We’ve teamed up with Filton Avenue Primary School to create some short videos about common ailments. In the videos, Year One pupils play an adult patient, such as “Mr Hurt Ankle” or “Mr Cold”, and they’re seen by a Year Five pupil acting as a doctor or a pharmacist who gives advice taken from the national NHS.uk website.
Members of the public and staff are able to attend our Trust Board meetings in public. If you would like to attend, please let us know by emailing trust.secretary@nbt.nhs.uk and we can provide details of the location, and print papers if required. If you wish, you can ask a question to the Trust Board.
Papers are available around a week before the meetings. These papers carry a general and press embargo until after the Board of Directors meeting has been held and no discussion concerning them will be entered into until that time.
2025/2026 meeting dates (meetings in common with the Board of Directors for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust) :
Download Integrated Quality and Performance Reports (IQPR):
Download Meeting Papers:
These organisations and charities provide reliable, up to date information and support for patients and families living with a haematological conditions and cancer. If you need help to identify the ones which might be most helpful to you the specialist nurses can help you.
Details of support groups and websites correct August 2024
The clinical haematology service looks after patients with a range of blood and bone marrow disorders, including haematology cancers. We provide out-patient and day case treatment in our clinics and Chemotherapy Suite in Gate 5b in the Brunel building, Southmead Hospital. We also have a small number of inpatient beds on Gate 27b, and support and advise staff and patients in other areas around the hospital.
We care for patients with haematological cancers including:
The treatments we offer include:
We work closely with Medical Day Care, The Macmillan Wellbeing Centre, Acute Oncology, Palliative Care teams, and many others around the trust. We can refer you to dietitians, physiotherapy, psychology, wigs, and financial and benefits support.
Certain treatments like radiotherapy, stem cell transplants, and more intensive chemotherapy can only be given at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre in Bristol. We have good links with our colleagues there to ensure our patients have access to the most appropriate treatments.
Haematology clinics take place in Gate 5 every morning (except Thursday) and on Tuesday afternoons. We encourage you to bring someone with you to the clinic, especially if you are expecting to discuss significant test results or a treatment plan.
Certain specialist clinics take place at the same time every week but you may be asked to come on a different day sometimes depending on appointment availability. The specialist nurses may also offer you appointments at other times, often in the afternoon.
When you come to clinic it is very likely you will be asked to have a blood test. Sometimes (particularly in the myeloma clinic) it is useful to arrange to have the tests done at your GP surgery a few days before so that all the results are ready you see us.
In some cases you may be offered a phone appointment, which usually requires a blood test at your GP surgery. A phone appointment is similar way to a face-to-face clinic appointment and you need to be available for us to call you as close as possible to the appointment time.
When you come to your haematology appointment, you may have a lot of questions. It is normal to find it difficult to remember things at the time of and after your appointment so here are some tips to help you.
For guidelines on how to send diagnostic samples to the Neuropathology Department, download:
To make a referral to the department, download:
For general guidelines for sending a muscle or nerve biopsy to the department, download the guidelines below
For a list of the diagnostic tests performed within the Neuropathology Department, download:
The department works with the Severn Pathology Genetics Department to offer a fully integrated report service for surgical patients. To see full details of this please visit the Severn Pathology webpage.
Further guidance on biochemistry interpretation is also available via the 'Clinical Biochemistry in Primary care' page.
This page describes what haemorrhoids are and what causes them. It discusses lifestyle changes to avoid them and details of haemorrhoid banding including risks, benefits, and aftercare.
Haemorrhoids (piles) are enlarged blood vessels in the lining of the bottom (anus/lower rectum/back passage). These can get irritated causing bleeding, itching, discomfort, and can sometimes stick out from the bottom. Haemorrhoids are often small and symptoms settle down without treatment, but there are times when treatment is required.
About half of people in the UK get one or more haemorrhoids. Certain situations increase the chance of them developing:
Keep poo (sometimes called stool/faeces/motions) soft and don’t strain on the toilet. The following can help with this:
Banding is a common treatment for haemorrhoids. It may be used to treat haemorrhoids which have not settled with the things above (like increasing fibre).
A surgeon in the outpatient clinic usually does the procedure. A suction device holds each haemorrhoid and a rubber band is placed at the base. The band cuts off the blood supply to the haemorrhoid. This causes the haemorrhoid to shrink, leaving the dead tissue to drop off over a period of up to 10 days. Up to three haemorrhoids can be treated at one time.
