Dulwich Medical Centre: Our Services: Immunisations

To register with our practice, please check that your address falls within our catchment area. Click here to check. You must come in to the practice to fill in a registration form and complete a brief health questionnaire. If you are accepted you will be asked to call in for a health check with one of our practice nurses. Once you are registered we can request your medical records from your previous GP via the Health Authority.

Unfortunately we cannot accept everyone who requests registration, as there is a limit to the number of patients to whom we can provide an effective service. We have a boundary (see area map) within which we work. If you move out of this area you must register with a practice near your home. This boundary is overlapped by other surgeries so there is always the option of more than one practice to register with.

Dulwich Medical Centre operates an appointment-only system. This ensures that patients can arrange doctors' appointments in advance to suit their timetables and patients will generally be able to choose which of our clinicians they wish to see. You can book appointments in person or by phone.

The surgery has appointment slots that can be booked in advance and also slots that will be made available at the beginning of each day.

If you have a medical reason to speak to a doctor but feel you don't necessarily need to see him you may wish to contact NHS Direct or your local pharmacist regarding your query.

You may find that an appointment with one of our practice nurses will help you with your problem. Click here for a list of nurse services

The practice provides telephone consultations for problems that can be dealt with over the phone. In most cases we will take a number from you (a landline number if possible) and ask one of the Doctors or Nurses to ring you back at the end of the surgery.

It is essential that we always have accurate information on all our patients so that we can make contact with you. If you change address, name or telephone number please let us know immediately so that our records are kept up to date. Please put any changes to your details in writing. You can email, fax or write in with changes, please click on contact us for our details. You can also come into reception and fill in the appropriate form.

If you are too ill to come to the surgery and you require a visit at home, please telephone the surgery before 10.30am. Visits are normally made after morning surgery and can take considerably longer than a consultation in the surgery, so to ensure the best possible care, if you are mobile please come into surgery to be seen.

When requesting a visit, you may be asked a few questions about the problem, this helps the doctors to assess the necessity of the visit as you may be asked to come in to surgery.

Our practice has two nurses available by appointment. They are available for advice and special procedures as detailed below.

Please inform reception of the service you require so you can be booked with the correct clinician, and to allow a suitable amount of time for the procedure.

Antenatal appointments are with a qualified midwife – Erika Glenny. Women are seen for an initial half hour early pregnancy appointment where issues including diet, exercise, general health and maternity rights are discussed.

The recommended tests for pregnancy are discussed and a referral is made to Kings College Hospital for an initial scan and booking appointments. Subsequent appointments start from 16 weeks of pregnancy. In the absence of complications, women are seen monthly until 32 weeks of pregnancy. They are then seen fortnightly until 38 weeks of pregnancy and then weekly until 41 weeks. These appointments last for 15 minutes and include a routine antenatal check up and time to ask questions about the pregnancy.

Women are referred to Kings College Hospital for doctors appointments or scans if clinically indicated and can also access the Nightingale Birth Centre or Maternal

Nightingale Birth Centre - 0207 346 3222
Harris Birthright Centre (ultrasound) - 0207 346 3136
Antenatal Clinic - 0207 346 3246
Maternal Assessment unit- 0207 346 8197
Parent Education (Antenatal Classes) - 0207 737 4000 Ext 6031
Breast feeding Counsellors - 0207 346 3833

The District Nurses visit those who are housebound for nursing procedures. Usually this means the elderly, chronically sick or those who have recently had operations. They can advise you about incontinence or other home nursing aids. Please ask a receptionist or your doctor to discuss or arrange home nursing care.

A health visitor is available for every family with a child under five years of age who is registered with the practice and support is offered via the home or the surgery for post-natal care.

Child health clinics and a variety of support groups are also offered including support for breast feeding and new parents. Further details are available from the Health Visitor.

The health visitors working with the practice are linked to the wider Health Authority Services and carry out routine developmental screening of all children under five years of age who are registered with the practice. They can make direct referrals to various specialties including speech therapy, audiology, and special needs.

You can order and collect your medication from your local chemist. We are currently working with Macey’s, Day Lewis, the Co-op + Kristal Pharmacy in Nunhead.

If you are prescribed a new medication from somewhere other than the surgery you will need to provide details (you will not be able to do this by email or fax).

If you require a medical examination, please ring for an appointment outside of surgery hours and inform the receptionist so that adequate time is allowed for the medical and forms to be completed.

A fee will be charged for non NHS examinations. (Please advise the receptionist when you come in for an examination what you require. The doctor will then advise you of the cost of the examination.)

