Opening times, making appointments and what to do when we are closed

Halcyon Medical Centre
67-69 High Street
Birmingham
B4 7TA
Tel: 0845 072 4632

News:

PRACTICE EMERGENCY CLOSURE

The practice will not be open on 9th June 2010 due to a major flood of the premises. There will be staff available to see emergency patients only. All routine appointments are cancelled. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Please call the surgery for further information.

Swine Flu

See the Health Information page for the latest information about swine flu.

Cancelling your Appointment

If you are unable to attend an appointment with one of the doctors or nurses, please telephone or use the link at the bottom of this page to cancel your appointment.

By giving us as much notice as you can you are helping us to make sure that someone else is given your slot.

When the practice is closed

If you need urgent help or advice there is always a doctor on-call. Telephone the Surgery number and you will be told the number to call for help. Have a pencil and paper ready to write down the number and enough coins to make another call if you are phoning from a call box.

Announcements

01 Sep - 01 Oct
NHS Smokefree

Find out about all of the free NHS services available to support you as you go try to give up smoking.

01 Aug - 01 Oct
NHS Summer Health

Stay safe in the sun, including sunscreens, sunburn relief, heat exhaustion, eczema and moles. Summer holidays are great fun for children, but can bring risks. Find out more

01 Jul - 01 Oct
Change for Life

Would you like loads of tips and help to make changes for a healthier future? As part of Change4Life, you will receive tons of helpful information, recipes, tools, tips, and games for the kids.

BBC Health

More obesity ops 'will save cash'

Millions of pounds is lost in England by the failure of the NHS to provide more obesity operations, a study says.

Statins 'may cut arthritis risk'

Taking statins may reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, a study suggests.

Call for morning sickness action

More needs to be done to establish which are safe and effective ways to relieve morning sickness, experts say.

UK radiotherapy 'lagging behind'

Too few UK cancer patients are receiving state-of-the-art radiotherapy care, experts from Cancer Research UK say.

ME 'virus link' found in children

ME, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in children could be caused by a virus, scientists say.

Gaps persist in cancer survival

Despite significant improvements in cancer survival rates across England, regional differences remain, national statistics show.

'Genetic link' to breast cancer

Researchers have identified a series of genetic variations which may play a role in a common breast cancer.

Bipolar 'not linked to violence'

People with a mental illness are no more likely to be violent unless they abuse drugs or alcohol, a study suggests.

NHS in Wales faces £380m cutbacks

The Welsh NHS faces making £380m worth of cutbacks by April, with managers saying it is the biggest challenge they have faced in 20 years.

Diabetes drug advice 'not heeded'

A type two diabetes drug is still being prescribed in the UK two months after it was recommended for withdrawal, BBC Panorama learns.

Yahoo Health

US smoking rate still stuck at 1 in 5 adults (AP)

AP - U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday.

FDA cites claims on 2 green tea beverages (AP)

AP - Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages.

FDA relents from midodrine withdrawal plan (AP)

AP - Federal regulators have backed off a plan to remove a Shire PLC low blood-pressure treatment from the market after warning in August that the drug has not been proven effective.

Judge won't let stem cell money keep flowing (AP)

AP - A federal judge on Tuesday refused to lift his order blocking federal funding for some stem cell research, saying that a "parade of horribles" predicted by federal officials would not happen.

Japan confirms its first case of new superbug gene (AP)

AP - Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.

Picking right blood pressure medicine challenging (AP)

AP - It's hard to predict which pills will best lower which patient's high blood pressure, but researchers are hunting ways to better personalize therapy — perhaps even using a blood test.

Lack of Sleep May Be Linked to Childhood Obesity (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Infants and preschoolers who don't get enough sleep at night are at increased risk for later childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

For Bonobo Males, Mom Is the Best Wingman (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - To most human males, the thought of your mother anywhere near your sex life is probably horrifying. Not so for the bonobo, one of our closest primate relatives. A new study confirms that hanging out with mom boosts male bonobos' chances of getting intimate with a fertile female.

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 7, 2010 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Autistic Toddlers Prefer to Gaze at Geometric Patterns: Study (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- When given the choice to gaze at geometric patterns or children dancing and playing, toddlers with autism spent more time looking at the patterns while typically developing toddlers preferred to look at other kids, a new study finds.

MedPage Today

Judge Won't Lift Block on Stem Cell Research Funding

(MedPage Today) -- Federal spending of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research will remain off-limits for now, a federal judge ruled, dealing yet another blow to the Obama administration's efforts to support such research.

Cigarette Smoke May Affect Fertility (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Smoking may provide an explanation for reduced fertility, results of two studies suggested.

Adult Smoking Hits Plateau

(MedPage Today) -- One in five U.S. adults continues to smoke tobacco -- a percentage that hasn't budged since 2005 -- suggesting that more aggressive efforts are needed to reduce smoking-related diseases and deaths, the CDC said.

