Assistant consultation hour

For the following medical procedures at the consultation hour of the assistant you can contact Harriëtte, Yvonne or Daniëlle. 

You can make an appointment on the following days:
- Monday en Thursday between 14:00 and 16:00
- Tuesday between 15:00 and 16:00
- Friday between 10:30 and 12:00, and between 15:00 and 16:00

Our assistants will perform the following medical procedures

Syringing ears
This will happen when earwax is closes the ear canal, you will notice this due to limited hearing. We do ask you to drop some oil (olive or sunflower oil, without herbs) in the ear canal at least 2-3 days before the appointment is taking place to smoothen the earwax.  We advice you to do this when laying down and stay this way for about 15 minutes so the oil can make its way through the ear canal. Repeat the procedure, if necessary, on the other ear canal. Repeat this procedure 2-3 times a day. The assistant will carefully syringe out your ears by using a special developed ear syringe filled with lukewarm water so the bulb earwax can come out. This procedure is painless. 

Measuring blood pressure, if indicated put on a 24-hour blood pressure monitor
Make sure you'll arrive on time when you have an appointment to measure the blood pressure. It's important to sit down at least 10 minutes before the measuring is taking place. We ask you to do this so we can have a reliable measurement. It's also important that you haven't performed any intensive actions prior to the measurement, which increases blood pressure. 

When a 24-hour measurement is indicated, the assistant will connect you to a blood pressure monitor that measures every 30 minutes during the day and every 60 minutes at night. You'll have to come back the next day to have the monitor collected. The result will be discussed at a later time with the applicant for the measurement (this could be the general practitioner or the nurse practitioner).

Making an ECG at the request of the general practitioner 
By making an ECG the general practitioner can determine if you hart is functioning well. The assistant will make the ECG, but will not assess the result. This is to the general praktitioner to assess. Sometimes the GP will contact a cardiologist for consultation. 

Measuring haemoglobin (HB) levels at the request of the general practitioner
This will happen by finger-prick, the assistant will take a blood sample and measure the haemoglobin levels. This test is used to see if you may have anaemia. 

Taking a CRP test at the request of the general practitioner
The assistant can take a blood sample by finger-prick to asses if there is a bacterial infection going on in your body. A certain protein is measured at this test, wich is elevated when you have a bacterial infection. 

Ankle brachial index at the request of the general practitioner
The ankle brachial index is done to determine if you have strictures in the arteries of the legs. For this, the assistant will measure the blood pressure on the ankles and upper arms.

Injections (vitamin B12, tetanus, anti-conception, etc.)
You can contact the assistant for various injections such as vitamin B12, anti-conception, influenza vaccinations and tetanus. Depending on the type of injection, it will be placed in the muscle or under the skin.

Wound care
The assistants are trained to perform wound care, both for acute and chronic wound care. They have experience with different wound materials so they can provide you with the best suitable wound care.

Removing stitches
When placing the stitches, the doctor will always indicate after how many days the stitches must be removed. This varies per location. The assistant will always remove stitches alternately in order to be able to assess whether the skin is already healed sufficiently.

Compressive bandaging
To drain edema from your legs, the general practitioner may decide that it is necessary to start bandaging. It is advisable to come to the practice with spacious clothing and wide fitting shoes. The bandaging causes it is a little less easy to get into your shoes and pants. After bandaging, when volume reduction took place, it will often be necessary to wear compression stockings.

A bandage can also be applied to support a sprain.

Make pep smears
The assistant is trained to make smears. If you are eligible for this study, you will receive an invitation by letter via population screening, also known as "het bevolkingsonderzoek". You must bring this letter with you to the appointment. Pap smears cannot be performed during menstruation. The results will follow later by mail via the population screening.

Treatment of spots / warts with nitrogen (after assessment of GP)
Warts are treated with liquid nitrogen, which causes the wart to freeze. The purpose is to let the roots of the wart die. Wart treatment with liquid nitrogen causes a burning sensation and pain. The worst pain will disappear within seconds of letting go of the cotton swab.

Taking a MMSE test
The MMSE (Mini-mental state examination) is a test that is used for suspected memory problems or dementia. The MMSE consists of a few questions. From this test it becomes clear how things are with a person's memory, language ability and concentration (cognitive skills). The test does not provide a diagnosis, the test is too general for that. Age and education level will be included in the assessment of the result. A low score does not automatically mean that you have dementia. There could also be something else going on. From a certain score, the GP will conduct further research.

To stop smoking consoling (after a GP consultation)
If you wish to quit smoking, you will first have to make an appointment will the general practitioner. After that you will receive personal guidance 1 on 1 by Harriëtte. Harriëtte is trained at SineFuma Academy Smoke Free! to help you with this problem. Counseling, medication and nicotine replacement products are covered by your insurance.