Garden Clinic: Upton Hospital

How Is The Service Provided

MONKEYPOX

The Garden Clinic, Slough will be offering Monkey Pox Vaccines once they are available within our region. If you are new to the service and live within East Berkshire please call 0300 365 7777 to be added to the waiting list. Service users known to the clinic should have been contacted by SMS to inform you that we will contact you once we receive the vaccines, you therefore do not need to contact the clinic.
To make sure you see the correct person and are assessed correctly we are asking patients some additional questions. You will be asked by telephone and when you present at the clinic.

Signs and Symptoms:
In humans, the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but milder than the symptoms of smallpox. Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches and exhaustion. The main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that monkeypox causes lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy) while smallpox does not. The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7-14 days but can range from 5-21 days.

 

The illness begins with:
- Fever 
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Backache 
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Chills
- Exhaustiona high temperature or shivering (chills)

Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body. 

Lesions progress through the following stages before falling off: 
- Macules
- Papules 
- Vesicles 
- Pestules
- Scabs



The illness typically lasts for 2-4 weeks.


COVID-19

Please be aware that service users attending any of our clinics are still required to wear face masks and to hand sanitise their hands. Do not attend the clinic if you have been in contact with anyone who is positive for Covid-19 within the last seven days or if you have any of the following symptoms: 

- a high temperature or shivering (chills), a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough, this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- shortness of breath
- feeling tired or exhausted
- an aching body
- a headache
- a sore throat
- a blocked or runny nose
- loss of appetite
- diarrhoea
- feeling sick or being sick

Protecting you from monkeypox - Information leaflet on the smallpox vaccination

Online appointment booking system:

We are currently having an upgrade for our Online appointment booking system and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you. We ask for you to call 0300 365 7777, please be aware our phone lines are extremely busy and thank you for patience. If you do not have any symptoms please order the free online testing kit via the link below. 

Please be aware you can order free home testing kits from this website for the four most common STI's - Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis and HIV

The Garden Clinic provides a free, confidential, non judgemental, integrated Sexual Health Service in Slough, Bracknell and Maidenhead. 

Testing and treatment of sexual infections (STIs), emergency contraception, HIV testing and treatment and emergency treatment following HIV risk (PEP) are all available. For information about Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) or Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), please click here.

From April 2022 the NHS has started providing a new injectable treatment for people living with HIV. If you are interested in this treatment, or would like to know more please ask us at your next appointment in clinic when we can assess your suitability and advise on the treatment.

Sex is a normal part of most people's lives. Whatever your sexuality or preference we are not here to judge but to help inform your choices and to support you to remain healthy. The service is completely free.

Here to help not to judge.

Opening Times

Monday	12 noon - 7 pm BOOKED APPOINTMENTS ONLY
Tuesday	8.30 am  - 4 pm BOOKED APPOINTMENTS ONLY
Wednesday	8.30 am - 11.30 am BOOKED APPOINTMENTS ONLY 3.30 pm - 5.30 pm Young person's clinic for all those aged 18 and under (Walk in - no appointment needed)
Thursday	8.30 am - 4 pm BOOKED APPOINTMENTS ONLY
Friday	8.30 am - 4 pm BOOKED APPOINTMENTS ONLY
Saturday	CLOSED
Sunday	CLOSED

Who Is Eligible For This Service

Anyone who wants help and advice for matters related to Sexual Health. We also run clinics for young people aged 18 and under.

 If you need help with routine contraception, we encourage you to contact your GP.

Please note that we don’t provide smear tests (cervical screening).

Your GP can talk to you about this, and book an appointment.

If you need Psychosexual Counselling you will need to be referred by your GP. Please click the link for more advice NHS Psychosexual Health Advice

What Will Happen At Your Appointment

If this is your first visit to the Garden Clinic you will need to register when you arrive, giving your contact details, post code and date of birth etc. Reception staff are always happy to help if you have problems filling in forms.

Some people are worried about leaving their details even though we are extremely protective of your confidentiality. You will understand that for future visits and to link you to your tests we will need a constant identifier. For this reason we do always need a date of birth and your post code.

If your first language is not English and you need help during your visit to communicate we can arrange interpreters. You will need to ask a friend to call the clinic to arrange this. Alternatively you may have a friend who speaks English who is happy to come to the clinic with you and interpret for you.

Once you are arrived for your appointment you will be asked to wait in the waiting room. Patients are encouraged to wait in the waiting room away from the reception desk to give patients at the desk privacy.

 

Useful Information For Patients

You will be called by a clinician from the waiting room by your first name. Please note that you will not necessarily be called in numerical order as there will often be different clinics running at the same time and some patients may have appointments for these clinics.

Please allow yourself up to 2 hours for your appointment, we will always try and meet your needs as quickly as is possible. If you need to leave the waiting room please tell the receptionists. 

Making A Referral

Our service is open access meaning you do not need a referral from your GP but if your GP would like to refer you that is OK. Other specialists may also want to refer you to our clinic and that again is no problem.