Acupuncture Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Help in the treatment of acute and chronic pain and discomfort. It is also helpful in the management of other conditions such as alcohol and tobacco addiction.

You may be referred to this clinic by the doctor at the Health Centre, your family doctor or from Hospital.

Please phone the Health Centre for an appointment.

This Clinic opens Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

You can expect:

• treatment programme over one or more sessions

• sessions to last from 30 minutes to an hour

• to wait not more than 15 minutes beyond your appointment time.

Adult Dental Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

• Free dental check ups

• free scaling and polishing

• free extractions

• free temporary fillings

• emergency treatment.

If you have the Pink Card, you can also get the following free services:

• permanent fillings

• conservative treatment.

Dentures and prosthetics cases are referred to St. Luke's Hospital.

This Clinic is for persons 16 years of age and over. No referral tickets are needed.

Please phone the reception desk at the Health Centre for an appointment.

This Clinic opens Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

An emergency service is provided to all on Sundays and Public Holidays from 9.00 a.m. to noon.

You can expect:

• appointments for a check-up within 5 days

• appointments for fillings within 2 weeks
• to wait not more than 20 minutes beyond your appointment time

• your check-up to last not longer than 15 minutes

• your filling procedure to last no longer than 45 minutes.

• oral hygiene by appointment after dental examination by the dentist.

You can also expect:

• appointments with the dental hygienist to be available within 5 days of your request

• sessions to last approximately 30 minutes.

Should you need:

• an X-ray, you will be referred to the Dental Out-Patients' Department at St. Luke's Hospital

• specialised treatment, you will be referred to a Dental Consultant at the Hospital

• an anti-biotic cover prior to any dental intervention in case you suffer from a cardiac condition, you will be referred to the Cardiac / ACC Clinic at St. Luke's Hospital.

Ante-Natal and Gynae Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

• Pregnancy test (which do not require an appointment)

• ante-natal examinations

• smear tests

• gynaecological assessments

• family planning advice

• referral to hospital services as appropriate

• post-natal examinations.

You can attend this Clinic if you live in the Floriana Health Centre catchment area (see page 2).

You are entitled to receive post-natal care for 6 to 8 weeks after delivery.

If you are under 18 years and single, your guardian must accompany you.

The Clinic is open on Tuesdays from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

For an appointment, please call the clinic on Tuesday between 11.00 a.m. and 1.00pm.

You can expect:

• appointments to be available within 4 to 6 weeks

• to wait not more than 30 minutes beyond your appointment time.

Diabetes Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Investigations and monitoring of:

• blood glucose level

• urine (for protein, glucose, acetone)

• blood pressure

• weight

• other investigations which are considered necessary by the doctor.

You may be referred to this Clinic from the Diabetes Clinic at St. Luke's Hospital.

As a new case, you will receive an appointment notice by post. Follow-up appointments are given during visits.

You can expect:

• appointments to be set as indicated by the doctor according to clinical need

• to be seen by the nurse within 15 minutes of your appointment time.

Following your visit, you may be:

• advised to follow a particular diet

• prescribed tablets or insulin injections.

Once a year, you can also expect to be referred to an ophthalmologist for an eye examination and / or a podologist and for routine blood investigation. You may also be referred to other clinics for preventive measures or for the treatment of complications.

General Practitioner Service

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

• Consultation for any condition you may have

• a check-up if you have not seen your doctor for the past 3 years

• free investigations that are considered necessary by the doctor

• referral to a consultant when your doctor feels it is necessary

• referral to other health care services when your doctor thinks it is necessary.

Urgent and emergency cases are attended to immediately.

Requests for non-urgent home visits are accepted at the discretion of the doctor.

For home visits, please phone preferably before 9.00 a.m. giving us the following details:

• your name and age

• your address with clear directions

• your telephone number
• some details on your condition.

If you require a home visit for your child, an adult preferably one of the parents, should be present when the

doctor calls.

G.P. service is open 24 hours a day. No appointments are required.

For routine and repeat free drug prescription, please visit the Centre between Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and on Saturday from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

Medical certificates for absence from work are issued from 8.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. except for shift workers in which case a certificate may be issued at any time.

You can expect:

• emergency medical care at any time

• house visits if your condition prevents you from attending the Health Centre.

