Patients sometimes approach our GPs asking them to provide capacity assessments for non-medical matters, such as financial lasting power of attorney, assessing capacity to change a will or other financial capacity assessments. Doctors are not trained or indemnified to provide assessments like this. They should only be conducted by professionals with the appropriate expertise and qualifications in legal and financial matters.

If you or a family member require a non-medical capacity assessment like this please contact a solicitor or other qualified professional directly to seek advice.  Our GPs will only assess capacity which is related to medical treatment and healthcare as part of their clinicial duties.

People sometimes ask us for tablets such as diazepam for flying / travel, medical procedures and scans to treat symptoms of anxiety. Unfortunately, as a practice we will no longer be able to prescribe diazepam or similar medications for these indications. Here is why:

 For medical procedures including CT and MRI scans

We understand that undergoing a procedure or a scan can be a scary and cause symptoms of anxiety. Some people experience intense feelings associated with being in small, confined spaces such as a scanner. This is real and unpleasant, and we understand why some may wish to take medications to reduce these feelings. It may be that a sedative medication could be helpful in some specific scenarios. However, getting the tablets from us at the GP surgery is not appropriate because:

1. We do not know the timings of your procedure or scan in order to advise on when to take the medications so that the effect is at its greatest
2. Diazepam and similar medications can have a paradoxical effect on some people and actually make them more agitated and even aggressive
3. Diazepam and similar medications can have severe side effects including lowering your breathing rate to dangerous levels and even stop someone from breathing. This is known as a “respiratory arrest” and is a medical emergency. Because of this risk patients who are prescribed diazepam or similar medications need to be monitored closely by hospital staff.

If you think you might require sedation for a procedure or a scan in hospital then please let the team who requested it know. Our colleagues in hospital, if they feel it is appropriate and necessary, will be able to organise a prescription for you and appropriate monitoring to ensure you are safe.

For fear of flying

People can develop a fear of flying for all sorts of reasons and it is understandable to want to seek help with this. However, diazepam and similar medications pose some serious safety issues when taken on a flight:

1. They can make people very drowsy and even unconscious. This then would stop them from being able to respond properly to an emergency, for example an emergency evacuation of the aircraft. This could endanger other passengers on board the plane, including the person’s loved ones.
2. Diazepam and similar medications can have a paradoxical effect on some people and make them more agitated and even aggressive, which can be dangerous to the person and other passengers in the confined spaces of an aircraft
3. Diazepam and similar medications are illegal in many other countries you may be travelling to

There are a number of recognised “fear of flying” courses you can go on, here are some options:

• Easy Jet easyjet.comTel 02023 8131644
• British Airways comTel 01252 793250
• Virgin co.ukTel 01423 714900

Bottisham Medical Practice

March 2025

Would you like to find out more about different childcare options available in Cambridgeshire, and the help available with funding? Our Families Information Service provides a one-stop shop for information and advice on all things childcare.

What We Do

We provide information, advice, and guidance to families across Cambridgeshire to:

• Find childcare
• Understand childcare funding options
• Find childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and to understand the  SEND Local Offer

Our advice is free, confidential, and impartial. 

fis@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

0345 045 1360

Cambridgeshire Families Information Service Facebook

See our website for more information Childcare and early learning | Cambridgeshire County Council

We also manage the Cambridgeshire Childcare Directory. Parents can use this facility to search for good or outstanding childcare providers across Cambridgeshire.

If you are unable to access your own dentist in an emergency, please call 111.

Dental Access Centres (for patients not registered with a dentist)

• Huntingdon: 0300 555 6667 option 1
• Cambridge: 0300 555 6667 option 1
• Peterborough: 0300 555 6667 option

Healthy Living is a free, online NHS programme that supports people to live well with type 2 diabetes.

The Covid19 pandemic has added to the strain on all NHS services. As a result of this, waiting list times for outpatient and specialist appointments and procedures have increased for everybody.　

We appreciate that this can cause worry and uncertainty about when you will eventually receive an appointment. The practice has no direct access to the hospital appointment lists.

If you have been referred by your GP/are waiting for :

• An outpatient appointment
• An appointment for hospital tests (eg scans)
• A date for an operation or other treatment
• A follow-up from your hospital team

You can now use the new NHS My Planned Care platform that is available online and will provide direct access to the latest average wait time for appointments and operations for local hospitals, as well as helpful advice and support for patients whilst they wait.

NHS My Planned Care is updated weekly, is easy-to-use and has ‘open access’ which enables carers, friends, relatives to also access information on someone else’s behalf.

Alternatively, patients who have already been in correspondence with hospitals regarding their planned care can also contact the relevant department or service. Details of which can be found on previous letters patients will have received or by contacting the hospital’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

Only call the practice if your condition has genuinely deteriorated, when you will be reviewed by one of the clinical team and appropriate action can be taken in regard to your care.