Medical services and clinics

Advice, prescription and fitting available for all methods including implants, coils and depo injections.

Insertion of contraceptive coils can also be arranged. Please call the surgery and ask to book an appointment initially for a coil consultation.

Domestic abuse drop-in service every Friday 9am-11am at Priory Road Medical Centre

Please contact 07942159399 or email gpidva@swindonwomensaid.org or phone the helpline on 01793610610 if you would like support.

Priory Road Medical Centre

We offer routine vaccinations and general advice to our patients travelling abroad.

It may take up to eight weeks for a full course of vaccinations, so please contact us in advance to give you plenty of time if you’re planning to go abroad where you need to be vaccinated.

Visit our Vaccinations page for more information.

For even more information on travel vaccinations please click on the link https://travelhealthpro.org.uk.

Find out about local counsellors and advice services. You can access these services by speaking to your GP or the surgery’s receptionist.

All women between the age of 20 and 65 should have a regular smear test every three to five years. We send out appointment reminders to all of our patients to let you know when your next smear is due.

• Cervical screening (a smear test) checks the health of your cervix. The cervix is the opening to your womb from your vagina.
• It’s not a test for cancer, it’s a test to help prevent cancer.
• All women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 should be invited by letter.
• During the screening appointment, a small sample of cells will be taken from your cervix.
• The sample is checked for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause changes to the cells of your cervix. These are called “high risk” types of HPV.
• If these types of HPV are not found, you do not need any further tests.
• If these types of HPV are found, the sample is then checked for any changes in the cells of your cervix. These can then be treated before they get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.
• The nurse or doctor will tell you when you can expect your results letter
• Please click on this link for more information

Procedures for the removal of sebaceous cysts, moles and lesions are conducted under local anaesthetic.

Some services available are not covered under our contract with the NHS. This means that these services need to be paid for.

The services that include charges are:

• Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements.
• Insurance claim forms.
• Passport signing.
• Prescriptions for taking medication abroad.
• Private sick notes.
• Vaccination certificates.

Our reception staff and GPs will be happy to talk through the charges with you during your appointment.

We are often asked to prescribe sedative drugs, such as diazepam (Valium), for fear of flying. We have recently agreed a practice policy that we will no longer prescribe these drugs for fear of flying. There are a number of good reasons why prescribing of drugs such as diazepam is not safe or recommended:-

Diazepam and similar drugs are not recommended for treatment of phobias because other treatments are safer and more effective.

Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and slows reaction times. If there is an emergency during the flight it may affect your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and others.

The sedative effects of these drugs can affect breathing and cause low oxygen levels, which could be life threatening, especially with the lower circulating oxygen levels on an aeroplane, in people with breathing problems or when combined with alcohol.

Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however this is not a natural sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep and this can increase your risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in your leg or lung. Blood clots are dangerous and can be fatal. This risk is greater if your flight is longer than four hours.

Whilst most people find medicines such as diazepam sedating, a small number of people become agitated, aggressive or confused. These medicines can also cause disinhibition and lead to abnormal behaviours. This could impact on your safety as well as that of other passengers.

Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal or controlled drugs in some countries so they may be confiscated or you may be subject to legal proceedings.

Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing you may fail this test if you have taken diazepam.

We recognise that fear of flying is real and frightening and we don’t underestimate the impact it can have. We recommend tackling this properly by using self-help resources or considering one of the ‘Fear of Flying’ course run by many airlines. We do not recommend any specific course but you may find the following links useful.

Self help options

Self-help – Phobias – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

How to manage a fear of flying and flying anxiety (patient.info)