• to be given preference in the queue if you hold a special ID card such as:

*Kartanzjan 75+

*Disabled Persons' yellow card

*Care Workers Identification card

Glaucoma Screening Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Screening test for glaucoma.

To attend this clinic you need to call the Health Centre for an appointment. No referrals are needed.

Screening is targeted at:

• people who are 45 years old or older

• people who are 35 years old or older who suffer from diabetes

• people who are 35 years or older and have a family history of diabetes and/or glaucoma.

This Clinic opens on Wednesdays from 8.00 a.m. to noon.

You can expect:

• appointments for screening to be available within 1 to 2 months

• sessions to last no longer than 15 minutes

• to wait not more than 15 minutes beyond your appointment time.

National Immunisation Service

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Immunisation against contagious diseases.

No appointment is needed. Scheduled childhood immunisations and other selected immunisations recommended by the department for persons considered to be at risk are given free of charge. A fee may be charged for some travel immunisations.

Selected free services are entitled to:

• new-born children (as per schedule of immunisations)
• school children (co-ordinated by the School Health Services)
• intravenous drug users
• patients with chronic diseases
• health care personnel
• missionary workers/voluntary workers in high risk countries
• haemophiliacs
• persons requiring screening services.

Children who miss out on their immunisation for Hepatitis B and MMR carried out in schools can receive such immunisation at the clinic.

As a parent or legal guardian, you are responsible for taking your children for immunisation at the ages specified in the schedule issued by the Department.

You are requested to bring the immunisation record for the nurse to update and a copy of your child's birth certificate if you are bringing the child for a first immunisation.

Should you choose to have your child immunised privately, please inform the Department.

This Clinic opens Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and Saturday from 8.00 a.m. to noon.

You can expect:

• to be given sound guidance on the immunisation you require.

Medical Consultant Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Medical consultation.

You may be referred to this clinic by the Health Centre doctor or your family doctor.

This Clinic is open on Wednesdays from 8.30 a.m. till noon and on Fridays from 8.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.

You can expect:

• appointments for new cases to be available within a month

• appointments for follow-ups to be given as indicated by the consultant physician according to clinical need

• to be seen within 20 minutes of your appointment time.

Schedule V Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Free medication for the treatment and control of chronic conditions as listed in Schedule V of the Social Security Act.

You may be referred to this clinic by the Health Centre doctor or family doctor.

Please call the reception desk for an appointment.

Schedule V cards issued from the Departments of Surgery, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry at St. Luke's Hospital can only be renewed by the same department and cannot be renewed at the Health Centre.

If you are still attending the Medical Outpatients Clinic at St. Luke's Hospital on a regular basis, your Schedule V card issue and renewal should be obtained from your consultant at the Medical Outpatients and not from the Health Centre.

This Clinic is open on Wednesdays from 12.15 p.m. to 1.00 p.m. and on Fridays from 11.15 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

You can expect:

• appointments for new referrals to be available within one week

• processing of new applicants to take not more than 4 weeks

• to wait not more than 30 minutes beyond your appointment time.

Appointments for renewal of cards issued take longer. You will still be entitled to receive your free medication while waiting for your renewed card to be issued.

You can also expect that a consultant physician will assess your claim for entitlement and will initiate the procedure required to supply you with a Schedule V card, which will entitle you to receive free medication. One cannot collect medicines before receiving the card.

ECG Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Electrocardiogram recording.

You are entitled to be referred for an ECG by your doctor who has to fill in a referral form (DH22), or by the Health Centre doctor who has to fill in a Health Centre ECG request form.

ECGs are taken only by appointment except in emergencies.

Please phone the Health Centre reception desk for an appointment.

This Clinic is open every Wednesday from 7.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.

You can expect:

• appointments to be available within one week of the date of your request

• to wait not more than 15 minutes beyond your appointment time

• the consultant physician to report on your ECG within a week, after you have had your ECG.

Ophthalmic Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Eye care services provided by our ophthalmologist.

You are entitled to be referred to this clinic by your family doctor or the Health Centre doctor. You may also be referred from the Diabetes Clinic. School children may be referred from the School Health Services.

You need a referral ticket to make an appointment. Please call the Health Centre reception for an appointment.

To be entitled to free spectacles you need to provide us with a valid Pink Form from the Department of Social Security. The form and requisition are sent to St Luke's Hospital and to the supplier of the spectacles. If you choose a frame that is partially covered by the Department, you will be asked to pay the extra expense.

