Cervical screening, or the “smear test”, is a routine health check that identifies potentially harmful cells and changes on the cervix. Cervical screening is not a test for cancer, but catching any changes early can reduce your risk of developing cervical cancer. Cervical cancer kills two women every day. Regular screenings can help reduce that number, which is why it’s so important you attend your screening when invited.

All women and people aged 25 to 64 with a cervix should receive a routine screening invite letter every three to five years.  Visit the NHS website here>> for more information about cervical screening and why it's important. 

If you missed your last cervical screening, you do not need to wait for a letter to book an appointment. Please contact us to make an appointment with a member of our Nursing team. 

All women who have reached the age of 50 are offered breast screening  every three years until the age of 65.  You will have a simple screening x-ray called a mammogram. 

Breast screening is a national programme and is not led by the Practice.  NHS England will routinely send an invite letter to eligible patients, with a telephone number for patients to ring and book an appointment. However please make an immediate appointment to see your GP if you discover any breast lump.

For more information on the NHS breast screening programme including when you'll be invited and who should go, please visit the NHS website by following this link>>

NHS bowel cancer screening checks if you could have bowel cancer. It's available to everyone aged 60 to 74 years.

The programme is expanding to make it available to everyone aged 50 to 59 years. This is happening gradually over 4 years and started in April 2021.

You use a home test kit, called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT), to collect a small sample of poo and send it to a lab. This is checked for tiny amounts of blood.

Blood can be a sign of polyps or bowel cancer. Polyps are growths in the bowel. They are not cancer, but may turn into cancer over time.

If the test finds anything unusual, you might be asked to go to hospital to have further tests to confirm or rule out cancer.

Always see a GP if you have symptoms of bowel cancer at any age, even if you have recently completed a NHS bowel cancer screening test kit – do not wait to have a screening test.

For Further informaton please clickon the following link Bowel cancer screening - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Contraception services are free and confidential, including to people under 16 as long as they are mature enough to understand the information and decisions involved.  For advice on contraception, including emergency contraception, please contact us and ask to speak to nurse or doctor. 

You can arrange to have a contraceptive coil (Mirena) fitted by us and also the contraceptive implant. Please call our reception team if you are interested. Your can find out more information here about the Mirena coil.

The NHS UK website has a useful contraception guide too.

If you have an urgent issue and this is outside clinic opening hours

You can get impartial help and advice from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service. If you have decided to terminate your pregnancy, you can refer yourself by calling 0300 303 8565 to book an appointment.

Testing for sexually transmitted disease is done by the Sexual Health Hub Sexual Health & STI Clinics in and near Oldham | HCRG Care Group (thesexualhealthhub.co.uk) who can be contacted directly  on 0300 303 8565 for advice, testing and contraception also.

The NHS UK website has a useful contraception guide too.