Provident association claim form (eg. BUPA/PP
Sickness/accident insurance benefit claim form with examination
Sickness/accident short certificate without examination
Copies of reports for patient under access to Health Records Act 1990
Access to records under Data Protection Act

Fee for medical consultation – private patient
Pre-employment medicals with report
LGV, PCV taxi driver examination

Elderly driver fitness with full medical
Racing driver fitness with full medical

You do not normally need a sickness certificate for the first seven days of illness. The Statutory Sick Pay Regulations state that employers are required to accept self-certification notes (filled in by you) for the first seven days of illness. All employers must comply with these regulations. You only need a doctor's certificate during the first seven days of illness if you wish to claim benefits other than Statutory Sick Pay: For example, benefits under the private insurance scheme, or to take your pre-booked holiday as sick leave instead. In these circumstances we make a charge of £10 for a private sickness certificate. To continue to claim Statutory Sick Pay after the first week of illness you will need a doctor's certificate, which will be provided free of charge. To claim other benefits, such as those under private insurance scheme, you will need to bring the appropriate form for us to fill in.

Do you need a doctor's certificate in the first seven days of an illness?
No, illness that last less than one week are usually minor and self-limiting and you may not require a visit to a doctor. It can be difficult for your doctor to judge whether or not you are incapable of reporting for work in this situation and all the certificate really indicates is that you attended the surgery on a specific date complaining that you had a minor illness. In general, The Department of Health and Social Security, employers, doctors and patients do not recommend that you attend your doctor for certification alone. Your GP is required to issue a certificate only if your absence from work through sickness lasts more than seven days.

What are private sick notes and do you need one?
Some employers or insurance schemes will ask you to provide a private sick note. The doctors will charge you a fee to provide you with a 'sick note'. Sick notes are usually not necessary for the first week of any illness.

Each vaccination is given as a single injection into the muscle of the thigh or upper arm.

When to immunise	Diseases protected against	Vaccine given
Two months old	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Pneumococcal infection	DTaP/IPV/Hib + Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, (PCV)
Three months old	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Meningitis C	DTaP/IPV/Hib + MenC
Four months old	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Meningitis C Pneumococcal infection	DTaP/IPV/Hib + MenC + PCV
Around 12 months	Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) Meningitis C	Hib/MenC
Around 13 months old	Measles, mumps and rubella Pneumococcal infection	MMR + PCV
Three years and four months or soon after	Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio Measles, mumps and rubella	DTaP/IPV or dTaP/IPV +MMR
Girls aged 12 to 13 years	Cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus types 16 and 18.	HPV
13 to 18 years old	Diphtheria, tetanus, polio	Td/IPV

Non-Routine immunisations

When to immunise	Diseases protected against	Vaccine given
At birth (to babies who are more likely to come into contact with TB than the general population)	Tuberculosis	BCG
At birth (to babies whose mothers are hepatitis B positive)	Hepatitis B	Hep B

You will be offered DTaP/IPV/Hib, MenC and PCV vaccinations for your baby during the first four months of their life.

When your baby is 2 months old, you will be asked to bring them for their first
DTaP/IPV/Hib injection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Hib.

They will then be asked to come back for booster doses of DTaP/IPV/Hib when they are 3 and 4 months old.

At 3 and 4 months of age they will be offered the meningitis C vaccine, which can be given at the same time.

With their vaccination at 2 and 4 months of age they will also be offered vaccination against pneumococcal infection, which is given as an injection of Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).

Around the time of your baby's first birthday, they will be offered a vaccination that provides the final booster dose for protection against two diseases, Haemophilis influenzae type b (Hib) and meningitis C.

Just after your baby turns one, they will be offered their first dose of the triple MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella.

They will also be offered a third final dose of PCV which further boosts their protection against pneumococcal infection.

Before your child starts school, they will be offered the dTaP/IPV or DTaP/IPV vaccines which protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and polio.

They will also be offered a second dose of MMR against measles, mumps and rubella, which is also given as a single injection.

13-18 year olds are offered Td/IPV at school. It is given as a single injection in the upper arm and protects against diphtheria, tetanus and polio.

Most holidays in Europe and North America do not require specific vaccinations. Australia and New Zealand do not, but stop-off locations may. Closer to home, Turkey, North African countries and the Middles East require some specific vaccinations, as do Asia and the Caribbean. Your tour operator will often advise on the requirements. Any vaccinations can be arranged through our Practice Nurse who can also advise you, if you are unsure.

Please come in to see the nurse at least 6 weeks prior to travel. You can then discuss your vaccination needs and be advised of any costs involved.