICAL CENTRE
PERSHORE MEDICAL PRACTICE
Contact Details
Email: whcnhs.pershoreuptonteam@nhs.net
Telephone: 0300 123 7593
Patient Pathway
Social Services
For all enquiries relating to Adult Social Care
You can contact the Adult Social Care Team sending an online form here or calling 01905 768053 (between 09.00am – 5pm)
Emergency Out of Hours Social Work Services:
The Emergency Duty Team (EDT) provides an out of hours response, on behalf of Worcestershire Social Care Services and Herefordshire Children’s Services, to emergency situations that arise outside normal Social Care office hours.
For those living in Evesham, Droitwich, Pershore, Malvern, Tenbury, Worcester, Broadway and Upton, you can visit Patient Self Care for more information.
Before you complete the self-referral form
Have you been using the advice and tips on the self-help sections for around 8 weeks?
Are you still feeling pain or discomfort?
Are you registered with a GP practice in Evesham, Droitwich, Pershore, Malvern, Tenbury, Worcester and Upton?
If you have answered yes to all the above then you can self-refer to the community physio sessions.
You can call 0300 790 0599 Monday – Friday 8:30am – 4pm to check the progress of your referral or to cancel an appointment that you no longer require.
Please note that you cannot self-refer by calling this number, please instead complete the self – referral form.
Domiciliary Physiotherapy for housebound patients:
Occupational Therapists (OT’s) work with people who have disabilities with the aim of helping people to live as independently as possible.
What does an Occupational Therapist do?
They work with you and your family or carers to identify any areas of difficulty with daily living tasks – including washing, dressing, cooking and getting on and off your bed, toilet and chair.
They will then advise you on overcoming the difficulties you are having. This advice may include:
suggesting you use a piece of equipment to make a task easier
providing advice on how to do a task more easily
suggesting ways to adapt your home to help you live more independently and making referrals for housing adaptations where appropriate
providing advice on support networks in your area
providing information on your disability and medical condition
How to see an Occupational Therapist
Anyone with a disability can ask to see an OT – you can refer yourself for an assessment by contacting your local OT office. They may need to communicate with your Doctor about your medical needs.
County Occupational Therapy Helpline: 0300 123 7593
One of the best ways to protect your baby against diseases like measles, rubella, tetanus and meningitis is through immunisation.
Your baby needs their first injections at eight weeks, then 12 weeks, 16 weeks and one year.
Vaccinations are offered free of charge in the UK – just book your appointment with your GP. Remember, as well as protecting your own baby, you`re also protecting other babies and children by preventing the spread of disease.
Immunisations are given by our Practice Nurses or other Healthcare Professionals in accordance with the NHS vaccine schedule.
We currently have 2 baby clinics per week, which are all pre-booked appointments.
If you’re not sure whether you or your child have had all your routine vaccinations, ask your GP or practice nurse to find out for you. It may be possible to ‘catch up’ later in life.
If you’re not sure whether you or your child have had all your routine vaccinations, ask your GP or practice nurse to find out for you. It may be possible to ‘catch up’ later in life.
Try to make sure you or your child have vaccinations delivered on time to ensure protection against serious communicable diseases. If you’re going to be away from the GP surgery when a vaccination is due, talk to your doctor.
Respiratory Clinic
We aim to review anyone with asthma on an annual basis and more frequently if your asthma is not well controlled. If you have any of the following then please consider coming to our clinic, as your asthma treatment may need reviewing:
Cough at night.
Shortness of breath at work/school or when exercising.
Persistent Cough, wheeze, tightness, or shortness of breath during the day.
If you need to use your Salbutamol (blue) inhaler more than twice a week then it may imply your asthma is poorly controlled.
If you need further advice or information then please feel free to book an appointment at the clinic.
For further information on asthma please visit the Asthma UK website.
We also monitor patients who suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This includes patients with conditions such as bronchitis, emphysema, “farmers lung” and bronchiectasis.
If you have had a cough for more than 6 weeks, experienced any shortness of breath or wheeze then please call us to arrange some breathing tests (Spirometry) and a review in the chest clinic.
Chronic Disease Management
Living with a long-term condition (“chronic disease”) can be difficult for some, but our aim is to guide and support all of our patients through their journey.
Our nursing team offer regular clinics in:
COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Asthma
Diabetes
Hypertension
Heart Disease
Stroke / TIA
Atrial Fibrillation
Mental Health
Epilepsy
Chronic Kidney Disease
These clinics are by appointment only with the Practice Nurse; blood tests and other tests required for your chronic disease management will be undertaken by the practice Healthcare Assistant and Phlebotomist.
Annual invitations concerning the Chronic Disease Management Clinic will be sent out to those applicable as a reminder for annual monitoring on the month of your birth. You may ring the practice in advance of receiving your letter to book your annual review appointments. These letters serve as a reminder and we urge you to contact the surgery at your earliest convenience to book any required blood tests and monitoring appointments in the clinics.
All details are supplied on the letters including:
what monitoring you require
blood tests required
length of clinic appointment
how to book the appointment
If you believe you have been sent the letter in error, or the details on the letter are incorrect, please telephone the practice to bring this to our attention so we can address the issue.