Banding of internal haemorrhoids is usually painless but you can sometimes feel pressure/discomfort immediately after. This is because the base of the haemorrhoid is above the anal opening where there are no pain sensors.
In about 8 in 10 cases the haemorrhoids are ‘cured’ by this technique. In about 2 in 10 cases the haemorrhoids come back at some point. You can have further banding treatment if this happens. Haemorrhoids are less likely to come back after banding if you do not get constipated and do not strain on the toilet as described earlier.
A small number of people have complications following banding such as bleeding, urinary problems, infection, or ulcers where the haemorrhoid was treated. If you see lot of fresh, bright-red blood or pass clots you should seek urgent medical attention.
When haemorrhoid banding is finished, expect to feel:
You may also find it difficult to pee and control gas or bowel movements for up to 14 days after treatment. The bleeding may get worse at 7-10 days when the haemorrhoid drops off.
The wound inside the back passage normally takes about two weeks to heal. After this time you should have no more itching, pain, or bleeding.
You can bath or shower as normal. You should be able to get back to your normal routine within 1-2 days. You may find it useful to take paracetamol regularly for the first 24-48 hours.
If you need a follow-up appointment in clinic it will be arranged during your appointment, or often you will be referred back to your GP.
You may be placed on a Time Limited Patient Initiated Follow-up Pathway. This means you will be discharged from our Colorectal service, but if your symptoms return, get worse, or don’t improve in the next 6 months, you can contact us to request a follow-up. You will need to ring the secretarial team and we can only book a follow-up for the same condition. If you have new problems, or your symptoms return after 6 months, please contact your GP.
Haemorrhoids. Clinical Knowledge Summaries. Available at Scenario: Management | Management | Haemorrhoids | CKS | NICE [Accessed June 2009]
Acheson, AG and Scholfield, JH 2008. Management of haemorrhoids. BMJ. Feb 16: 336 (7640) 380-3
Brsinda G. 200. Prevention is best; haemorrhoidectomy needs skilled operators. BMJ. Sep 9; 321 (726) 852-3
NICE 2007 Haemorrhoid- stapled haemorrhoidopexy. Available at Overview | Stapled haemorrhoidopexy for the treatment of haemorrhoids | Guidance | NICE [Accessed June 2009]
© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published February 2025. Review due February 2028. NBT002106
See the impact we make across our hospitals and how you can be a part of it.
Calcium is helpful for people that form calcium oxalate stones. This is because calcium from the food you eat can bind to oxalate in your gut, reducing the amount of oxalate absorbed by the body.
Aim to have 3-4 of the following high calcium foods each day, and preferably around mealtimes (700-1200mg calcium per day):
For healthier options, choose lower fat alternatives
If you use non-dairy alternatives, make sure the product contains 120mg calcium per 100g/ 100ml.
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is good for our health, and people that eat plenty of fruits and vegetables appear to have a lower risk of forming kidney stones. Fruits and vegetables may help to make your urine more alkaline (less acidic), and eating a diet that helps to make your urine more alkaline (less acidic) is beneficial because calcium oxalate stones are more likely to form in acidic urine.
Aim to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day (this does not include potato).
Eating a lot of animal protein can make your urine acidic, and acidic urine may increase your risk of forming calcium oxalate stones.
Animal protein foods include:
Animal protein in cow’s milk and yoghurt has a lower acid load than the foods listed above and does not need to be limited unless eaten in large amounts (exceeding the 4 high calcium foods each day as mentioned earlier).
Try to limit your portions of animal protein to healthy eating amounts, for example:
Plant based proteins do not make the urine acid like animal protein does. Many plant based proteins may help make the urine more alkaline. Here are some ideas to include more plant-based proteins:
You should limit excessive amounts of high oxalate foods in your diet if you form calcium oxalate stones, especially if you have been found to have high levels of oxalate in your urine. Advising on oxalate is hard because not all foods have been tested. The amount of oxalate in a food can also vary depending on where and when it was grown, and how it has been prepared -for example, boiled potato without skin contains a lot less oxalate than a baked potato (oxalate comes out into the water when boiling).
The below foods have been found to be high in oxalate, so reducing them in your diet (not eliminating them) may be helpful.
