Riverside Surgery

05/06/2026

A vaccine has been offered to pregnant women in Wales since September 2024, which protects your baby from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) – a common virus that can lead to serious illness in newborns and young infants.

If you’re 28 weeks pregnant or more, you’re eligible to receive the RSV vaccine as part of your routine antenatal care.

To offer your baby the best protection, you should have your vaccine appointment between 28 and 36 weeks of pregnancy (where the vaccine is more effective).

You can contact your midwife or your GP about this appointment. If your GP surgery is not offering the RSV vaccine, the immunisation team will be vaccinating at the following RSV clinics:
• Neath Port Talbot Hospital - Birth Centre. Tuesday and Thursday - 9:30am - 12:30pm and 1:00pm – 4:30pm.
• Singleton Hospital - Antenatal Clinic. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday - 9:30am - 12:30pm and 1:30pm - 4:30pm.

These clinics are drop-in only - no appointment needed.

Why it matters:
• RSV is a leading cause of hospitalisation in babies under one year old.
• The vaccine helps protect your baby through antibodies passed from you to your unborn baby during pregnancy.
• It’s safe, effective, and given at the same time as other routine vaccinations.

Missed your appointment?

If you’re 28 weeks or more and haven’t been offered the vaccine, please speak to your midwife or antenatal team – it’s not too late.

If you miss your vaccine, you can have it until your baby is born. However, if you have it later in pregnancy it may not be as effective.

04/06/2026

Despite the beautiful weather, our team at Riverside Surgery have been working incredibly hard every day to support our patients and keep services running as smoothly as possible.

The last few months have been particularly busy, and we would like to sincerely thank our patients for their patience, kindness and understanding during this time.

Your support really does make a difference to the whole team. 🌼💙

02/06/2026

🌈 Happy Pride Month from everyone at Riverside Surgery 🌈

This Pride Month, we celebrate love, equality, kindness and the importance of everyone feeling safe, respected and valued.

At Riverside Surgery, we are proud to support our LGBTQ+ patients, staff and community. Everyone deserves to access healthcare with dignity, compassion and without judgement.

Pride is a time to celebrate progress, recognise the challenges that still exist, and stand together in support of inclusion and acceptance.

Wishing everyone a happy, joyful and colourful Pride Month.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

01/06/2026

💊 Do you have a question about a medicine you are taking?

The Welsh Medicines Advice Service is available to support patients with general medicines queries, including how to take your medication, what to do if you miss a dose, possible side effects, taking medicines with food, driving advice, and whether medicines are safe to take together.

📞 Call the helpline on 029 2003 2011

For urgent medical concerns, please contact NHS 111 Wales, or 999 in an emergency.

28/05/2026

🌿 Free Self Management Courses for Patients 🌿

Riverside Surgery patients can now access free Swansea Bay Education Programmes for Patients courses.

These courses are designed to help adults build confidence, learn practical self management skills and live well with long term health conditions, pain, diabetes, caring responsibilities, cancer recovery, fibromyalgia, lymphoedema, weight or general wellbeing needs.

Courses available include support with:

💙 Long term health conditions
💙 Chronic or persistent pain
💙 Diabetes and diabetic foot care
💙 Fibromyalgia
💙 Lymphoedema
💙 Cancer recovery and living well
💙 Support for carers
💙 Foodwise for Life and healthy lifestyle changes

Patients can self refer online when they feel ready.

Not sure which course is right for you? That is absolutely fine. You can still complete the referral form and the Swansea Bay EPP team can help advise which course may be most suitable.

Find out more here: https://sbuhb.nhs.wales/wellbeing/about-wellbeing/education-programmes-for-patients/

These courses are managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board, and Riverside Surgery is sharing this information to help patients access support that may improve health, confidence and wellbeing.

These courses are designed to help people build confidence, learn practical self-management skills and live well with long-term health conditions, pain, diabetes, caring responsibilities or general wellbeing needs.

21/05/2026

🚨 BANK HOLIDAY UPDATE 🚨

Riverside Surgery will be closed on Monday 25th May for the Bank Holiday.

💊 Please check your medication
Please make sure you have enough medication to last over the Bank Holiday weekend. If you are running low, order your repeat prescription as soon as possible to avoid being left without your medication.

🕘 We reopen on Tuesday 26th May
Please note, on Tuesday 26th May we will be offering GP emergency appointments only due to anticipated post Bank Holiday demand.

📞 Need urgent help while we are closed?
Please contact the out of hours service by calling 111.

You can also visit our website:
🌐 www.riversidesurgery.uk

Thank you for your understanding.

21/05/2026

🍎 Understanding Prediabetes

Prediabetes means your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

The good news is that making small lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your risk of developing diabetes in the future.

Things that can help include:

✅ Eating more whole foods, vegetables, lean protein and high fibre foods
✅ Reducing sugary drinks, snacks and highly processed foods
✅ Moving more, even a daily walk can make a difference
✅ Losing a small amount of weight, if needed
✅ Attending blood tests and reviews when invited
✅ Asking for support if you are unsure where to start

Prediabetes does not mean you will definitely develop diabetes, it is an opportunity to take action early and protect your future health.

If you have been told your blood sugar is in the prediabetes range, please do not panic. Our team may contact you for follow up, lifestyle advice, or repeat blood tests depending on your result.

💙 Small changes really can make a big difference.

18/05/2026

🤰 Newly pregnant?

You do not need to visit your GP surgery to access maternity care.

You can now self refer directly through Badger Notes using the QR code on the poster

Once you have completed the booking form, you will receive an email confirming it has been received safely. A community midwife will then contact you within 1 to 2 weeks to arrange an appointment.

For more information, please visit:

www.sbuhb.nhs.wales

💗 Please share with anyone who may find this helpful.

12/05/2026

💙 Happy International Nurses Day 💙

Today we want to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful nurses working in Primary Care and across the NHS.

A very special mention to our amazing nursing team here at Riverside Surgery, you truly are the heart and soul of our practice. Your skill, kindness, dedication and hard work make such a difference to our patients every single day.

We are so grateful for everything you do, often quietly, always professionally, and always with care.

Thank you for being simply the best 💙🩺👏