Wheaton Hall, Dublin Road, Drogheda, Co. Louth, A92 E266
041 9846846
8.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday

Skin Clinic

Home > Skin Clinic

Welcome to Wheaton Hall Skin Clinic where we have a special interest in skin disease/dermatology in general practice.

Dr Helen Kilrane has spent time working in the dermatology department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
Dr Sylvia McKenna has received advanced training in the use of a specialised skin microscope (dermoscope) to detect early skin cancer, and also performs minor surgery to remove or help diagnose skin lesions where appropriate.
Our skin clinic services include a full skin check, Roaccutane acne treatment, and removal of skin lesions using cryotherapy or minor surgery.
Complex cases or melanoma are referred to the hospital.

Our skin clinic accepts referrals from other GPs and other practices.


 

Our Full Skin Check includes

Personalised skin questionnaire
History and full body skin examination
Dermoscopy: A microscope is applied to the skin to see deeper structures not seen with the naked eye. This can pick up early skin cancer and reassure where benign. It’s simple and painless for the patient.
Clinical Photography: Photos of suspicious moles under microscope can be taken for comparison
Skin education: How to examine, changes to look out for and how to protect against cancercan

Costs of Full Skin Check: €100
€60 for medical card holders

 


Roaccutane Clinic  (for Acne)

Unfortunately, Dr. Kilrane is not taking any new patients for this service in 2024.

Roaccutane, otherwise known as Isotretinoin, is a very effective medication for the treatment of Acne. It is a retinoid and derived from Vitamin A.
Roaccutane can only be prescribed under strict criteria, either by a Dermatologist or a GP with special qualifications and experience.
Here, at Wheaton Hall Medical Centre, we are delighted that Dr. Helen Kilrane is able to offer this service to our patients.
Roaccutane is generally only prescribed for people with Severe Acne, or if their Acne has not improved with 2 or more other prescribed courses of Antibiotics.

It works by:

Common side effects include:

It needs close observation with regular blood tests, as it can potentially affect the liver function and cholesterol.
Girls and Ladies require to be on hormonal contraception as Roaccutane can cause serious defects to an unborn baby. Pregnancy tests are required before starting and monthly while on treatment.
There have been reports of people experiencing mood changes while taking Roaccutane. There’s no evidence that these changes were the result of medication.
However, mood questions and questionnaires are used routinely, as precaution only. Many patients feel their mood improves as their Acne improves as they feel better about their appearance.

Costs

Private patients:  €150 initial visit, €100 subsequent visit
Medical Card holders: €100 per visit

If you have Severe Acne or Acne that has failed to respond to two courses of antibiotics, please call our surgery today to book a Roaccutane Consultation with Dr. Helen Kilrane.
People who are not patients of the practice can be referred by their own GP to Dr. Helen Kilrane for consideration of this treatment.


 

 Dermatology

At our skin clinic we can also assess and treat a wide range of skin, hair and nail problems to include:

If you have a skin complaint, we recommend that you discuss your concerns with your doctor.


 

Minor Surgery, Cryotherapy

Many simple lumps, bumps and moles on the skin, or ingrowing toenails can be adequately dealt with at a general practice skin clinic without referral to a hospital. If you have any such concerns, please ask your doctor whether it would be appropriate to treat here, or would onward referral be more appropriate. This decision can only be made on an individual basis following discussion between your doctor and yourself.

The practice has for some years used liquid nitrogen for “freezing” other skin problems such as warts and skin tags. Modern equipment allows us to do this more efficiently. We have a special cryotherapy clinic to deal with these problems.

Some (but not all) cryotherapy and minor surgical procedures may be covered under both the Medical Card Scheme or by the leading medical insurers (VHI, Laya, Irish Life).

 

Please read below for information about our travel medicine service.

Welcome to our travel clinic! We believe that the practice of travel medicine extends beyond simply giving vaccinations (although that is often part of it). We want to ensure that you take the right precautions to make your holiday a happy and healthy one.

This takes some time and thought, so it’s good practice for all prospective travellers to see one of our doctors, when attending for travel advice and vaccines. It is also important to remind people recently arrived in Ireland, and in particular from Africa and Asia, that vaccinations or malaria prevention that immunity reduces over time. We may recommend vaccines for holidays in the land of your birth.

Please contact the surgery for an appointment at our travel clinic. We have a pre-assessment questionnaire which you can pick up from the surgery or complete before your appointment.

Please note that travel vaccinations may be expensive and are not covered by the Medical Card Scheme.

