Our Practice Nurses
Our practice nurses are available by appointment for monitoring of long-term conditions (including asthma and diabetes) family planning, cervical smears, travel advice, vaccinations, NHS health checks and much more. Appointments can be booked in advance by speaking with one of our clinical support team.
Sister Karen Rietdyk
Sister Karen has been a part of The Ash Surgery family for many years and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in caring for patients.
- Senior practice nurse
- Management of chronic diseases
- Childhood immunisations
- Contraception health checks
- New baby check ups
- Smears
- Health and wellbeing appointments
- Travel vaccinations and advise
Sister Shelley Blunden
Sister Shelley supports The Ash patients by providing additional clinics and has worked with the team for many years. She also has an interest in training and developing non-clinical staff in areas such as phlebotomy and flu vaccination.
- Management of chronic diseases
- Childhood immunisations
- Contraception health checks
- Smears
- Health and wellbeing appointments
Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Advanced Nurse Practitioner means a nurse with Level 7 MSc qualifications in clinical assessment. This includes:
- history taking,
- diagnose
- refer to specialist in secondary care
- physical examination and
- independent prescribing,
So, they can safely work in a first contact role to manage patients who present with a range of symptoms not previously assessed by another appropriate Health Care Professional. Nurses working at an advanced level can be employed in roles such as the ANP. They must show capability against the Core Capabilities Framework for Advanced Clinical Practice (Nurses) Working in General Practice / Primary Care in England.
Mental Health Nurse:
Our Mental Health Nurse works across a number of practices within our Primary Care Network to provide support to patients. Appointments with the Mental Health Nurse are by referral from the GP for patients who are not under a secondary care team.
- Support to manage low mood and anxiety
- Mental Health medication management
- Sleep hygiene
- Mental health fit notes