Pandemic H1N1 Similar to Seasonal Strains (CME/CE, with video)

(MedPage Today) -- In general, the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus did not cause more serious disease than other recent influenza A strains, researchers found.

Nevirapine Reuse Possible in Exposed Children With HIV (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In most HIV-infected children being exposed at birth to nevirapine (Viramune) doesn't rule out using the drug again later, researchers reported.

PCV-7 Vaccine May Promote Serotype 19A Infection (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Infants receiving a three-dose regimen of heptavalent PCV-7 pneumococcal vaccine were more likely than unvaccinated controls to pick up a nonvaccine pneumococcal strain associated with invasive infection and antibiotic resistance, researchers said.

More Human Trials Needed for HIV Vaccine Hunt

(MedPage Today) -- HIV vaccine researchers are calling for more and better human trials as part of the quest for ways to block transmission of the virus.

Patients Expect More from PCI than It Delivers (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Cardiologists fully understand the limits of percutaneous coronary interventions -- but their patients are often overly optimistic about the benefits of PCI, a new survey revealed.

Splint Matches Cast for Kids' Wrist Fractures (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In children with wrist fractures, a splint works as well as a cast, researchers reported.

Behcet's Takes Higher Toll in Men (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Men with Behçet's disease are much more likely than women to die of this chronic multisystem vasculitis, a large French study found.

Opening Hours

Appointments

Home Visits

Urgent Appointments

CHRISTMAS CLOSING

The surgery will be closed on the following dates:

Thursday 24 December – closes at 1pm

Friday 25 December – Monday 28 December CLOSED

Tuesday 29 December - OPEN

Wednesday 30 December – OPEN

Thursday 31 December – closes at 1pm

Friday 1 January - Sunday 3 January – CLOSED

Monday 4 January – OPEN AS USUAL

IF YOU ARE A REGISTERED PATIENT AND YOU REQUIRE URGENT MEDICAL ATTENTION OUTSIDE OF SURGERY HOURS PLEASE CONTACT:

BADGER

Contact No. 0121 693 4000

FOR MORE GENERAL ADVICE CONTACT:

NHS DIRECT

Contact No. 08 45 46 47

Opening Hours

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Below are the surgery opening hours. See the next tab for consulting times and information about making an appointment.

Monday	08:00 - 19:00
Tuesday	08:30 - 18:00
Wednesday	08:30 - 18:00
Thursday	08:30 - 18:00
Friday	08:30 - 18:00
Saturday	10:00 - 16:00
Sunday	11:00 - 14:00

Cancellation of Appointments

Please cancel any appointment that you cannot attend, otherwise you deprive another patient from getting an appointment. If you wish to speak to a doctor or nurse during surgery hours, please call after morning surgery (11.30am) except in an emergency.

Doctors' Appointments

diary All consultations are by appointment with a routine time of 10 minutes. To book an appointment call 0845 072 4632.

We will endeavour to book an appointment with a clinician of your choice. However, this may not always be possible and if this is the case you will be advised accordingly.

A nurse/HCA triage clinic is held every day and they can advise and organise a doctor to see you as necessary should the appointment of your choice not be available.

Although there may be slight variations, availability is usually:

Dr Nye

Monday	08.00 - 12.00	16.00 - 18.30
Tuesday - Thursday	08.00 - 12.00
Friday		16.00 – 18.00

Dr Kang

Monday and Tuesday

09.00 - 12.00

Dr Desai

Monday and Tuesday	09.00 - 12.00	14.30 - 17.30
Thursday	11.00 - 14.00

Dr Martin

Tuesday	09.00 - 12.00	14.30 - 17.30
Wednesday	11.00 - 14.00	15:00 - 18:00

Nurse Consultations

The practice nurses are available by appointment between 9.00am - 4.30pm, Monday - Friday.

If you are between the ages of 16 and 74 and have not been seen within the last three years, you may request a consultation with one of the doctors or practice nurses. Please telephone to book an appointment. Consultations can also be requested by patients over the age of 75 if you have not been seen at the health centre in the last 12 months.

Home Visits

Home visits are for those patients who are too ill to attend surgery and only when absolutely necessary.

Doctors are restricted with the examination/investigations they can carry out in the home.

If you feel you need a home visit please telephone as early in the day as possible. It helps us to judge the urgency of the call if you describe the symptoms, so do expect to be asked.

Urgent or Emergency Appointments - Tel: 0845 072 4632

If you need to be seen urgently and cannot wait for the next available appointment, please tell the receptionist who will arrange for you to be triaged by a practice nurse who will then make a doctor's appointment as deemed appropriate. Please inform the receptionist when you arrive for your appointment.

Practice Information

For quick medical advice online or on the telephone contact NHS Direct