Nutritional information taken from the Harvard School of Public Health and University of Chicago How To Eat A Low Oxalate Diet | Kidney Stone Program
If you know you are going to have something high or very high in oxalate, perhaps try and have something high in calcium at the same time.
High dose vitamin C supplements (1000mg/d or more) have been linked with a higher risk of forming calcium oxalate stones. If you buy vitamins, do not take more than the reference nutrient intake (RNI) or dietary reference value (DRV). The label on the bottle will tell you what percentage of the RNI or DRV the vitamin will give you. Avoid any that will give you more than 100%.
© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published February 2025. Review due February 2028. NBT003535.
See the impact we make across our hospitals and how you can be a part of it.
This advice is for people forming mixed calcium kidney and ureteric stones, and people who do not know what their stones are made of. It contains information on diet and lifestyle to help reduce your risk of forming more stones.
If you form calcium oxalate stones, please read this page and then follow the link at the end to more advice that is specific to calcium oxalate stones.
The most important message is to drink plenty and follow a balanced, healthy diet such as that shown in the Eat well Guide: Eat well - NHS
Not drinking enough can increase your risk of kidney stones. You can try to avoid this by aiming to go through 2.5-3 litres each day (5-6 pints).
Try to spread drinks evenly through the day. Drink more when it is hot, and during and after exercise.
You can get an idea of how big your cups/mugs/glasses by using a measuring jug to measure how much they hold. It may be useful to write this down.
If you are drinking enough, you will make over 2 litres of urine each day. Your urine urine should be colourless to pale straw coloured (1-3 on the chart below).
Eating too much salt (or sodium) can increase calcium in your urine, and having higher amounts of calcium in your urine may increase your risk of kidney stones. Too much salt in the diet can also reduce something called citrate in your urine, and low citrate may increase your risk of forming stones. It is recommended that you limit salt in your diet to less than 6g each day (about 1 level teaspoon, or about 6 “pinches” of table salt).
Salt in the diet comes in the form of “added salt” and “hidden salt”. Added salt is what we add at the table or in cooking, and hidden salt is what is found in many shop-bought, processed/ manufactured foods. Around 75% of the salt we eat comes hidden in food, so reading food labels is important when trying to limit the amount we eat. Please see our diet sheet on how to reduce salt in the diet (How to eat less salt | North Bristol NHS Trust).
Although there may be calcium in your stone, it is important that you have calcium in your diet. If you are not getting enough calcium from your diet, your body will take calcium from your bones. Over time this can weaken your bones.
Aim to include 3-4 of the following high calcium foods each day (700g-1200g calcium per day):
For healthier options, choose lower fat alternatives.
If you use non-dairy alternatives, make sure they contain 120mg calcium per 100g/100ml.
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is good for our health, and people that eat plenty of fruits and vegetables appear to have lower risk of forming kidney stones.
Aim to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day (this does not include potato).
Lemons are high something called citrate, and including lemons in your diet may increase the amount of citrate in your urine. Having good amounts of citrate in your urine is linked with a reduced risk of forming kidney stones.
Ideas to include more citrus fruit:
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can also increase the amount of citrate in your urine, so it is another reason to reach for at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
Eating too much protein has been linked with an increased risk of forming kidney stones.
Animal proteins include:
Try to limit your proteins of animal protein to healthy eating amounts for example:
Animal protein from cow's milk and yoghurt does not need to be limited unless you eat large amounts (more than 4 high calcium foods each day).
Plant based proteins do not seem to increase the risk of kidney stones. Here are some ideas to include more plant-based proteins:
If you buy over the counter vitamins, do not take more than the reference nutrient intake (RNI) or dietary reference value (DRV). The label on the the bottle will will you what percentage of RNI or DRV the vitamin will give you.
Try to avoid any that give you more than 100%.
Losing weight if you are overweight may reduce your risk of forming kidney stones. Eating healthily and having smaller portions can help with weight loss. Being more active is also important.
Keeping good control of your blood sugar levels may help you to reduce your risk of forming kidney stones. Make sure you attend your diabetes appointments at your surgery or hospital.
Additional information if you form calcium oxalate stones | North Bristol NHS Trust
© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published March 2025. Review due March 2028. NBT003781.
See the impact we make across our hospitals and how you can be a part of it.
