An appointment has been made for you at Wilmslow Health Centre for the an abdominal and pelvic ultrasound scan.
The date and time of your appointment are shown on the text that contained the link to this page.
Click here for directions to Wilmslow Health Centre
If you cannot attend the appointment please contact 01625 547777 at least 48 hours prior to your appointment so that the appointment can be re-arranged. Failure to do so may result in your referral being rejected back to your GP and will result in a “Did Not Attend” on your record.
1. Come Prepared
(a). Please refrain from food for 6 hours prior to your scan. You can drink clear fluids such as water, squash and tea or coffee (without milk).
(b). Drink 1 litre of water an hour and a half before your appointment and come with a full bladder.
(c). You should wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing for your ultrasound exam. You will need to remove all clothing and jewellery in the area to be examined.
2. Parking
Wilmslow Health Centre Car Park remains closed for the duration of the Covid-19 Pandemic for safety reasons. Please allow plenty of time to park in the adjacent streets or nearby Sainsbury’s Car Park.
Click here for directions to Wilmslow Health Centre
4. Punctuality
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, we will be running a strict appointment schedule to ensure that the risk of patients being infected by Coronavirus is reduced as much as possible. This will involve limiting the number of people allowed in to the surgery at any one time and strict social distancing within the waiting areas of the surgery.
It is essential therefore that:
you do not arrive later than your appointment time
and
you do not arrive more than 5 minutes earlier than appointment time
The unpredictable nature of medicine does occasionally result in clinicians running late and sometimes you may be requested to wait within your car until you are called into the surgery in person or by phone (please keep your mobile phone switched on).
5. Checking in
On your arrival at the health centre, please ring the bell to the right of the window to reception, outside the main doors. The receptionist team will check you in and give you further instructions.
Please ensure that you have responded to the symptoms questionnaire texted to you within 24 hours of your appointment time. If you haven’t responded to the text, you may not be allowed into the building.
Your temperature may be checked by personnel as you enter the premises.
6. Stay Safe
(a) Please wear a face mask throughout your visit to the surgery. There is a global shortage of face masks and if you are unable to get hold of one, the video below shows how you can make your own, without the need for any sewing.
(b) Use hand sanitiser. If you do not have your own, please use the dispensers in the reception area.
(c) Practice social distancing. Only use the seats marked with a green square. Do not use the seats taped off with red tape.
(d) Come alone when at all possible to reduce crowding and reduce the risk of contamination. Carers and partners will not usually be allowed into the surgery.
(d) Do not linger in reception after your appointment. Any medication or appointment queries can still to be done over the phone when you have left the building.
What is an ultrasound scan?
Ultrasound scanning is one of the quickest and safest ways of examining the body using sound waves. The reflections of sound from inside the body are used to build up a picture on a screen.
What does it involve?
You will be taken into the ultrasound room and asked to partly undress. Some gel will be placed on the part of the body to be examined and the ultrasound probe is placed in contact with the body and moved over the surface to study the tissues below.
The scan is painless, although you may feel some pressure as the probe is applied to get a better view. The gel may feel cool and may temporarily stain clothes, so you may want to wear easily washable clothing. The room is usually darkened during the examination. After the examination, the gel can be wiped off the skin.
How long does it take?
An ultrasound scan usually lasts about 5-10 minutes. At Wilmslow Health Centre the scans are done by a UK trained Consultant Radiologist, an experienced doctor who is a Specialist in these tests.
What preparations are needed?
You should wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing for your ultrasound exam. You will need to remove all clothing and jewelry in the area to be examined.
You need to avoid eating for six hours and drink up to 1.5 pints of water about an hour before the scan to fill your bladder. Tea or coffee without milk may also be consumed. It is important that your bladder is full especially for pelvic scans, otherwise you may have to wait in the Clinic while it fills. This is required to obtain the clearest images for the scan.
What about my general health?
There are no medical conditions that prevent us performing an ultrasound. If you are diabetic please ring Wilmslow Health Centre reception to arrange a morning appointment.
Are there any risks?
Ultrasound is one of the safest ways of examining the body. It does not use X-rays or require injections of dye. Ultrasound has not been shown to have any harmful side effects in medical use.
What Are the Limitations of the Exam?
Because bone weakens sound waves, ultrasound cannot be used to examine bones surrounding your abdomen, such as your ribs. Also, because sound is weakened as it passes through layers of tissue, results from patients who are overweight are not of the same quality as those who are thin. In addition, ultrasound cannot obtain images through gas. Thus, bowel gas may limit visualization of some structures of interest.
Results
Once the ultrasound scan is done, the results will be sent back to the referring GP within 2 working days.
Have your say
Wilmslow Health Centre aims to provide high quality services. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the care or service you receive, please discuss it at the time with the person concerned. It is often possible to resolve a problem quickly and easily at the time it occurs. If you wish to make a formal complaint, please ask at reception for details of the Practice Complaints Procedure or write to the practice manager.
Please tell us if you have any constructive comments and suggestions for improving our service to patients. We encourage all patients to complete our satisfaction survey so we can improve our services.