St James Medical Centre
Tel: 01823 285400

Church Lane Surgery
Tel: 01823 285428

News:

Out of Hours
When The Surgery Is Closed Telephone 01823 285400. Please have a pen and paper ready and listen to the 'Out of Hours' answer phone message. A local PCT led service provides the 'Out of Hours' care

Appointments
The doctors offer a mix of pre-booked and 'same day' appointments. We have a greater number of morning appointments than afternoons. It helps us if you can accept the first appointment you are offered

Prescriptions
Order your repeat prescriptions online now! Click here for further information

Announcements

01 Sep - 01 Oct
NHS Smokefree

Find out about all of the free NHS services available to support you as you go try to give up smoking.

01 Aug - 01 Oct
NHS Summer Health

Stay safe in the sun, including sunscreens, sunburn relief, heat exhaustion, eczema and moles. Summer holidays are great fun for children, but can bring risks. Find out more

01 Jul - 01 Oct
Change for Life

Would you like loads of tips and help to make changes for a healthier future? As part of Change4Life, you will receive tons of helpful information, recipes, tools, tips, and games for the kids.

BBC Health

More obesity ops 'will save cash'

Millions of pounds is lost in England by the failure of the NHS to provide more obesity operations, a study says.

Statins 'may cut arthritis risk'

Taking statins may reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, a study suggests.

Call for morning sickness action

More needs to be done to establish which are safe and effective ways to relieve morning sickness, experts say.

UK radiotherapy 'lagging behind'

Too few UK cancer patients are receiving state-of-the-art radiotherapy care, experts from Cancer Research UK say.

ME 'virus link' found in children

ME, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in children could be caused by a virus, scientists say.

Gaps persist in cancer survival

Despite significant improvements in cancer survival rates across England, regional differences remain, national statistics show.

'Genetic link' to breast cancer

Researchers have identified a series of genetic variations which may play a role in a common breast cancer.

Bipolar 'not linked to violence'

People with a mental illness are no more likely to be violent unless they abuse drugs or alcohol, a study suggests.

NHS in Wales faces £380m cutbacks

The Welsh NHS faces making £380m worth of cutbacks by April, with managers saying it is the biggest challenge they have faced in 20 years.

Diabetes drug advice 'not heeded'

A type two diabetes drug is still being prescribed in the UK two months after it was recommended for withdrawal, BBC Panorama learns.

Yahoo Health

US smoking rate still stuck at 1 in 5 adults (AP)

AP - U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday.

FDA cites claims on 2 green tea beverages (AP)

AP - Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages.

FDA relents from midodrine withdrawal plan (AP)

AP - Federal regulators have backed off a plan to remove a Shire PLC low blood-pressure treatment from the market after warning in August that the drug has not been proven effective.

Judge won't let stem cell money keep flowing (AP)

AP - A federal judge on Tuesday refused to lift his order blocking federal funding for some stem cell research, saying that a "parade of horribles" predicted by federal officials would not happen.

Japan confirms its first case of new superbug gene (AP)

AP - Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.

Picking right blood pressure medicine challenging (AP)

AP - It's hard to predict which pills will best lower which patient's high blood pressure, but researchers are hunting ways to better personalize therapy — perhaps even using a blood test.

Lack of Sleep May Be Linked to Childhood Obesity (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Infants and preschoolers who don't get enough sleep at night are at increased risk for later childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

For Bonobo Males, Mom Is the Best Wingman (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - To most human males, the thought of your mother anywhere near your sex life is probably horrifying. Not so for the bonobo, one of our closest primate relatives. A new study confirms that hanging out with mom boosts male bonobos' chances of getting intimate with a fertile female.

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 7, 2010 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Autistic Toddlers Prefer to Gaze at Geometric Patterns: Study (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- When given the choice to gaze at geometric patterns or children dancing and playing, toddlers with autism spent more time looking at the patterns while typically developing toddlers preferred to look at other kids, a new study finds.

MedPage Today

Judge Won't Lift Block on Stem Cell Research Funding

(MedPage Today) -- Federal spending of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research will remain off-limits for now, a federal judge ruled, dealing yet another blow to the Obama administration's efforts to support such research.

Cigarette Smoke May Affect Fertility (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Smoking may provide an explanation for reduced fertility, results of two studies suggested.

