Practice Staff

Dietician

A dietician attached to the practice provides professional advice to those with specific medical problems and to those who simply wish to lose weight safely. Patients must be referred by a GP or nurse to access the dietician.

Health Visitors

Health visitors attached to the practice are based at the Herts and Essex Community Hospital. The health visiting service provides help and advice for mothers and children, including the monitoring of normal growth and development. The service works closely with the GPs and community paediatric services and may be contacted via the Community Hospital (tel: 01279 444455).

District Nurses

District nurses attached to the practice are based at the Herts and Essex Community Hospital. The district nursing service provides nursing care at home including wound management, palliative care and advice to carers. The service works closely with the GPs and specialist nurses and may be contacted via the surgery.

Midwives

Community midwives attached to the practice provide antenatal clinics at Church Street Surgery (Tuesday) and South Street Surgery (Thursday morning) and visit mothers and babies at home. The midwifery service works closely with the GPs as well as the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and Rosie Maternity Hospital in Cambridge and may be contacted via the surgery. To initiate their antenatal care the expectant mother should speak to one of our reception team. The receptionist will ask if you intend to have your baby at PAH or the Rosie (the booking procedures vary for each hospital) and then refer you to the community midwife. You do not need to have your pregnancy confirmed by a GP: pregnancy testing kits, available from pharmacies, are reliable if used correctly.

For more information, please visit the community midwife webpage; ruralsmidwives.wordpress.com

Community Psychiatric Nurses

CPNs attached to the practice provide support for patients with mental health problems and work closely with the consultant services. Contact your CPN via the surgery.

Social Prescribers 

A team of social prescribers are attached to the practice via Stort Valley & Villages Primary Care Network. The social prescribing team accept referrals via the GP surgeries for adults and young people.

Social prescribing, also sometimes known as community referral, is a means of enabling health professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services. The referrals generally, but not exclusively, come from professionals working in primary care settings, for example, GPs or practice nurses.  

Recognising that people’s health and wellbeing are determined mostly by a range of social, economic and environmental factors, social prescribing seeks to address people’s needs in a holistic way. It also aims to support individuals to take greater control of their own health. 

Schemes delivering social prescribing can involve a range of activities that are typically provided by voluntary and community sector organisations. Examples include volunteering, arts activities, group learning, gardening, befriending, cookery, healthy eating advice and a range of sports.