Expectation of surgery:

• Desire beyond seizure.
• Various expectation of social and psychological nature.
• Self confidence.
• Driving.
• Employment.
• Getting married.

Affective Disorder - Depression

Affective Disorder – Anxiety

Psychosis

Non epileptic attacks post epilepsy surgery

Hypnobirthing is an antenatal education programme that teaches you and your birth partner simple but specific self-hypnosis, relaxation and breathing techniques for labour and birth.

It was originally developed by qualified hypnotherapist Katherine Graves (KG). 

Hypnobirthing is available at Cossham Hospital, Lodge Road, Kingswood presented by our KG Hypnobirthing trained midwives, and can make a difference to your experience of labour and birth by teaching you:

• self-hypnosis to induce deep relaxation
• massage techniques to release endorphins, the body’s natural analgesia (pain relief)
• robozo techniques – which help to release oxytocin and loosen your pelvic area
• visualisation exercises and affirmations to make you feel calm, confident and positive.
• Dynamix movement for more comfort in pregnancy, labour and birth
• Online Yoga class

The benefits of hypnobirthing for you

A woman’s body is naturally designed to give birth. Hypnobirthing can help you to work with your body, releasing the fears and worries of birth and replacing it with calmness and confidence. Hypnobirthing empowers you to have a drug free labour, which can result in a gentler birth. Hypnobirthing is safe and will teach you how to put yourself in control of your birth. You will always be aware of what is happening to you. Hypnobirthing doesn’t mean you will be in a trance or asleep, you will be totally relaxed, able to chat to everyone and be fully in control.

The benefits of hypnobirthing for your partner

Hypnobirthing is a partnership between you and your birth partner. By being supportive and part of the journey your birth partner acts as your advocate and leader, which can enrich and deepen your relationship with each other and your new-born baby.

The benefits of KG hypnobirthing for your baby

The benefit of hypnobirthing for your baby is a calm and gentle birth.  Your baby will be born to a serene and relaxed environment, alert and ready to bond with you as nature intended.

How much does the course cost?

The cost of the Calm and Confident Hypnobirthing course is £125.00 and is available at Cossham Hospital Seminar Room, Lodge Road, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 1LF as either a:

• Four-week evening course 7pm to 10pm
• Full weekend course 10am to 5pm 

Please bring food for a shared lunch on weekend courses, a great way to make friends!

The course includes:

• a parent’s information pack covering the four-week programme which will be emailed to  you a week before the course starts
• a Tote bag 'Happy Birth Day! containing a copy of the KG Hypnobirthing book by Katherine Graves, Mandala Colouring book, Affirmation cards and Notebook and pen.
• MP3 containing two hypnobirthing scripts will be emailed to you once payment has been received.
• Calm and confident - Movement for Pregnancy. Labour and Birth ebook
• Online Yoga class

How to enrol

To enrol on to the Hypnobirthing course visit our booking page.

On receipt of your enrolment form we will email you with available dates and details on how to make your payment.

If you have any questions, please speak to your community midwife.

Mindful Breastfeeding class

Our Mindful Breastfeeding class is helping couples to understand how what is going on in the brain, affects not only how we feel, but also their breastfeeding journey.  This three hour class is best attended around 36 weeks and birth support partner are encouraged to attend, so that they can better support you in your choice to breastfeeding your baby. The cost of this class is £25/couple, you will also receive an ebook.

Benefits of doing this class are:

• Having more confidence in their body's ability to breastfeed
• Understanding their baby's needs better
• Having confidence in their parenting abilities
• Listening to their own instincts
• Worry less about what others think
• Feeling calmer about their situation
• Having a better understanding of their own infant feeding and parenting beliefs
• Feeling more relaxed
• Feeling less pressured to do things a certain way
• Enjoy time with their baby
• Increase milk supply

The benefits of regular deep relaxation are well researched and documented, this is some of them:

• Improves Mental Health
• Reduces Stress
• Reduces Anxiety
• Increases Happiness
• Improves concentration
• Improves cardiac and immune health
• Lowers blood pressure

Access to Health Records Act 1990

Can I access the health records of someone who has died?

For the Trust the ethical obligation to respect a patient’s confidentiality extends beyond death. The Information Tribunal in England and Wales has also held that a duty of confidence attaches to the health records of the deceased under Section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Who can apply for access?

If you want to see health records of someone who has died, you can Make a Subject Access Request to the Trust under the legislation Access to Health Records Act 1990.

