Welcome to Dearne Valley Health Centre

Access to Tirzepatide (Mounjaro)  

Tirzepatide, commonly known as Mounjaro, is a new treatment approved by the NHS to help manage obesity and improve related health conditions. It is a weekly injection  that mimics hormones in your gut to help you feel full for longer and manage blood sugar levels. It is currently available to people who have: 

A Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more.  

And have at least 4 of the following health conditions:

•   type 2 diabetes 
•   high blood pressure 
•   heart disease 
•   obstructive sleep apnoea 
•   abnormal blood fats 

If you are from a South Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean background, the BMI is 37.5 instead of 40. 

Please note: 

• We cannot prescribe Mounjaro from our practice right now, or refer to a service in Kirklees that can prescribe.  
• We understand patients who meet the NHS criteria are keen to understand their options.  
• We know who is eligible for this treatment. This is only a small number of patients. 
• When this treatment becomes available in Kirklees, we will contact eligible patients to discuss further. You do not need to contact us.   

Further information about Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) is available on West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership website.  

If you're living with obesity or weight-related health issues, we understand that the journey can be emotional, frustrating, and difficult - especially when services feel out of reach. If you do not meet the current criteria and want to lose weight, the Kirklees Wellness Service may be able to help you. This is for people who have a BMI of 27.5 or higher.  

Please visit the Kirklees Council web​site for further information about their offer.

The NHS website also has tips to help you lose weight

Evening & weekend appointments available

Patients can now see a local GP, Physiotherapist and Phlebotomist (blood taker) for routine appointments on weekday evenings and at weekends.

Pre-bookable and on-the-day appointments are available between 6.30pm and 8.30pm each weekday, with additional slots available on Saturdays and Sundays between 8.45am and 5.15pm.

GP, Physio and Phlebotomy appointments are available for any Greater Huddersfield patient in the Primary Care Centre Hub at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and some physio appointments are available at other sites as well.

You can book an evening or weekend appointment by ringing the practice on: 01484 862 793. If you need to book an appointment when the practice is closed, then you can ring the free NHS 111 phone line out of normal working hours and they will book an appointment for you if appropriate.

The Climate and our health

I am sure you have seen lots about sustainability and climate change, but did you realise that our health is closely related to our changing environment, pollution, and loss of our natural environment? Healthcare in the UK contributes 4-5% of the UK’s carbon emissions. We need to enhance the health of today’s population without compromising the health of future generations. At DVHC we have signed up to the Green Impact for Hea​​​​lth Toolkit and are actively taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint. We were recently awarded the Gold certificate for our efforts and are currently working towards  the Platinum award. Fortunately, most of the solutions for the planet also make our health better - for example eating less meat, engaging in active travel, (leave the car at home) exercise in nature, avoiding smoking, reducing pollution. These actions are ‘win win’ decisions, helping our environment, our pockets and most importantly our own health. So please join us in working towards a healthier life for both ourselves and future generations.  

Some examples of areas we are looking at : 

• Buildings: Improved insulation & lighting
• Medication: switching to environmentally friendly inhalers, reducing wastage, use of alternatives such as exercise programs etc
• Transport: encouraging active transport of patients and staff

Some simple changes can make a big difference to the environment, such as switching to an asthm​​​​a inhaler with a low​​​​er carbon footprint, returning old inhalers to your pharmacy for recycling, and not flushing unused ​​​​medication away as it is toxic to many forms of marine life, but returning it to your pharmacy instead for safe destruction.

Please do let us know if you have any 'Green' suggestions for the practice.

 You and Your General Practice

You and Your Genera​l Practice describes what practices and patients can expect from each other. Patients are encouraged to be on time, be prepared, and avoid wasted appointments by cancelling early. Patients can ask to be supported by general practices in a variety of ways (for example, by making reasonable adjustments). You and Your General Practice also describes how patients and their representatives can give feedback or raise concerns. 

Dearne Valley Health Centre is part of The Mast Health Partnership Primary Care Network (PCN). The Network is made up of 5 local Practices with a population of over 35,000 patients. The 5 Practices are:

• 1. Dearne Valley Health Centre
• 2. Lepton and Kirkheaton Surgery
• 3. Shepley Health Centre
• 4. Skelmanthorpe Family Doctors
• 5. Kirkburton Health Centre

What is a PCN?

PCNs are a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan. They provide the structure and funding for services to be developed locally, in response to the needs of the patients they serve. PCNs will help to join up services at a local level, focusing on the specific needs of these local populations, with patients still accessing routine GP appointments as they do now.

PCNs are groups of GP practices working closely together, along with other healthcare staff and organisations within the NHS and voluntary sector, to improve the healthcare of our local population by providing integrated healthcare services.

For further information about The Mast PCN Network please visit their website: