Staff details

Dr Shorten & Partners
Lisburn Health Centre
Linenhall Street
Lisburn
BT28 1LU
Tel: 028 9260 3090

News:

Out of Hours

Lagandoc, the local out of hours organisation, looks after the urgent needs of patients from 6.00 pm to 8.00 am weekdays, and throughout weekends and bank holidays. Lagandoc can be contacted on 028 9260 2204.

Appointments

To make an appointment, please telephone the main Reception number (028 9260 3090) between 8.30 am and 6.00 pm.

Repeat Prescription Phone Line

You can order your repeat prescriptions on our 24 hour phone line. Tel 028 9260 4341.

Seasonal Flu Programme

Seasonal flu vaccination clinics will be held on Wednesday afternoons in October.

Invitations to patients who are eligible for the flu vaccine will be sent shortly.

Announcements

01 Sep - 01 Oct
NHS Smokefree

Find out about all of the free NHS services available to support you as you go try to give up smoking.

01 Aug - 01 Oct
NHS Summer Health

Stay safe in the sun, including sunscreens, sunburn relief, heat exhaustion, eczema and moles. Summer holidays are great fun for children, but can bring risks. Find out more

01 Jul - 01 Oct
Change for Life

Would you like loads of tips and help to make changes for a healthier future? As part of Change4Life, you will receive tons of helpful information, recipes, tools, tips, and games for the kids.

BBC Health

More obesity ops 'will save cash'

Millions of pounds is lost in England by the failure of the NHS to provide more obesity operations, a study says.

Statins 'may cut arthritis risk'

Taking statins may reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, a study suggests.

Call for morning sickness action

More needs to be done to establish which are safe and effective ways to relieve morning sickness, experts say.

UK radiotherapy 'lagging behind'

Too few UK cancer patients are receiving state-of-the-art radiotherapy care, experts from Cancer Research UK say.

ME 'virus link' found in children

ME, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in children could be caused by a virus, scientists say.

Gaps persist in cancer survival

Despite significant improvements in cancer survival rates across England, regional differences remain, national statistics show.

'Genetic link' to breast cancer

Researchers have identified a series of genetic variations which may play a role in a common breast cancer.

Bipolar 'not linked to violence'

People with a mental illness are no more likely to be violent unless they abuse drugs or alcohol, a study suggests.

NHS in Wales faces £380m cutbacks

The Welsh NHS faces making £380m worth of cutbacks by April, with managers saying it is the biggest challenge they have faced in 20 years.

Diabetes drug advice 'not heeded'

A type two diabetes drug is still being prescribed in the UK two months after it was recommended for withdrawal, BBC Panorama learns.

Yahoo Health

US smoking rate still stuck at 1 in 5 adults (AP)

AP - U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday.

FDA cites claims on 2 green tea beverages (AP)

AP - Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages.

FDA relents from midodrine withdrawal plan (AP)

AP - Federal regulators have backed off a plan to remove a Shire PLC low blood-pressure treatment from the market after warning in August that the drug has not been proven effective.

Judge won't let stem cell money keep flowing (AP)

AP - A federal judge on Tuesday refused to lift his order blocking federal funding for some stem cell research, saying that a "parade of horribles" predicted by federal officials would not happen.

Japan confirms its first case of new superbug gene (AP)

AP - Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.

Picking right blood pressure medicine challenging (AP)

AP - It's hard to predict which pills will best lower which patient's high blood pressure, but researchers are hunting ways to better personalize therapy — perhaps even using a blood test.

Lack of Sleep May Be Linked to Childhood Obesity (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Infants and preschoolers who don't get enough sleep at night are at increased risk for later childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

For Bonobo Males, Mom Is the Best Wingman (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - To most human males, the thought of your mother anywhere near your sex life is probably horrifying. Not so for the bonobo, one of our closest primate relatives. A new study confirms that hanging out with mom boosts male bonobos' chances of getting intimate with a fertile female.

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 7, 2010 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Autistic Toddlers Prefer to Gaze at Geometric Patterns: Study (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- When given the choice to gaze at geometric patterns or children dancing and playing, toddlers with autism spent more time looking at the patterns while typically developing toddlers preferred to look at other kids, a new study finds.

MedPage Today

Judge Won't Lift Block on Stem Cell Research Funding

(MedPage Today) -- Federal spending of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research will remain off-limits for now, a federal judge ruled, dealing yet another blow to the Obama administration's efforts to support such research.

Cigarette Smoke May Affect Fertility (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Smoking may provide an explanation for reduced fertility, results of two studies suggested.

Adult Smoking Hits Plateau

(MedPage Today) -- One in five U.S. adults continues to smoke tobacco -- a percentage that hasn't budged since 2005 -- suggesting that more aggressive efforts are needed to reduce smoking-related diseases and deaths, the CDC said.

Pandemic H1N1 Similar to Seasonal Strains (CME/CE, with video)

(MedPage Today) -- In general, the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus did not cause more serious disease than other recent influenza A strains, researchers found.

