Pregnancy, labour, birth and having a baby can bring a huge range of emotions to both you and your partner. Although you will have lots of positive feelings while you build a relationship with your baby, you may feel overwhelmed, exhausted and a loss of freedom and/or identity. It is important to realise that these feelings are normal while you adjust to being a parent. However, if these feelings are all-encompassing and you feel that it is affecting your daily life then it may be worth seeking some support. This section outlines the different types of mental health difficutlies that…

The Allied Health Professions (AHPs) are the third largest clinical workforce in health and social care in England. They provide high quality care to patients and clients across a wide range of care pathways and in a variety of settings that include, hospitals, community, the independent and charitable sectors and schools. They work in health promotion to prevent accident or illness, they are active in treatment and rehabilitation and they promote self-help and independence. At Wye Valley NHS Trust our AHPs provide the following ten services;                   Dietetics Occupational therapy Operating department practitioners…

Herefordshire Speech and Language therapy service can offer support for the following types of feeding, eating and swallowing difficulties: Ongoing Difficulties with bottle/breastfeeding Difficulties weaning onto solid foods Restricted diet/ extreme responses to food Swallowing difficulties associated with a range of medical and developmental conditions We cannot offer support for eating difficulties which are purely behavioural in origin.  However, these can be difficult to distinguish from other types of feeding difficulty and so assessment may be appropriate to establish the nature of the eating difficulty and identify alternative sources of support if necessary. Making a referral  Parents/Carers Herefordshire Speech and…

Wye Valley Community Diagnostic Centre A brand new facility in the heart of Hereford.  What is a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC)? Nationally Community Diagnostic Centres are springing up to provide a broad range of elective diagnostics away from acute facilities reducing pressure on hospitals and giving patients quicker and more convenient access to tests. As part of a national programme, a number of CDCs are now open across England. Some are based alongside acute hospitals, others are in shopping centres and some are new buildings on brown field sites.  The NHS England national CDC Programme vision is: “Community diagnostic centres…

Back to Cardiac Services Hereford Cardiology Unit (also known as Heart & Lung) is based in the Oxford Suite at Hereford Hospitals. The team comprises of a mixture of specialities from clinical cardiac physiology, nursing and medicine.  The Unit conducts a variety of clinics and carry out a number of diagnostic tests for a wide range of cardiac conditions: Electrocardiography (ECG) – a recording of the heart electrical activity which is helpful in diagnosing various conditions Echocardiography – a detailed examination using ultrasound that enables the valves and chambers of the heart to be viewed in detail Walking monitoring where we use a…

Stroke education

The respiratory physiology service at Wye Valley NHS Trust provides a service in respiratory, exercise and sleep physiology, for inpatients and outpatients from the Trust. The department provides a comprehensive range of investigations in order to: Aid diagnosis Give an objective assessment of how a condition affects the patient’s functionally Display and define the contribution of any secondary condition Monitor improvement with treatment or deterioration with time  Investigations are performed on patients with various types of lung disease, cardiac and oesophageal conditions and, on occasions, patients being considered for non-thoracic surgery when their cardio-pulmonary state gives cause for concern. Patients…

  All patients are given verbal advice on self-care at initial assessment and this is followed up with written information. Information is reiterated at follow-up appointments. Carers often attend with the most vulnerable and we include them in the discussions where appropriate. Patients and carers can often manage simple foot care if shown how to use nail nippers or a good nail file effectively. We advise on where to obtain the appropriate equipment. We also advise on appropriate footwear again giving advice on where to obtain suitable accommodating footwear e.g. for oedematous feet. A range of information leaflets are available…

Dermatology The Dermatology department is based at the Gaol Street Health Centre, with some surgery being performed at the County Hospital. A wide range of services are offered to help diagnose and manage adults and children with skin, hair and nail problems. We manage a wide range of inflammatory skin conditions and skin cancers in an out-patient and in-patient setting. We are proud of our multi-disciplinary approach to managing our service and patients with Doctors, Nurses and healthcare assistants trained in specialist areas of practice including skin surgery, Phototherapy, Photochemotherapy, Photodynamic therapy, Iontophoresis, patch testing, biological therapies and wound care. We work closely…

  Service overview The Health Psychology and Neuropsychology Service provides specialist psychology services for people affected by Acquired Brain Injury, Stroke, Cancer, Palliative Care and Long-Term Physical Health Conditions. We provide psychological support through individual, couple or sometimes family sessions, through groups, and by advising and supporting other services. We use a range of psychological approaches, and are staffed by clinical psychologists, counsellors/psychological therapists, an assistant psychologist and administrators. All of the services aim to help people enjoy a better quality of life despite their physical health problems. This involves helping people with the difficult thoughts, feelings and choices that…