What Words Mean
NHS - the National Health Service. Hospitals and doctors' surgeries and clinics are all part of the NHS. Any medical treatment that you do not pay for is usually part of the NHS.
Complementary Therapies - these are non-medical treatments that may help you to stay healthy. Massage and reflexology are complimentary therapies.
Self-esteem - this is the way you feel about yourself. If you feel good about yourself, you have high self-esteem.
Counsellor - a trained person who you can talk to about anything that you are worried about. Everything you tell the counsellor is private.
Patient Passport - all the details of your long-term condition would be written down in your patient passport. When you meet a new NHS worker, they could read your passport to find out about you.
Key worker - this is the person in the NHS that you would contact to find out information about your treatment or what services there are.
GP - this is your family doctor. GP stands for General Practitioner.
Managed Clinical Network - this is when a group of professionals all work together to make sure that everyone gets a good service.
Outpatient - this is somebody who gets day treatment in hospital. Someone who stays in hospital overnight is called an inpatient.
Single Point of Access - this is one place where you can go to arrange all the services that you need.
Talking Therapies - when you can talk about how you are feeling to people who are trained to listen. Counselling is a talking therapy.