Information for carers and the help we provide.

Who is a carer?

Many carers are not known by their GP practice as there is confusion around how to define the term ‘carer’.

A carer is a person of any age (including children) who provides unpaid support to a partner, relative, friend or neighbour who couldn’t get by without their help. This could be due to old age, frailty, disability, a serious health condition, mental ill health or substance misuse. Parents of children who are disabled or who have a serious health condition are also considered to be carers.

It is estimated that 10% of patients are carers.

Improving carer identification

As a practice, we want to increase the number of people on our carers’ register so that we can look after you better. We do this by:

• Asking patients with long-term conditions to name their carers
• Running awareness-raising campaigns to get carers to tell us about their caring responsibilities

What we offer to improve healthcare for carers

• Flu vaccination – most carers are eligible for a free flu vaccination to protect themselves and the person they care for
• Regular health check appointments to help you keep fit and well
• More flexible appointments
• Carer support groups
• Referrals to carers’ services for more specialised information, advice and support

Dedicated services for carers

If you care for someone and would like additional support then the following services may help

• Carers Leeds
• Carers Trust

Services available to help with bereavement

Online

For general advice about bereavement you might find the NHS choices article on bereavement useful.

If you are looking for advice about dealing with the practical aspects (such as legal issues) of someone dying then try the Bereavement Advice Centre.

The Leeds Bereavement Forum collates allot of information on the services available in Leeds.

In person

There are also several organisations and charities that provide specialist advice and support to those that have been bereaved:

• Cruse (bereavement care in Leeds area)
• Sands (stillbirth and neonatal death charity)
• The Compassionate Friends
• Leeds Suicide Bereavement Service
• Child Bereavement UK
• Winston’s Wish (for bereaved children)

Advocacy means helping another person to communicate their views and wishes.

Advocacy involves looking at choices and helping patients to make decisions and giving advice on where to get further support.

They can be found in Leeds at:

• Leeds Independent Health Complaints Advocacy

In addition to the above, Leeds Patient Empowerment Project (PEP) is available to support patients.

The term ‘social prescribing’ is used to describe a service which supports people to access a range of non-medical services and activities in their local area.

Social prescribing can help people with different social, emotional or practical needs to find the right support and improve their health and wellbeing.

The service can help you:

• Get support to improve your physical health.
• Find employment or volunteering opportunities or learn a new skill.
• Tackle money, housing, work or benefits issues.
• Cope with a particular condition or difficulty.
• Access ways of improving your emotional wellbeing such as befriending schemes, peer support or arts and leisure activities.

Our local service is run by Patient Empowerment Project (PEP).

To make an appointment please contact them on 0113 279 5870 or email pep@barca-leeds.org.

In addition to the above, we also host a representative from Leeds Patient Empowerment Project (PEP) in the surgery on Thursdays- you can book appointments with them via reception.

The support we offer during pregnancy 

Contents

1. Midwife
2. Breastfeeding

Midwife

Mona Alkuhtany is our midwife.

She is available at the practice on Tuesday and Thursday. You can book an appointment with her via the reception desk.

The role of the midwife

A midwife is a qualified nurse who has undertaken further training to provide and promote normal midwifery.

They help you to prepare for motherhood and promote good health for yourself and your baby by advising on the effects of drinking, smoking and good diet whilst you are pregnant.

The midwife guides you through your pregnancy and endeavours to detect any problems and make relevant referrals if necessary.

First appointment with the midwife

If you are pregnant you do not need to see the doctor in order to have your first appointment with the midwife.

You can arrange a booking appointment via the reception desk. This first appointment should be at about 9 weeks of pregnancy.Due date calculator

The Midwife will discuss your options for delivery, arrange appropriate referrals and provide you with dietary advice.

She will also take blood tests and will subsequently discuss the results with you. Whilst you are pregnant and until your baby is one year old you are entitled to free prescriptions and dental treatment. The Midwife will organise for an exemption certificate to be signed and sent off.

During The Pregnancy

Your maternity book lists when you will be seen by the Midwife, Doctor and hospital through your pregnancy. Should you have any concerns at any other time you can contact your midwife or, if she is not available, make an appointment to see a Doctor during normal surgery hours.

At some point during the course of your pregnancy, the Health Visitor will meet you to talk to you about her role in your care and about the childhood vaccination programme.