For those who are interested we would recommend the websites www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk or www.cdc.gov as useful additional sources of information.

Below is general advice for all prospective travellers.

 


 

Healthy Holidays

This short guide is intended to help you to have an enjoyable and healthy holiday. The ever-shrinking world brings us new places to visit with many pleasures but also some possible hazards and we hope that you can avoid these – remember the sun, the sea and exotic foreign foods may carry hidden dangers.
So, be prepared by spending a little time thinking about your health requirements, as well as your passport, travellers’ cheques and holiday outfits!

 


 

Vaccinations

This may appear to be a painful place to start, but rest assured that modern vaccines are greatly improved, and bear in mind that we certainly don’t want to hurt you! Vaccines contain a small portion of the infection, which is usually “inactivated” and is certainly not enough to cause the illness, however it is sufficient to stimulate the body to build up its own defences.
Some degree of protection against illness is required when travelling to most countries outside western Europe or North America. At Wheaton Hall travel clinic we keep up to date with the changing recommendations from an increasing choice of holiday destinations available to us. The practice is an accredited Yellow fever vaccination centre and carries a stock of most commonly used vaccines.

Please contact one of the doctors to discuss your vaccination needs, and other holiday good health requirements.

Most vaccines (with the exception of Yellow Fever when needed) are not “required” i.e. there is no legal entry requirement, but they may be recommended against diseases that occur locally. The commonly recommended vaccines are:

Many of you will have been vaccinated against Tetanus and Polio in this country so you may only need a booster – if at all. Our travel clinic will advise.

Vaccinations should be started at least 4 weeks before travelling if possible, but can still be considered closer to your date of departure. Side effects to vaccines are thankfully rare, but occasionally you may experience soreness or redness at the injection site.

It is important to remember that whether you have received vaccinations or malaria tablets, your chances of avoiding illness while on holiday will largely depend on what YOU DO!

So the next sections contain some handy hints about how you might avoid particular areas of danger.


 

How to Avoid Possible Danger

However these are general guidelines and you should seek local advice from your holiday rep. or your hotel.

The Golden Sun

The Water We Swim In

The Food We Eat

The Water We Drink

Insects

Finally
Take a small first aid kit e.g. simple painkillers, anti-diarrhoeal tablets, sun-screens, antiseptic cream, elastoplasts and Have A Good Time !!!!

 

Sexual Health (S.I.D.E. Clinic)

We now offer a very successful nurse-led Sexual Health screening service at Wheaton Hall.
This excellent, comprehensive and valuable service was previously very hard to access in the North East. We are now delighted to fill that gap with our own S.I.D.E (Sexually transmitted Infectious Disease Examination) consultation. This convenient, confidential and local service is also available to patients who do not attend our practice.

For more detailed information or to make an appointment in confidence, please contact reception or our nurse by ringing the practice and asking about S.I.D.E clinic appointments.

 

Chronic Disease Management (CDM)

(Diabetes, Heart Disease, Asthma, COPD – Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease)

In early 2020, the HSE and the Irish College of General Practitioners launched a new programme aimed at providing the best health possible to people living with chronic illnesses.

Who is an eligible patient?

You are eligible to join this programme free of charge if you:

How does this work?

There will be 2 structured reviews in the GP surgery each year as part of the Chronic Disease Management Programme.
Each structured review includes 1 visit to your practice nurse including blood tests, followed by a visit to your GP at the surgery.

What are the benefits from participating ?

A detailed information leaflet on the proramme is available at HSE CDM Leaflet


 

Diabetes

The practice has a tradition of delivering high quality care for our diabetic patients. We know that best treatment of diabetes significantly reduce the possibility of serious complications. However poorly controlled diabetics have a higher risk of suffering from heart attacks, visual problems, kidney failure foot problems. Therefore our aim is to minimise the chance of falling victim to these illnesses. We believe that people who suffer from diabetes can live a healthy and enjoyable life.
We offer our diabetic patients a comprehensive assessment twice a year. This may be part of the CDM programme if you’re eligible. This assessment combines appropriate examinations of feet, heart, eyes and blood pressure as well as relevant blood tests.

Please talk to your doctor or nurse if you or your relation are a diabetic patient of this practice and would like to attend our service.

 


 

Heartwatch

Heart disease is a major cause of both illness and death in Ireland. In response to this, in 2001, GPs in the North East were the first to launch this initiative, now standard across Ireland. This service is available to our patients who have suffered a significant “cardiac event”. You should have a check evey 6 months if you have ever suffered a heart attack or have undergone heart bypass surgery or angioplasty.

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and Asthma

These are common conditions which can affect breathing at different stages through life. These conditions may change for better or worse in an individual. Therefore we recommend that all sufferers are reviewed regularly to ensure that the right treatments are being delivered by the right means. You can have better control of chest problems and better quality of life, with the right tests showing us the best treatment for you.

If you are a heavy smoker or suffer from cough or breathlessness, you may benefit from a simple breathing test. This test is called spirometry and is available in the practice. We would advise you to discuss this with your doctor

 

Childhood Vaccinations

Should your baby receive their routine vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic?
Unequivocally yes!  Click here for more information
Our empty waiting room policy will make your appointment as safe as possible.

The doctors and nurses at Wheaton Hall strongly recommend that all children should receive a full course of vaccination where possible.

For further details and answers to questions, click on the link below
Baby and Childhood Immunisation

The following is the current list of recommended vaccines for babies, correct as of 2021.
All of these with the exception of the BCG will be given in the surgery by your practice nurse.

Age Vaccination
At Birth BCG (given in HSE clinic)
2 Months 6 in 1 + PCV + MenB + rotavirus
4 Months 6 in 1 + MenB + rotavirus
6 Months 6 in 1 + PCV + MenC
12 Months MMR + MenB
13 Months Hib/MenC + PCV

 

When your child is aged 4 to 5 years, they will get two further booster vaccines:

These vaccines are usually given by a HSE doctor or nurse in primary school.

Travel Vaccines – see Travel services page.

Covid Vaccines – see COVID-19

The following information may be of particular interest to women and details can be found below on this page.

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Family Planning Services

A full range of family planning services is available from the practice, which we hope will meet the needs of our patients. These include:

Please contact the nurse or doctor to discuss your family planning needs.

 


 

Pregnancy Care

If you are pregnant during Covid, please do not put off your ante-natal appointments. We will see you safely!

At Wheaton Hall, we offer combined Ante-Natal care, usually with an obstetrician, under the Maternity and Infant Care scheme. The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme provides an agreed programme of care to all expectant mothers who are ordinarily resident in Ireland. This service is provided by a GP of your choice and a hospital obstetrician and is delivered by our team of doctors and nurses at Wheaton Hall.

To avail of the service, the GP will provide you with an application form, which they will complete with you. This is returned to the HSE where it will be processed for inclusion in the Scheme.

The GP provides an initial examination, if possible before 12 weeks, and a further 6 examinations during the pregnancy, which are alternated with visits to your maternity unit/hospital. The schedule of visits may be changed by your GP and/or hospital obstetrician depending on your individual situation.

Where an expectant mother suffers from a significant illness, e.g. diabetes or hypertension, up to 5 additional visits to the GP may be provided. However care in respect of illnesses which are co-incidental with, but not related to your pregnancy, does not form part of the Scheme.

After the birth, the practice nurse will see your baby at 2 weeks, and your GP will examine both mother and baby at 6 weeks.

COST

All visits to the practice under the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme are free of charge

 


 

Cervical Smear Tests

We are pleased to participate in the National Cervical Screening Programme “CervicalCheck”. All women between the ages of 25 and 65 are entitled to a cervical smear test free of charge, every 3 years up to the age of 30 and every 5 years to age 65. However you must have received an invitation from CervicalCheck to avail of the free service. If you have not been contacted by CervicalCheck but you feel that your smear is due, then you should register by ringing 1800454555 or go to www.cervicalcheck.ie.

“Prevention is better than cure” is a principle that underlies many of the services available to you. Cervical smear testing is an important tool in the prevention of cancer and we would like to encourage all women who attend the practice to undergo this simple test on a regular basis (once you have a smear in the practice, our recall system is available to remind you when your next smear is due).

Our practice nurse is available for routine smear testing, so please contact the surgery if you feel that a smear test is overdue.

COST

There is no charge for cervical screening when it is part of the CervicalCheck programme


 

Breast Check

We would very much recommend that women avail of the national breast cancer screening programme
You will become eligible for breast screening once you reach the age of 50. Your first invitation will depend on when screening is available in your area.
This will be within two years of your 50th birthday. Screening continues up to the age of 69

click on “BreastCheck” for further details


 

Well Woman Checks

Our nurses offer a simple well woman check which includes:

 

Joint Injection

 


 

Who is suitable for a Joint Injection?

 


 

How much does this cost?

 


 

How do I organise a Joint injection?