Clinic cuts waiting times
Tuesday January 26, 2010
A new health centre designed to streamline emergency services and cut waiting times for patients has been launched at Charing Cross Hospital.
The Fulham Centre for Health was opened by health leaders and top medical staff on January 19.
The new primary care centre, located next to the A&E department of the hospital in Fulham Palace Road, has been created by Partnership for Health, a collaboration which includes NHS Hammersmith and Fulham and Imperial College Healthcare Trust.
Patients arriving at the Fulham Palace Road A&E with all but the most serious conditions now arrive at the 24-hour walk-in clinic first and are assessed by GPs and specialist nurses who decide on the best treatment for them.
Partnership for Health joint medical director Dr Tim Ladbrooke said the 'streamlining' of patients freed up specialists to focus on life-threatening cases - as well as reducing patient waiting times.
"The vast majority of people are seen and dealt with within two hours," he said. "About 85 per cent of walk-in patients are dealt with by GPs and clinical nurses, and then the other 15 per cent - the most serious cases - go straight to A&E."
The new centre also acts as a normal GP surgery, with appointments available for registered patients between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week.
Partnership for Health head of operations Adam Duncan said: "While we are happy to see walk-in patients it is better for them if they are registered so we can offer them long-term care and they can access a wider range of services."
The polyclinic includes 14 consulting rooms and two waiting rooms, one of which is used for overspill of patients from the main reception waiting area.
Dr Rachel Hines, one of two permanent GPs working at the polyclinic alongside a rotating pool of 'session' GPs, said she had observed a difference in the range of patients compared to a general practice.
"You see more acute illnesses than normal and we don't get many elderly patients here - they tend to go straight through to A&E," she said. "Most of our patients tend to be younger people."
Walk-in patient Matthew Sankey, 37, who works in Hammersmith Broadway at the Disney offices, said he was impressed with the rapid service he received after gashing his finger at work.
"I was doing a mock-up for some packaging and I slipped with a scalpel," he explained. "I was probably waiting about half an hour to see the first guy, who made sure I wasn't dying, and then waited another 45 minutes to get treated.
"It's much better than other A&E departments, where you can literally get left waiting for hours." The new polyclinic follows the opening of the Hammersmith Centre for Health at Hammersmith Hospital last April.