This Clinic is open on Monday, Tuesday, and on alternate Thursdays from 8.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.

You can expect:

• to wait not more than 15 minutes beyond your appointment time

• to have an eye examination and a visual acuity test with each visit

• an assessment session to take 5 to 10 minutes
• to have free spectacles issued by the Department of Health if you hold a Pink card
• to receive a notice informing you when to collect your spectacles from the Health Centre.

Pharmacy

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Issuing of medicines

If you live in the Floriana catchment area (see page 2) and are entitled to free medicines, we will give you a 2-month supply except for sedatives, tranquillisers and those items that are not prescribed on a regular basis.

If you have a valid Pink form/card or a Schedule V card, you are entitled to free medicines.

Medicines cannot be dispensed to persons under 16 years of age.

If you are travelling abroad and need to collect more than two months' supply of medication, you will require special authorisation.

Medicines such as anitbiotics that are required urgently will not be dispensed unless the prescription is dated on the same day or at most a day earlier. Green prescriptions are valid for 1 month only from the date of issue.

Some special items need to be collected from St Luke's Hospital, as they are not stocked at our Pharmacy.

You should not collect your medicines more than 3 days before the due date if you are dispensed a 1-month supply and not earlier than 1 week before the due date if you are dispensed a 2-month supply.

The Pharmacy is open Monday to Friday from 7.45 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7.45 a.m. to noon.

You can expect:

• to wait not more than 30 minutes to be served.

• to be served medication for, at most, 3 prescriptions at a time. If you have additional prescriptions, you will have to go to the back of the queue and wait until your turn again.

If an item happens to be out of stock at the Pharmacy, you can expect:

• to be able to collect such items from St Luke's Outpatients' Dispensary or from another Health Centre Pharmacy
• to be given a special 'To Collect' form that entitles you not to wait in the queue when you call to collect this item, if you prefer to wait unitl items are in stock again at our pharmacy.

Physiotherapy Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Assessment and treatment of musculo-skeletal disorders.

You are entitled to be referred to this clinic by the Health Centre doctor or the Physiotherapy Department at St Luke's Hospital. Your family doctor may refer you for ankle injuries only.

Attendance is strictly by appointment. If you have been referred by a Health Centre doctor or your family doctor, please fix an appointment with the physiotherapist. If you have been referred from St Luke's Hospital, an appointment will be arranged for you. Follow-up appointments will be arranged directly by the physiotherapist when necessary.

The Clinic is open on Monday to Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. and on alternate Saturdays from 7.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

You can expect:

• our physiotherapist to assess and treat your condition to ensure the best outcome possible. A full remedy, however, cannot be guaranteed.
• to be given a clear explanation on the treatment to be carried out at home and the instructions to follow

• appointments referred from the Health Centre to be available within 10 days

• to wait not more than 15 minutes beyond your appointment time.

Podology Clinic

Service

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Treatment of foot conditions such as bunions, corns, nail problems and heel problems.

For more specialised treatment you may need to be referred to the Podology Department at Birkirkara Health Centre as for example for nail avulsions and wart removal.

This clinic is by appointment. A referral is not required. Please call our reception desk for an appointment.

The Clinic is open from Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

You can expect:

• appointments for new cases to be available within 1 week
• follow-up appointments to be set according to clinical need

• to wait not more than 20 minutes beyond your appointment time

• to be seen as far as possible by the same podologist on your follow-up appointment

• routine cutting of toenails only if you suffer from diabetes or have circulation problems.

School Dental Clinic

Service

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

A dental service consisting of oral health information and advice is provided in all Public, Private and Church schools. This includes:

• oral hygiene instructions
• dietary advice.
• information of fluoride.
• anti-smoking advice
• management and prevention of dental trauma
• prevention of acid erosion
• The importance of routine dental checkups
• Dental services available in Public sector

The School Dental Clinic provides a complete dental service to children under 16 yrs of age:

• emergency dental treatment for pain, infection and trauma
• routine check-ups
• conservation of teeth with priority given to permanent teeth
• oral hygiene instructions, scaling and polishing of teeth
 

The clinic caters for children:

• under 16 years who live in Floriana catchment area (see page 2)
• who are referred by dental surgeons in other Health Centres and private practice.

Children who reach their 16^th birthday and who are still undergoing treatment will continue to be seen until treatment is completed.