Under the terms of the Act, you will only be able to access the deceased’s health records if you are either or unless they requested confidentiality while alive, a patient’s:

• Personal representative (the executor or administrator of the deceased person’s estate)
• Someone who has a claim resulting from the death (this could be a relative or another person). 

Who must give access?

After a patients death, GP health records may be held by the relevant CCG, hospital records may have been retained by the hospital the patient attended or they may have been sent to a local archive storage.

The Trust is required to take advice before making a decision about disclosure. This could be from several health professionals who have contributed to the care of the patient during the period to which the application refers. If no appropriate health professional who has cared for the patient is available, a suitably qualified and experienced health professional will provide advice.

Once the Trust is satisfied the person requesting the information is entitled to it, access will be given within the specified time limits. Access will be given either by allowing the applicant to inspect the records, or extract, or supplied a copy if this is requested.

How long does the Trust have to comply?

Where the application concerns access to records or parts of records that were made in the 40 day period immediately preceding the date of application, access will be given within 21 days. Where the access concerns information, all of which was recorded more than 40 days before the date of application, access will be given within 40 days.

Can a fee be charged?

• For access to the information where records were made more than 40 days before the date of the application for access – maximum £10
• For providing access to information if the records have been amended or added to in the last 40 days – no fee may be charged
• For supplying a copy, a fee not exceeding the cost of making the copy and postal costs may be charged
  Cost of CD; - £25 per disc
  Cost of Photocopying; - 25p per page
  Post & Packaging; - dependent on weight etc.
• Health professionals may charge a professional fee to cover the costs of giving access to the records of deceased patients that is not covered by legislation.

What information will not be disclosed?

• If it identifies a third party without that person’s consent, unless that person is a health professional who has cared for the patient
• In the opinion of the relevant health professionals, it is likely to cause serious harm to a third party’s physical or mental health
• The patient gave their information in the past on the understanding that it would be kept confidential
• No information at all can be revealed if the patient requested non-disclosure.

We have received your completed Subject Access Request. 

North Bristol NHS Trust is obliged to confirm proof of identity and/or authority and it may be necessary to obtain further information in order to comply with this Subject Access Request.

North Bristol NHS Trust has one calendar month of receipt of the request to provide you with the information requested. However, we can extend the period of compliance by a further two months where requests are complex or numerous. 

Do I need to be in the Emergency Department?

How does the WiFi work?

Which Investigations will I have?

Can I get a second opinion in ED?

What do the different areas mean?

Everyone asks me for the same information. Don’t you talk to each other?

What do I do if I need a quiet space?

Where can I get refreshments?

Where can I get cash?

How can I get a taxi from ED?

What about my regular medications?

Do I get a discharge summary after attending ED?

Can I get a sick note from ED?

How can I give feedback about ED?

Developed in partnership with Action for M.E. this new resource aims to help you get the right sort of support from paid carers and other professionals working with you. It could also be adapted for use in employment and educational settings.

It offers a brief explanation of ME/CFS and its impact, some checklists that you can use to show how ME/CFS affects you, and what helps you to manage this. Our aim is that this will save you time and energy when you get a new carer or other support professional.

We have included a list of common symptoms and space for you to indicate their impact on your:

• mobility
• concentration and memory
• hearing and eyesight
• sensitivity to light and noise
• communication
• sleep
• personal care
• diet and medication.

It also supports you to explain really clearly how you need to manage your activity and your daily routine.

You can download this resource below as a Word document that you can edit on your computer and print out, or print it out and write on it. We are grateful to the members of Bristol Sight Loss Council who have reviewed the document and confirmed that it is accessible for screen reader users.

What are the benefits for patients?

How will you identify what patients can use this service?

What training have the nurses completed?

Has this service been tested before and is it safe?

What patients are eligible to be part of this service?

How are the team working in practice?

What are the hours of operation?

What if I need to speak to someone outside of my scheduled visit?

Is this because you don’t have enough beds to treat all the patients you need to?

What happens if a patient needs to be readmitted due to deterioration in health?

Are they the same?

The short answer is that they are the same. M.E. was first used in the UK, and CFS was first used in the USA, and both terms have been used to describe the same problem. The NHS has for many years used the combined term "CFS/ME" and is moving towards using the term "ME/CFS". There is some debate about what to call the condition, however, so we have provided a longer answer below in case some people wanted to know more.