After Your Birth

After delivery, your Midwife will visit you at home to help you and your baby. Following the birth, she will visit you on your first day at home. When your baby is five days old she will carry out the Guthrie test (which is a special screening test that the Midwife will give you information about) and at ten days old she will discharge you and your baby from her care. Extra visits may be arranged according to need.

Your Health Visitor will visit you at home when your baby is between 10 and 14 days old and can advise on feeding, weaning and any family issues you may have.

About 6 weeks after your birth you should make an appointment to see your doctor to discuss contraception and any concerns you have about your own health.

Breastfeeding

It takes time for you and your baby to learn how to breastfeed.

The NHS Choices page on breast feeding might be useful.

Your midwife can also offer support and advice.

There are also a number of national services offering local support groups, which can be accessed via their websites:

• Babycafe
• Association of Breast Feeding Mothers
• La Leche League GB
• Breastfeeding Network

Additional support as you get older. Contents

1. Clinical Care Co-ordinators
2. District Nurses
3. Community Matron
4. Dementia services
5. Adult Social Care

Clinical Care Co-ordinators

As you get older the range of problems you face can grow, to the point where it might be difficult to cope, know what to do for the best, or make it difficult for you to leave your house.

We have a clinical care co-ordinator who ensures the practice team are aware of vulnerable patients and ensures that these patients are looked after and reviewed regularly by both the nurses and the doctors.

District Nurses

District Nurses carry out many roles for housebound patients, including:

• General nursing procedures and investigations
• Post-surgery care
• Assessment of patients’ needs
• Care for terminally ill patients
• Loaning of equipment
• Looking after wounds and leg ulcers
• Educating patients about self-care

Referrals can be made by a doctor or nurse at the practice, patients themselves or by carers and family members.

Community Matron

Jennifer Mills is our Community Matron.

Community matrons specialise in caring for older people, whether they live in their own home or a care home. They help patients manage their health problems and try to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital.

If a patient has to be admitted, they will communicate with the hospital team to ensure a smooth a discharge as possible.

Dementia services

It is very important that anyone who has problems with their memory has a proper assessment. If these problems are due to dementia then early diagnosis and referral have many benefits for the patient, their carer(s) and family. It can help them to plan and access the treatment and support they need and to improve their quality of life.

Please book with one of the doctors who can make the initial assessment and refer you to the memory clinic if needs be.

Adult Social Care

Leeds City Council help people aged over 18 to live as well as possible with their illness, disability or other problems. It can include help with things like washing, dressing, eating, getting out and about and keeping in touch with family and friends.

Adults who may need extra care and support include:

• Older people
• People with learning disabilities
• People with physical disabilities
• People with mental health problems
• People with drug and/or alcohol issues
• Carers

They offer a wide range of support and help and their adults and health page is a good place to start.

Or call them 0113 222 4401 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)

This can be done by you, a family member, a friend.

If you have difficulty using the telephone please email them at feedback@leeds.gov.uk.

Health checks for people with long-term conditions, eg diabetes, asthma & stroke

If you have one of the following conditions then you will be invited for an annual review or more frequently if necessary.

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Kidney disease
• Heart disease
• Asthma
• Chronic bronchitis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Learning disabilities
• Dementia
• Severe mental health problems

We will contact you shortly before your review is due. You may need a blood test before the appointment, in which case the invite will say this.

The appointment will be 20 minutes long, however if you have more than one problem it will be longer.

Services we provide relating to Alcohol and Drugs services in Leeds Contents

1. Do I need help?
2. Getting help

Do I need help?

Take the alcohol test is an excellent online tool which helps you work out if you’re at risk of alcohol-related problems and some simple things you can do to reduce the risk.

Or alternatively, if you’d prefer it in paper format:Alcohol brief intervention ()

Getting help

Forward Leeds

Forward Leeds has a wide range of services that support young people, adults and families in Leeds with alcohol and/or drug use.

It is the service that our Doctors will refer you to if you need help, you can also self-refer to the service.

Here is the list of Forward Leeds services.

Or call them on 0113 8872477

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is a national network of free self-help groups aimed at helping people recover from alcoholism.

Some people find them very useful and our Doctors often recommend them.

The best way of finding out about them and your closest group is at Alcoholics Anonymous.

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