About our practice nursing service
All of our nurses are specially trained in a variety of specialist conditions. We offer the following services:
- full minor illness nurse service (see below)
- mental health and wellbeing nurse service
- respiratory clinics
- cervical screening (see NHS Inform's cervical screening (smear test) guide)
- skin clinics
- immunisations (see NHS Inform's immunisation information, including what's available and when to immunise)
- wound dressings
- removal of stitches
- injections
- smoking cessation advice
- travel advice and vaccinations
This list is not exhaustive! Read more about some of the clinics and how to get your test results.
Nurse Practitioner Service
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are Registered Nurses with further qualifications at degree level, including a prescribing qualification.
Nurse practitioners can provide treatment and advice for many problems for which you may have seen a doctor for in the past.
Their main areas of expertise are in the management of common illnesses and long term conditions. The nurse practitioners can assess and examine you, make a diagnosis and provide advice and treatment including a prescription if required. They can make referrals to hospital doctors or other health care professionals, and admit patients into hospital when necessary.
There are four NPs at Academy Medical Centre:
- Eleanor McIntosh
- Lorraine Forsyth
- Trish Stewart
- Pam Welsh
View photos of our nurses.
The Nurse Practitioner Service is a significant enhancement of the service available for patients. The Nurse Practitioner Service has been introduced to address a number of issues:
- a national shortage of GPs has led to difficulties recruiting GPs Scotland wide;
- patients have historically had problems getting an appointment; and
- patients with chronic or complex cases have had difficulties getting an appointment with their own doctor.
The GPs are fully supportive of the Nurse Practitioner Service.
Minor Illness Service
The Nurse Practitioners provide a full minor illness service. They are specially trained in the management of common minor illnesses and can see and treat a variety of problems, including:
- back pain
- boils/abscesses
- cellulitis
- conjunctivitis
- cold/flu symptoms
- coughs
- cystitis
- diarrhoea
- earache
- hay fever
- minor cuts and bumps
- head injuries
- nose bleeds
- rashes
- shingles
- sore throats
- sinusitis
- minor burns and scalds
- urinary symptoms
- emergency contraception
The Minor Illness Service is a safe and effective way to have treatment at the surgery and is closely monitored by the GPs. If your problem is one that the pharmacy or nurse is unable to deal with we will arrange for you to be seen by the most appropriate person within the surgery who can deal with your problem. All of our Nurse Practitioners are prescribers, so if your problem requires a prescription, that can be arranged by the nurse.
Health Care Assistants
The nurses are supported by our Health Care Assistants who deal with a variety of health care needs such as blood sampling, urine testing, weight monitoring, blood pressure checks and home blood pressure monitoring, B12, flu & shingles injections, heart tracings (ECGs), respiratory function tests and undertake the chronic disease annual reviews (excluding respiratory annual reviews) and carers health checks.
Blood glucose testing
Blood testing
Providing advice & prescribing
Administering vaccinations
