CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

CAMHS help children and young people up to 18 who are finding it hard to cope with everyday life because of difficult feelings, behaviour or relationships.

Most of the time when we are sad, angry, stressed or worried these feelings pass within a few days, but if they go on for a while and stop us enjoying and coping with life, then CAMHS can help.

Just as we go to the doctors when we are physically ill, sometimes we need extra help with our mental health.

CAMHS provide flexible support to suit your needs.

• Initially they will find out more about the difficulties you are having
• They will discuss the sort of treatment and support that is likely to help and agree a plan with you
• Sometimes a few sessions will be enough to get you back on track. Sometimes you may need to meet with for longer.

CAMHS work with you in a range of different ways to suit your needs. These are some of the ways they can work with you:

• Solution Focussed Practice
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
• Family Therapy
• Psychotherapy

This is the care you receive while you’re pregnant to make sure you and your baby are as well as possible.

The midwife or doctor providing your antenatal care will:

• check the health of you and your baby
• give you useful information to help you have a healthy pregnancy, including advice about healthy eating and exercise
• discuss your options and choices for your care during pregnancy, labour and birth
• answer any questions you may have

If you’re pregnant in England you will be offered:

• 2 pregnancy ultrasound scans at 11 to 14 weeks and 18 to 21 weeks
• antenatal screening tests to find out the chance of your baby having certain conditions, such as Down’s syndrome
• blood tests to check for syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B
• screening for sickle cell and thalassaemia

You may also be offered antenatal classes, including breastfeeding workshops.

Ask your midwife about classes in our area.

You can book an appointment with your midwife as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. It’s best to see them as early as possible to obtain the information you need to have a healthy pregnancy, and because some tests, such as screening for sickle cell and thalassaemia should be done before you’re 10 weeks’ pregnant.

Healthy Start is a government initiative designed to enhance the health of pregnant women, mothers on benefits or low incomes, all pregnant women under 18, and children under the age of 5.

Families participating in the scheme receive vouchers that can be used to purchase milk (including infant formula), fresh fruits, and vegetables.

• https://www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/our-services/maternity-services/
• https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/your-pregnancy-care/your-antenatal-care/

Received your invitation for Cervical Screening?

Please, don’t ignore it. It takes just a few minutes and could save your life!

For more information on Cervical Screening see below.

Cervical screening is a way of preventing cervical cancer (cancer of the cervix). It uses tests to find abnormal changes in the cells of the cervix. The first part of cervical screening is to have a smear test. This is also called the cervical screening test.

Abnormal cell changes in the cervix are quite common and often improve on their own. However, in some cases, treatment may be necessary because there is a risk these changes could progress to cancer.

These changes typically don’t cause any symptoms, so you won’t know if you have them without a cervical screening. Screening detects abnormal cell changes, including those most likely to develop into cancer. These cells can then be treated, which is an effective method for preventing cervical cancer.

Cervical screening is recommended for everyone with a cervix. It’s essential to get screened, even if you’ve received the HPV vaccination. While the vaccine protects against the most common high-risk types of HPV that lead to cervical cancer, it doesn’t offer protection against all types.

Women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 will be invited when it’s time for their cervical screening.

Trans and Non-binary People

Trans man or non-binary people who have a cervix should have screening too. An invitation may not be automatically sent if registered as a male – please contact us if you want to have cervical screening.

Trans women or those assigned as male at birth do not need cervical screening. The NHS has more information about other types of screening for trans women. 

• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening/
• https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/diagnostic-tests/cervical-screening

Why are vaccinations so important?

Vaccines have been around for a long time and have been saving lives in the UK for decades. They undergo rigorous research, safety testing and monitoring to make sure they are safe for you and your family.

Vaccination helps:

• protect your child from many serious and potentially deadly diseases
• to stop dangerous diseases from spreading in local communities
• to keep vulnerable people safe, including babies, people living with certain health conditions and older people.

What vaccinations does my child need?

NHS routine childhood vaccinations are free. Staying up to date with your child’s vaccinations throughout their childhood will provide them with the best protection against deadly diseases. Find out which vaccinations your child needs and when below.

Where to go for trusted information?

It’s okay to have questions about whether vaccination is the right decision for your child. 

But it is important to be mindful about where you receive your information from. Anti-vaccine stories and false information can often be spread online through social media or through word of mouth.

Always get your vaccine and health information from trusted sources, such as the NHS or the World Health Organisation (WHO). You can also speak to your GP or health visitor for advice about what vaccines are right for you and your family.

Vaccination information you see on social media may not be based on scientific evidence. All the current evidence tells us that getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated.

Most vaccines are given in childhood, but eligible adults are offered three routine vaccines once they reach a certain age (the shingles, RSV and pneumococcal vaccines), plus seasonal flu and Covid-19 vaccines every year.

Routine Vaccinations

Seasonal Vaccinations

Travel Advice

If you are thinking of travelling, please check that the name on your passport is the same as the name on your NHS COVID Pass. If it isn’t, you will need to allow enough time to contact the passport office in order to make any changes required and ensure your passport is correct. Further information can be found at www.gov.uk/about-our-services

If you are going abroad we can provide advice and give any immunisations you may need. Please fill in a travel immunisation advice form available here. There is a charge for most travel vaccinations.