CFS is short for "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome", which is a term that was first used in America by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1988. The CDC recognised that there were people who were becoming ill with infections, and not recovering in the usual timescale. They developed a list of key symptoms that they would expect to see, and these were refined in 1994 into the "Fukuda criteria” for CFS, named after Dr Fukuda, an infectious diseases specialist who was the first author of the paper that they were published in. The list of symptoms included:

• Fatigue
• Memory and concentration problems
• Sore throat
• Tender lymph nodes
• Muscle pain
• Multi-joint pain
• Headaches
• Unrefreshing sleep
• Post-exertional malaise

M.E. is short for "Myalgic encephalomyelitis", which is a term that was first used in the UK after an outbreak of a serious infection at the Royal Free Hospital in 1955. M.E. has since been seen as a post-infective syndrome, and we know that some patients can remain unwell for a long time following debilitating infections. The "myalgic" refers to muscle pain, which is a widespread pain which is commonly experienced by people living with M.E. The “itis” ending of the word "encephalomyelitis" refers to inflammation, in this case inflammation of the brain, which was originally thought to be the cause of the problem. We now know that M.E. is not caused by inflammation of the brain as a whole, so some people have argued that M.E. should be renamed as "Myalgic encephalomyelopathy", as “opathy” means a disease or disorder. However, some recent research looking at the brain's own immune and inflammatory process at a very detailed level has suggested that inflammation of the brain may after all be part of the explanation for ME. Much more research is required before we can piece together a full biological understanding of the condition.

There are now around 20 different case definitions for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and M.E. which are used around the world, and other names have been proposed. This can lead to confusion and a lot of debate, which has become heated at times. Because the biology of the condition is not fully understood, there is no way of resolving this uncertainty at present, although it is now looking likely that research will help us to get a better understanding of the condition and may lead to clearer names for it. In the meantime, since 2021 the NHS calls the condition M.E./CFS, to acknowledge the different terms which are used around the world.

It is also likely that there will be "subgroups" that will be identified in the future, some of which may group people according to their dominant symptoms. For example, there seems to be a subgroup of people for whom headaches are a more significant problem, whereas some other people living with M.E./CFS don't suffer significantly from headaches. It may also be that the different triggers for M.E./CFS could help us to identify "subgroups". For example, some people identify infections as a trigger, whereas other people identified stress or trauma as a trigger: some people also identify both infections and stress as dual triggers. Once we know more about these subgroups it may be possible to rename some of the subgroups in a way that makes them more meaningful.

The term "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" is not popular with some people living with the condition, because there are people who don't understand the difference between fatigue and tiredness. The term CFS also doesn’t help other people to understand the wide range of symptoms which are part of the condition. Fatigue is not "just tiredness": they are very different experiences. Healthy people may feel “tired” if they have been doing a lot, or perhaps if they are short of sleep, but they would expect to feel better following rest and sleep. It is possible for healthy people to "push through" when they are tired. In contrast, fatigue is a much more profound experience, which is often described as exhaustion, and can also involve weakness. Some people living with M.E./CFS describe it as their "body shutting down". A particular aspect of the fatigue of M.E./CFS is known as "post exertional malaise", which is a term that means that the fatigue will tend to be worse a day or two later than the triggering activity. This is also known as "post exertional symptom exacerbation". Post exertional malaise is one of the identifying features of M.E./CFS.

To make a referral please email the referral to reconstructiveprosthetics@nbt.nhs.uk

or send a written letter to: 

Reconstructive Prosthetics
Gate 24, Level 1 Brunel Building
Southmead Hospital, Southmead Road,
Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. BS10 5NB

Please include the patient details, reason for referral with brief background and details of the consultant surgeon under which the patient is being treated.

Each referral must be sent separately (please do not send multiple patient referrals in the same document).

Healthcare professional focused information

Due to the nature of the prostheses and devices we provide, follow-up is usually required after long-term periods of wear and use of these devices continues life-long, therefore we will require a new/multiple referrals to book appointments and treat these patients at this time.

My appointment letter says Plastic Surgery, is this for Reconstructive Prosthetics?

Shall I bring my old/current prosthesis or device with me to the appointment?

Something is wrong with my prosthesis/device and it’s not fitting properly now, is it ok to keep using it?

I require help with my limb (leg or arm) prosthesis, is this the right department?

Is everyone entitled to have prostheses?