Blood tests, blood pressure, dressings, smears, vaccinations
Nurse and healthcare assistant clinics
Most of what happens at the surgery happens in the nurses' rooms: blood tests, blood pressure checks, dressings and stitches out, cervical screening, travel and childhood vaccinations, ear care, contraception and the annual reviews for long-term conditions. Bookable directly, no GP needed.
You do not need to see a doctor to see a nurse. Four practice nurses and a healthcare assistant run clinics every weekday for the things that need skilled hands rather than a diagnosis, and for the annual checks that keep a long-term condition stable. Reception books you straight in.
Blood tests run every weekday morning from 8:30 until noon, booked in ten-minute slots; most results are back within three working days and you can read them in the NHS Wales App or ring after 2pm. Blood pressure checks, weight and height, ECGs and spirometry are done by the healthcare assistant. Dressings, stitches and clips out, ear irrigation and injections are booked with a nurse the same week.
Cervical screening is offered every three years from 25 and every five from 50, with a female nurse, in a twenty-minute appointment that includes time to talk. Childhood immunisations follow the Welsh schedule and are booked by the practice when they are due. Travel vaccinations need a form six weeks before you go; some are free on the NHS and some are charged at cost, and the nurse tells you which before anything is given.
What is included
- Blood tests every weekday morning, results in three working days
- Blood pressure, ECG, spirometry with the healthcare assistant
- Dressings, stitches out, ear care, injections
- Cervical screening with a female nurse, twenty minutes
- Childhood and travel vaccinations
- Contraception, including the pill, injection and implant checks
How to book, and when
Book directly with reception or online; no GP appointment needed first. Blood tests Monday to Friday 8:30 to 12. Smears and vaccinations any weekday. Dressings daily. Everything is free on the NHS unless it says otherwise. How each kind of appointment works is on the appointments page; the full list of clinics is on the clinics page.
Questions about nurse clinics
Do I need to fast for a blood test?
Only for some tests, and the person who requested it will have told you. If you are not sure, ring reception, who can see what was ordered. Water is fine before any test.
Can I have my smear with a particular nurse?
Yes. All cervical screening is done by female nurses, and you can ask for a named one when you book. You can also ask for a longer appointment or to bring someone with you.
Which travel vaccines are free?
Hepatitis A, typhoid, cholera and the combined diphtheria, tetanus and polio booster are free on the NHS. Rabies, Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis and yellow fever are not, and the nurse will quote the cost before booking them.
Need help today? Ring from 8am.
Sixty same-day slots every weekday, a clinician ringing you back the same morning. For anything that can wait, request a routine appointment online and reception replies within a working day. When we are closed, ring 111.