Adult Smoking Hits Plateau

(MedPage Today) -- One in five U.S. adults continues to smoke tobacco -- a percentage that hasn't budged since 2005 -- suggesting that more aggressive efforts are needed to reduce smoking-related diseases and deaths, the CDC said.

Pandemic H1N1 Similar to Seasonal Strains (CME/CE, with video)

(MedPage Today) -- In general, the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus did not cause more serious disease than other recent influenza A strains, researchers found.

Nevirapine Reuse Possible in Exposed Children With HIV (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In most HIV-infected children being exposed at birth to nevirapine (Viramune) doesn't rule out using the drug again later, researchers reported.

PCV-7 Vaccine May Promote Serotype 19A Infection (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Infants receiving a three-dose regimen of heptavalent PCV-7 pneumococcal vaccine were more likely than unvaccinated controls to pick up a nonvaccine pneumococcal strain associated with invasive infection and antibiotic resistance, researchers said.

More Human Trials Needed for HIV Vaccine Hunt

(MedPage Today) -- HIV vaccine researchers are calling for more and better human trials as part of the quest for ways to block transmission of the virus.

Patients Expect More from PCI than It Delivers (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Cardiologists fully understand the limits of percutaneous coronary interventions -- but their patients are often overly optimistic about the benefits of PCI, a new survey revealed.

Splint Matches Cast for Kids' Wrist Fractures (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In children with wrist fractures, a splint works as well as a cast, researchers reported.

Behcet's Takes Higher Toll in Men (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Men with Behçet's disease are much more likely than women to die of this chronic multisystem vasculitis, a large French study found.

Appointments

Home Visits

Test Results

Click here to access the appointment system

Making An Appointment

St James Medical Centre 01823 285400
Church Lane Surgery 01823 285428
Or call into either site

We will do our best to try and accommodate your preferred time and day but please try and be as flexible as you can.

Can we save you an appointment?

bloodpressure If you feel that your problem or issue could be dealt with by telephone, please leave a message with our receptionist and the doctor will call you back. This might save you a trip to the surgery and helps us to manage valuable appointments. Don't forget, we will always see you if needed. Good examples of matters that may be dealt with outside of face-to-face appointments are: discussion of results, completion of forms and medication queries.

Appointment Mix

The doctors offer a mix of 'same day' and 'advanced booking' appointments to cater for your needs and commitments. We also offer some 'extended opening hours' appointments. Please see the headings below for more details'.
We do have a greater capacity in the mornings than in afternoons. It helps us if you can accept the first appointment you are offered but we will try our best to allocate you an appointment which is convenient to you.

Please make your appointment with a Practice Nurse instead of the doctor for the following: Minor injuries, ear syringing, dietary and lifestyle advice, smoking cessation advice, advice about immunisations and cervical smears.

Same Day Appointments

It is important for and for you and for us to reserve 'same day' appointments so that we have sufficient capacity to see patients with more pressing medical needs. Also, we do not know exactly what the future demand for appointments will be. If we can see you quickly that helps us to respond to any surges in demand.

Advanced Appointments (Booking Ahead)

We know that it is not convenient for everyone to be seen 'same day'. We offer the opportunity for patients to book appointments up to two months in advance. Each surgery caters for up to seven pre-booked appointments (approximately half of all slots). If your preferred surgery is already pre-booked we will do our best to find you an alternative advanced slot.

Extended hours

If you find it difficult to get to the surgery during normal opening hours e.g. you work away from Taunton etc, please enquire about an appointment during 'extended hours'. We offer pre-booked appointments on Saturday mornings and on alternate Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Home Visits 01823 285400

It is better for patients to be seen at the surgery whenever possible. If the doctor decides that you are too ill to come into the surgery, a home visit will be arranged.

Please phone before 10.30am. This helps the doctors to plan their rounds.
Tell the receptionist how you feel. This helps the doctor to assess the urgency of the visit.
In an emergency, telephone the surgery at any time of day.

Test Results 01823 285400

test12 Please allow the following times before telephoning us for your results:

Blood and urine tests five days
INR blood tests one day
Pregnancy tests three days
Cervical smears four - six weeks
X-rays - two weeks

Further Information

For quick medical advice online or on the telephone contact NHS Direct