Dental emergency cases are treated either at the School Dental Clinic or at the Health Centre Dental Clinics of their respective catchment area.

Children attending the clinic are to be accompanied by an adult over 18 years otherwise treatment cannot be provided.

Emergency dental cases are to attend early in the morning; this will facilitate matters if complications in treatment arise.

Please inform the clinic on tel. 21230826 / 21233558 if you cannot keep your appointment.

The clinic is open Monday to Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

The Visiting Orthodontic Specialist Clinic is held every Friday.

You can expect:

• appointments for check-up and extraction to be available within 1 to 2 weeks
• appointments for fillings to be available within 8 weeks
• appointments for orthodontic treatment planning (Registrar Clinic) to be available within 8 weeks
• appointments with the hygienist to be available within 1 week
• check-ups to take not more than 10 minutes
• extractions and fillings to take between ½ to 1 hour
• appointments for new cases for basic services to be available within 1 week.

• patients designated to see visiting Orthodontic Consultant from the U.K. to be placed on a waiting list
• children undergoing orthodontic treatment to be seen every 6 weeks.

Speech Language Pathology Clinic

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Assess, diagnose, indicate prognosis and prepare therapy programmes in relation to problems of communication.

Speech language pathologists see both children and adults.

This clinic is open Monday to Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.

This clinic has its own Quality Service Charter. For further information, kindly phone the Speech Language Pathology Department on tel. 21230822.

Treatment Room

Services

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

• Treatment of emergencies
• daily injections of insulin for persons with diabetes
• blood tests and other investigations
• treatment of wounds and change of dressings
• sutures (applying stitches to a wound)
• administration of injections on presentation of doctor's prescription
• administration of nebuliser therapy (for the treatment of asthma).

You may attend the treatment room if you live in the Floriana catchment area (see page ***). In case of emergencies anyone may attend.

You are encouraged to attend the Treatment Room at the times specified below to enable us to offer you an efficient service:

* 6.30am-7.30am - insulin injection

* 7.15am-9.00am - blood tests and investigations (by appointment only)

* 7.30am-8.15am - special cases (Saturdays only)

* 10.00am-7.00pm - change of dressings, treatment of wounds, removal of sutures and injections.

The Treatment Room does not provide the above services outside the hours indicated except for special cases and by arrangement with the nursing staff.

The Treatment Room is open 24 hours a day.

We advise you not to come for a dressing before 10.00 a.m. or after 7.00 p.m.

You can expect:

• a doctor and a nurse to be always available

• the Health Centre to deal with most emergencies. You are advised to attend the Health Centre Treatment Room rather than the Hospital Casualty Department
• to wait not longer than 30 minutes for services which do not require an appointment.

Blood Investigations and Tests

Service

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Blood investigations and tests.

You may be referred for a blood test by your family doctor, a Health Centre doctor or consultant, or from a department at St Luke's Hospital.

You will need the appropriate form issued by the referring doctor.

An appointment is required so please always call the Health Centre reception to attend.

Please make sure that the appropriate forms are correctly filled in by the doctor who has referred you before coming to the investigations or tests.

The family doctor can only refer you for certain tests. He/she should be aware of the tests that he/she may request for you.

We advise you not to come without an appointment if you need a blood investigation or urine testing.

You can expect:

• appointments to be available within 5 days.

Well Baby Clinic

Service

Eligibility

Opening hours

What you can expect

Monitoring and recording of children's development and advice on immunisation and feeding.

After your baby is born, you will automatically be referred from the Post-Natal Ward at St Luke's Hospital. If your baby was born at a private clinic or hospital, you can still phone for an appointment at the clinic.

Routine visits are necessary when your baby is:

• 6 - 8 weeks old
• 8 months old
• 18 months old.

These visits require an appointment. Please call the Well Baby Clinic on any Tuesday to fix the appointment. The 6-8 week examination is usually booked on the same day as the mother's post-natal examination.

Please bring the 'Baby's Book' you are given at the Post-Natal Ward. On your first visit, please bring also a copy of your child's birth certificate.

This Clinic opens on Tuesdays from 7.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.

Between noon and 2.00 p.m. parents may call to check their baby's weight.

You can expect:

• appointments to be available within 1 week.

If your baby needs closer monitoring, you may be asked to attend the clinic more frequently.