Nevirapine Reuse Possible in Exposed Children With HIV (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In most HIV-infected children being exposed at birth to nevirapine (Viramune) doesn't rule out using the drug again later, researchers reported.

PCV-7 Vaccine May Promote Serotype 19A Infection (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Infants receiving a three-dose regimen of heptavalent PCV-7 pneumococcal vaccine were more likely than unvaccinated controls to pick up a nonvaccine pneumococcal strain associated with invasive infection and antibiotic resistance, researchers said.

More Human Trials Needed for HIV Vaccine Hunt

(MedPage Today) -- HIV vaccine researchers are calling for more and better human trials as part of the quest for ways to block transmission of the virus.

Patients Expect More from PCI than It Delivers (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Cardiologists fully understand the limits of percutaneous coronary interventions -- but their patients are often overly optimistic about the benefits of PCI, a new survey revealed.

Splint Matches Cast for Kids' Wrist Fractures (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In children with wrist fractures, a splint works as well as a cast, researchers reported.

Behcet's Takes Higher Toll in Men (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Men with Behçet's disease are much more likely than women to die of this chronic multisystem vasculitis, a large French study found.

Doctors

Nursing Staff

Practice Team

Healthcare Team

Doctors

Dr Wilson WJ Shorten (m)
MB BCh BAO (QUB 1980) MRCGP DRCOG DCH DFFP

Dr Michael A Ruddell (m)
MB BCh BAO (QUB 1985) MSc MRCGP DRCOG DCH FP Cert

Dr Nigel S Campbell (m)
MB BCh BAO (QUB 1988) MRCGP DRCOG DCH Dip Occ Med

Dr S Louise Sands (f)
MB BCh BAO (QUB 1992) MRCGP DRCOG DCH Dip FP

Dr Zoe A Houston (f)
MB ChB (Dundee 2001) MRCGP DRCOG DMH

Dr Alison Warke (f)
MB BCh BAO (QUB 1995) MRCGP DCH,
DRSRH (Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare)

Training Doctors
We are an approved training practice for qualified doctors and medical students to gain experience in general practice.
You will always be asked whether you are happy for a qualified doctor or medical student to sit in during your consultation. You may request to see the doctor alone.

Registrar
A GP Registrar may be attached to the Practice as part of our medical team for a one year placement. A GP Registrar is a fully qualified doctor who has chosen to specialise in general practice. During this training some consultations will be recorded by video camera. This will only be done with the full understanding and written consent of the patient involved.

GP Retainers
A GP Retainer is a fully qualified general practitioner who is employed by the Practice under a scheme operated by the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency. This scheme supports a doctor who is working part time.

Nurses

Mrs Anne Roberts (f)
Practice Nurse
RN, BSc Health Studies, Dip Health Studies, Dip CHD, Dip Diabetes, NISP

Our Practice Nurse provides chronic disease management clinics including diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive airways disease, hypertension, and weight management. She also provides health promotion and warfarin monitoring.
Health checks such as blood pressure and cholesterol monitoring are also available. Please contact Reception for an appointment.

Our Practice Nurse is involved in research work. We may invite you to participate if you are suitable in a research study. You have the right to decline any such invite.

Treatment Room

Nursing staff in the Treatment Room are available for taking blood samples, checking blood pressure, giving injections, dressing wounds, and removing sutures, etc.

Practice Management

Mrs Irena Nestorowytsch-Irwin (f)
Practice Business Manager
Irena Nestorowytsch-Irwin looks after the overall management, operation and development of the Practice.

Mrs Ruth Whittle (f)
Practice Manager
The Reception team is managed by Ruth Whittle, our Practice Manager. She looks after the day to day running of the Practice administration, hospital referrals and coordination of clinics and surgeries.

Reception

The Practice employs a range of non-clinical staff. We have eight receptionists, some of whom are part-time. They are available to answer patients’ enquiries and book appointments. They take requests for repeat prescriptions and will communicate results of tests where appropriate.

Community Midwives

Sister Sarah Rankin (f)

The Community Midwives, led by Sister Sarah Rankin, provide care for mothers before, during and after delivery and for the baby during the first weeks of life. They hold an Ante-Natal Clinic at the Practice every week and can be contacted through our Reception.

Community Nurses

Sister Anna Payton (f)

Mrs Carolyn Russell (f)

Mrs Pamela Glover (f)

The three District Nurses attached to the Practice provide expert nursing care for patients who are unable to attend the Health Centre. They are in daily contact with the surgery and will assist in organising care outside of hospital, as required. They can be contacted through our Reception.

Health Visitors

Mrs Ethel Funston (f)

Mrs Suzanne Kennedy (f)

The Health Visitors connected to the Practice can provide advice on health matters for children below school age and arrange immunisation and scheduled screening checks up to 5 years of age. They can be contacted through our Reception.

Attached Staff

Other services to which you may be referred include Community Mental Health, Social Services, Podiatry, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Palliative Care.

Practice Information

For quick medical advice online contact NHS Direct