Gayton Road Cataract Service

Cataract Service

The human eye is like a camera, with a lens system at the front and a photosensitive ‘film’ at the back. The normal function of the lens is to focus light so that you can see sharp, clear images.

Cataracts are a gradual cloudiness of the lens (the transparent structure at the front of the eye) and can make your vision blurred or misty. Cataracts can develop in one or both eyes. Over time, the cloudiness can become denser.

In most cases, a cataract will continue to develop and surgery to remove it is the only way to restore vision.

For further information on the cataract service, please use the link below to download our cataract service leaflet:

Vida Healthcare – Cataract Leaflet

YAG Laser

Laser treatment is necessary when after cataract surgery months or years later your eyesight has become impaired.

This is due to the posterior capsule which is a fine membrane behind the lens of the eye has become thickened. This causes a gradual reduction in vision.

A YAG Laser Capsulotomy can be performed which will reduce glare and restore the vision to how it was after the original cataract surgery.

YAG Capsulotomy is a safe, non-invasive procedure, and serious complications are rare.

For further information on YAG Laser Capsulotomy, please use the link below to download our YAG Laser leaflet:

Vida Healthcare – YAG Laser Leaflet

Referring to us?

You can:

Ask your Optician for a referral to our service.

Self-Refer via West Norfolk Health – 01553 667420

Wait times

Our current wait times for Cataract Surgery is 8 weeks from referral to surgery.

For YAG Laser it is 6 weeks from referral to procedure.

The Assessment and Injection Therapy Service assesses, diagnoses, and offers a range of treatments for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. The Assessment and Injection Therapy Service works closely with local clinics and secondary care services, allowing for appropriate and timely referrals when indicated.

The service offers a primary care based integrated approach to the expert assessment and management of musculoskeletal patients.

Our service offers the following:

• Assessment and advice
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Injection Therapy

Onwards referrals to community or secondary care services.

Welcome to the Dispensary

We offer a full dispensing service including delivery to villages surrounding our surgeries and are located at Carole Brown Health Centre.

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Dispensary Quick Links

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Contact Us

About the Surgical Centre

Vida Healthcare Surgical Centre launched at Gayton Road Health Centre in 1995 when it started to offer minor surgical procedures to NHS patients.

In February 2016 the ophthalmic team at Gayton Road celebrated 20 years of performing cataract surgery within a GP setting and have performed over 6000 cataract procedures.

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Procedures

At the Surgical Centre we are able to perform the following surgical procedures:

• Cataract Surgery
• Skin Lesion Excision
• YAG Laser Capsulotomy

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Meet the Surgical Team

Private Fees for Non-NHS Services 

The NHS provides certain services which GPs offer and for which we are paid to offer by the NHS. However, there are many things which patients request from GPs which are not covered by this. GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients. However, we undertake some work as we appreciate that this service is valuable and of use to patients. Non-NHS services are chargeable.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their NHS patients are:

• Accident / sickness claim forms
• Adoption / fostering / special guardianship medical reports
• Confirmation of health status
• Firearms licensing medical information proforma
• Holiday / travel cancellation claim forms
• Private care forms (i.e. BUPA / Vitality forms)
• Private medical certificate
• TWIMC (short letters with statements of fact relating to general health)

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are:

• Adoption / fostering / special guardianship medical reports
• DVLA medical reports
• Medical reports for an insurance company
• Requests from solicitors for medical reports
• Some reports for the DSS/benefits agency

How long does it take for a GP to complete private work?

The turnaround time for specific requests is listed in our services tab on the page.

Our GP’s are busy providing medical services to patients under the NHS contract. Private work is undertaken outside of or in addition to NHS time, which may be scarce for personal or professional reasons. We will try our hardest to turn around private work as efficiently as possible, but we cannot guarantee the work will always be done as rapidly as a patient hopes.

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. In order to complete even the simplest of forms, the doctor might have to check the patient’s entire medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the police.

Private Fees

The table below lists the charges that this practice applies from 05/02/2025. In order to be fair to all patients, there are no exceptions to the charges.

