Clinics & Services We Offer

Care Coordinators help organise your care and support access to services.

We have a dedicated Frailty Care Coordinator at Birchwood Medical Centre who can act as the central point of contact to help patients navigate the healthcare system. They can help with personalised care plans, arranging support for appointments or connecting patients with other social and community services.

Our Care Coordinators work alongside our GP's and nurses through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This scheme helps ensure you are seen by the most appropriate clinician as quickly as possible.

If you have a long term condition, our nursing team will complete your annual review to ensure your condition is stable and well controlled. If you are struggling with symptoms, you may require more frequent appointments, but once stable you will be invited on an annual basis for an annual review.

We have a team of phlebotomists, healthcare assistants, a Nurse Associate & 4 Practice Nurses who can monitor and manage your asthma, COPD, hypertension, heart disease, stroke & diabetes.

Clinical pharmacists are an important part of our team at Birchwood Medical Centre. They are highly qualified experts in medicines and can help people in a range of ways. This includes carrying out structured medication reviews for patients with ongoing health problems and improving patient safety, outcomes and value through a person-centred approach. They can also help with non-urgent side effects or queries about your medication.

Pharmacy Technicians help support the safe and effective use of medicines, help with prescription queries, medication reviews, and improving medication safety.

We have 1 Clinical Pharmacist & 1 Pharmacy Technician here at the practice and they work alongside our GP's and nurses through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This scheme helps ensure you are seen by the most appropriate clinician as quickly as possible.

We have a very experienced diabetes nursing team at Birchwood Medical Centre.

Several of our nurses specialise in all aspects of diabetes management from diagnosis through to ongoing support. Our dedicated nurses can guide you with diet, lifestyle, weight loss and choosing the correct medication regime to help improve your diabetes with as minimal impact to your lifestyle as possible.

They can advise on both type 1 and type 2 diabetes through their years of nursing experience along with ongoing and regular up to dates to their diabetes training. They can initiate and monitor patients on insulin, using continous blood glucose monitors (e.g. Dexcom or Freestyle Libre) as well as advise on other injectable therapies for diabetes.

First Contact Physiotherapists (FCPs) are specialist physiotherapists who are trained in musculoskeletal problems such as joint, muscle, and back pain.

You can also book an appointment directly via our reception team to see our First Contact Practitioner regarding any musculoskeletal problem you have. First Contact Physiotherapists are able to diagnose the cause of your musculoskeletal symptoms, can advise on treatment and even arrange further investigations or referrals if you need them.

We have several First Contact Physiotherapists here at the practice and they work alongside our GP's and nurses through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This scheme helps ensure you are seen by the most appropriate clinician as quickly as possible.

Nursing Care at Home

We work closely with other healthcare professionals who are part of our Primary Health Care Team working in the community, such as the district nursing team, midwives and health visitors.

These services are provided by Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation and are based at Spencer House, Birchwood. You can contact them through reception.

If you have an illness or incapacity that means that you need nursing care in your own home, the district nurses will visit you at home. District nurses provide wound care, palliative care, blood tests, continence advice, health promotion advice, palliative care and advice on co-ordinating care packages.

If you are aged between 40 and 70 years old you may be eligible for an NHS Health Check every 5 years. The health check is designed to spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia. You'll be given advice to help you lower your risk of these conditions and maintain or improve your health. Please contact reception if you are interesting in having this health check.

All patients over 75 have had a named GP responsible for your care for the past year.

If however, you are over 75 and do not normally attend the practice with health problems, please contact reception to organise a health check.

Primary Care Paramedics are experienced clinicians who can assess, treat, and manage a wide range of urgent and ongoing health conditions, including home visits.

They have additional training to help & support patients in the community and are able to prescribe treatments for simple illnesses.

We have several Paramedics here at the practice and they work alongside our GP's and nurses through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This scheme helps ensure you are seen by the most appropriate clinician as quickly as possible.

Social Prescriber

Social Prescribers take a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing. They can connect you to community groups and other services for practical and emotional support.

The service works for a wide range of people, including those:

With one or more long-term conditions
Who are lonely or isolated

A social prescriber connects you to local services to help you with

Housing, benefits & financial support & advice
Bereavement
Social or Support groups & befriending
Carer's support
Lifestyle support such as walking groups, exercise and smoking cessation
Volunteering opportunities

Social Prescribers work alongside our GP's and nurses through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This scheme helps ensure you are seen by the most appropriate clinician as quickly as possible.

Our experienced nurses perform a wide range of treatments for our patients.

This includes:

Complex wound dressings
Compression dressing assessments and leg ulcer treatments
Regular injections advised by consultant specialists for the treatment of osteoporosis, cancer treatment and hormonal injections
Ear syringing
Diagnostic tests including dopplers & ECG's
We also offer a minor injuries assessment for problems such as animal bites, minor lacerations and other injuries which do not require A&E assessment.

We offer a wide range of Women's Health & Contraception Services at Birchwood Medical Centre

Including:

Full family planning services - including contraceptive pills, patches and injections
Pre-conception counselling for those with long term conditions who are planning pregnancy
Contraceptive coil and implant fittings as well as removals
Experienced clinicians who can discuss menopausal symptoms and prescribe HRT
We also offer assessment of ring pessaries which are used to help manage prolapse symptoms

We offer a range of vaccinations at the practice in addition to the routine childhood vaccinations.

Vaccinations Offered:

Annual NHS Flu Vaccination - eligible patients will be invited annually usually around October each year.
Pneumococcal Vaccinations
Shingles Vaccinations
RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus)
Covid-19 Booster Vaccinations
Travel Vaccinations - Please complete an online form if you wish to discuss what travel vaccinations you require to arrange an appointment to discuss this with our practice nurse.

Eligibility on vaccinations can vary - so please speak to one of our reception team who will advise whether you are eligible for any vaccinations.

Page last reviewed: 27 May 2026
Page created: 19 May 2021