Travel Information and Prices

We offer a full travel service for our patients, and offer a limited number of travel appointments with our specially trained nurses. This provides both NHS vaccines which are free and private travel vaccinations which are chargeable- both are subject to appointment availability. Please book early so that we can accommodate your needs and complete one of our travel forms at least 10 weeks before you plan to travel. If you are unable to do so we will advise that you make an appointment with a private travel immunisation clinic. Please see below for local providers.

If we are able to make you an appointment, some vaccines are free of charge, but most will incur a charge and will need to be paid for before administration. Once you have had your appointment you may incur additional charges subject to your travel plans, but the nurse will advise you once she has consulted with you.

Whilst we recognise that you may make last minute travel plans, we cannot guarantee last minute appointment availability. In many cases this is because vaccinations should be administered a certain number of weeks prior to travel.

Upon receipt of your travel form, it will be assessed by one of our travel nurses. Once they have indicated on the form how long an appointment you need and an estimate of the cost they will text you asking you to contact reception to book an appointment, therefore please ensure you include your mobile telephone number on the form. The receptionist will have access to your completed form and can give you a copy if we cannot make you an appointment at our travel clinic in order for you to take with you to another provider if this is required.

Westongrove, Aston Clinton Surgery, is also a registered Yellow Fever Centre.

• Online travel form
• Travel Clinic Prices

We are a registered Yellow Fever centre, but unfortunately there is currently a national shortage of the following vaccines

View your vaccinations in your GP records! This can be accessed through your NHS App or NHS Online.

Local stop smoking services are free, friendly and can massively boost your chances of quitting for good.

These services staffed by expert advisers provide a range of proven methods to help you quit.

They’ll give you accurate information and advice, as well as professional support, during the first few months you stop smoking. 

They also make it easy and affordable for you to get stop smoking treatments, such as:

• medicines such as varenicline and bupropion (Zyban)
• nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches or gum

Carers Bucks supports unpaid carers of all ages, from all backgrounds and in all caring roles. This includes young carers, young adult carers, parents of children with a physical or learning disability, older carers, carers from diverse communities, LGBTQ+ carers and those looking after someone with a mental health condition. Carers Bucks also provides support for unpaid carers and the person they care for whilst in Stoke Mandeville, Amersham, Wycombe and Wexham hospitals.

• Up-to-date information and advice on carers’ issues
• Help with knowing carers’ rights and entitlements
• Guidance on health and social issues
• Help to create an emergency plan
• Carer Information and Support Groups
• An opportunity to meet other carers
• A listening ear and someone to talk to in confidence
• Bi-annual ‘Carers News’ newsletter

All their services are free to carers

• Register online as a Carer With Carers Bucks
• Their ‘Contact Us‘ Page

If you register as a carer, it will enable us to support you in your caring role.

Book your appointment here if:

• You’re aged 40 to 74

• Do not have a pre-existing health condition

• Received an invitation or haven’t had an NHS Health Check in the last 5 years

The NHS Health Check is a health screening for adults in England between the ages of 40 and 74. It is designed to detect early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or dementia. As we age, our risk of developing these conditions increases. The NHS Health Check aims to identify ways to reduce this risk.

The NHS Health Check aims to lower your risk of getting conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels, such as heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

Many of the warning signs for these conditions, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, do not have symptoms.

The NHS Health Check helps you find out if you are at risk of getting these conditions so you can take action to improve your health. This could include making lifestyle changes or taking medicines.

The risk factors assessed during the health check are often shared by other conditions, including type 2 diabetes, preventable cancers and respiratory illness. An NHS Health Check could help you to reduce your chance of getting these conditions too.

Dementia and heart disease also share common risk factors.

Your NHS Health Check will be done by one of our trained healthcare assistants.

The check takes about 20 to 30 minutes and usually includes:

• measuring your height and weight
• a blood pressure test
• a cholesterol and blood sugar (diabetes) blood test

You’ll also be asked some questions about your health including:

• whether any of your close relatives have had any medical conditions
• if you smoke, and how much
• if you drink alcohol, and how much
• how much physical activity you do

Your age, gender and ethnicity will also be recorded

You’ll be given your cardiovascular risk score of developing a heart or circulation problem, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes or kidney disease, over the next 10 years.

The healthcare professional may describe this risk score as low, moderate or high.

Everybody’s cardiovascular risk rises with age, so the next time you have an NHS Health Check your risk score may be higher, even if your test results are the same.

There are some things about your risk which you cannot change, such as your age, ethnicity and family history. But the most important factors in your risk score (such as smoking, your cholesterol level and blood pressure) can be changed.

Your NHS Health Check results should also be broken down into:

• your diabetes risk assessment
• your body mass index (BMI) score
• your blood pressure
• your cholesterol levels
• your alcohol use score
• your physical activity assessment result
• your diabetes risk assessment

Be Healthy Bucks offer a range of healthy lifestyle programmes designed to help you lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off for good.

Their tried-and-tested approach ignores fad diets in favour of small, realistic changes. Their nutritionists and exercise leaders will work with you to help you to achieve your goals.

To take part, you need to be a Buckinghamshire resident and over 16-years-old with a BMI of more than 30 (or 28 for ethnic minorities or people with long-term health issues).

Find support that’s right for you!

Mounjaro is a new injection designed to help with weight loss. It works by making you feel full, so you eat less. In trials, people using Mounjaro lost up to 20% of their body weight.

For more information about accessing Mounjaro on the NHS, please click here.