Service	Fee payable
Accident / sickness claim forms   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£55.00
Adoption / fostering / special guardianship medical reports (examination required)   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days after agreed upon examination date	£200.00
Adoption / fostering / special guardianship medical reports (no examination required)   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£115.00
Confirmation of health status   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£55.00
Firearms licensing medical information proforma   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£65.00
GP signature only   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£20.00
Holiday / travel cancellation claim forms   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£55.00
Private care forms (i.e. BUPA / Vitality forms)   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£55.00
TWIMC (short letters with statements of fact relating to general health)   Turnaround time after date of payment: Up to 28 days	£30.00

Other important information:

Please note we do not provide letters for the following:

• benefits agencies*
• blue badges*
• court letters (unless requested via court order or solicitor)
• employers (occupational e.g. uniform adjustment or workplace adjustments)
• fit to drive or fly
• fitness to undertake cosmetic procedures or treatment
• housing agencies*
• mental capacity confirmation
• school letters (e.g. absence from school, toilet passes)

*We are able to provide a patient summary and any supporting evidence that may be found in your medical records. This can take up to 28 days to provide.

We do not offer appointments to test for patient’s blood groups. If you need this information, you can either a) donate blood, b) arrange a private blood test, c) if you have previously had a major operation/been pregnant, please contact the respective hospital.

If you are seeking a Hepatitis B vaccination for work purposes, please obtain this vaccination through your employer via an Occupational Health service. This is not a service that we are able to provide to our patients.

Our GPs do not provide a driving medical service, passport signing service or verification of identity.

What if I cannot afford to pay a fee? What can the practice do to help?

The practice recognises that many of our patients may have significant financial difficulties and would not wish to increase their financial stress. For this reason the practice offers two levels of support:

• Provide the patient with a summary of their medical record including active key diagnosis and current medications as previously recorded and read coded in their medical record. There is no charge for this level of support.
• Provide a specific letter or report to patients for a fee.

Whilst we understand the financial pressures patients may be experiencing, we receive a high volume of these requests and set all of our fees based on the time the GP takes to complete the work, so that we are equitable to all patients and our doctors. We are not able to negotiate our rates or offer reduced prices.

Our home visits are reserved mainly for very sick, housebound or vulnerable people who would find it impossible to visit the surgery in person. Please help us by ensuring that you only request a home visit if you are too sick to visit the surgery. Please contact us before 10:30am, unless a genuine emergency arises.

​If you need someone to phone on your behalf, please make sure they know your full name, address and date of birth and some idea of your symptoms so the doctor can assess the urgency of your call. You may be phoned back by a doctor to ensure that a home visit is absolutely necessary.

​We would appreciate it of you could make every effort to attend the surgery if possible because four or five patients can be seen in the time it takes to make a single house call.

​Outside normal surgery hours, we provide emergency cover, but please do not call out of hours unless it is a genuine emergency which cannot wait until the next surgery. If we’re closed, please call the Out of Hours Service on 111 for advice

​For more information about Home Visits or how to request one then please download the leaflet below:

There are highly trained physiotherapists that can help with a wide range of conditions and your doctor may refer you to this clinic if you have a problem which would benefit from physiotherapy.

The physiotherapists work at the Gayton Road Health centre every day and are available at the Carole Brown Health Centre on Tuesdays and Thursdays, by appointment and GP referral only.

​For more information on this, please click here.

Meet the Team

Lead Nurse: Mandy Pearson

Well Woman Nurse: Debbie Simpson

Well Woman Nurse: Jackie Ashworth

​Our clinics focus on various aspects of women’s health, such as family planning services, cervical smears, menopause and HRT.

​For more information on this, please click here.

Throughout Vida Healthcare we have a select group of nurses who are able to provide you with travel vaccinations and childhood immunisations. 

​We have a large team of nurses and healthcare assistants who are able to provide you with your flu vaccination.

Our Chronic Disease Clinics can be split into four categories:

• Chronic Heart Disease (CHD)
• Hypertension (Blood Pressure, BP)
• Diabetes Clinic
• Respiratory Clinics (COPD) and Asthma

​All of these categories of Chronic Disease are run by individual teams, comprised of  specialist nurses; All of our Chronic Disease Clinics are supported by a skilled team of Healthcare Assistants.