The following screening services are available through the Abingdon Medical Practice:
- Cervical Cancer Screening (Smear tests, cytology) for all women aged 25 to 64
- Breast Screening for all women over 50
- Bowel Screening
- Retinal Screening for Diabetic patients
Cervical Cancer Screening (Smear test, Cytology) for all women aged 25 to 64
The Abingdon Medical Practice offers the test to all women aged between 25 and 64. You should ring and book an appointment with our nurse Amanda Afoa-Peterson and our nursing associate Nora Kammiri when you are mid cycle or Reception can arrange for you to see a nurse at one of the Out of Hours hubs on an evening or weekend [Out of Hours]. If you have had the test done overseas or privately, please help us keep your notes up-to-date by giving us a copy of the results. These can be emailed to e87701.sms@nhs.net so the nurse can add them to your medical notes. If the test has been done overseas, you will be invited to join the NHS screening within a year or you can opt out, by completing an information form. If you wish to discuss it further, you can arrange an appointment with your GP or the Practice nurse. If you are then still sure you want to opt out please complete a refusal form. This will be valid for five years but you can opt in again at any time. The test can be carried out at other Well Women or Sexual Health clinics in the area [Places where you can have Cytology Tests (DOCX, 13KB)].Cervical screening is not a test for diagnosing cervical cancer. It is a test to check the health of the cervix, which is the lower part of the womb (often called the neck of the womb).
- For many women the test results show that everything is fine.
- But for one in 20 women, the test shows changes in cells that can be caused by many things.
- Most of these changes will not lead to cervical cancer.
- Cervical cancer can often be prevented if spotted early on.
- Not going for cervical screening is one of the biggest risk factors for developing cervical cancer.
Go to the NHS UK website where you can get more information
Breast Screening for all women aged 50 to 79
Breast screening uses X-rays to look for breast cancers when they are too small to be seen or felt. The X-rays are called mammograms. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and it is more likely as you get older. Screening is every three years.
Go to the NHS UK website where you can get more information
Bowel Cancer Screening Services for men and women aged 60 to 69
Bowel cancer screening aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage (in people with no symptoms), when treatment is more likely to be effective. Bowel cancer screening can also detect polyps. These are not cancers, but may develop into cancers over time. They can easily be removed, reducing the risk of bowel cancer developing. About one in 20 people in the UK will develop bowel cancer during their lifetime. It is the third most common cancer in the UK, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths.
Go to the NHS Screening website where you can get more information
Retinal Screening for Diabetic patients
This is part of a national screening programme that aims to reduce the risk of sight loss among people with diabetes through the early detection and appropriate treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Any patient with a diabetes diagnosis is referred into this service unless they decide otherwise.
There is more information on the North West London Diabetic Eye Screening Web site
North West London Diabetic Eye Screening Programme
Diabetes is the second largest cause of blindness in adults, so don’t lose sight of your screening appointment.
From the end of October 2015 your current diabetic eye screening programme (DESP), is being combined with other programmes to form the North West London DESP.
We are arranging for your details and screening history to be provided to the North West London DESP, who will then invite you to attend your next screening appointment. All your screening related data and images will continue to be securely held and will only be accessible to healthcare professionals directly involved in your care with your consent.
If you have any questions give the new programme a call on 020 8099 1122 or check out the new website
www.nwldesp.co.uk
NHS free Health Checks for 40 to 74 year olds
The NHS Health Check is your chance to get your free midlife MOT. For adults in England aged 40 to 74 without a pre-existing condition, it checks your circulatory and vascular health and what your risk of getting a disabling vascular disease is. This guide explains what happens at the check, when and how you get one, and how to lower your risk.