NHS Shetland trialling evening opening hours at Lerwick walk-in clinic
NHS SHETLAND is to trial evening opening hours for its walk-in clinic at Grantfield in Lerwick.
From Monday 10 August the clinic will be open 5pm to 8pm on weekdays, in addition to its existing 9am to 5pm weekend service.
Additional weekday opening hours will be introduced in the coming months as the pilot develops, the health board said.
The walk-in clinic launched on Saturday 2 May after being announced by the Scottish Government as a 12-month trial in February.
It has had to close or shut early on several occasions since being launched due to staffing pressures, which have led to scrutiny of the trial and the clinic’s usage.
But Dr Deepa Shah, who oversees the walk-in clinic, said feedback from patients had been “very positive” since its launch.
“We’ve also welcomed an average of 45 people each weekend, demonstrating the demand for this service and the important role it is already playing in providing access to urgent care at different times,” she said.
“As part of our phased approach to introducing a service across the week, we’re pleased to begin weekday evening opening from 5pm to 8pm.
“The service will operate in the same way as it does at weekends, providing assessment and treatment for urgent, non-life-threatening conditions.
“We’ll continue to listen to patient feedback as we evaluate and develop the service to ensure it meets the needs of our communities.”
Dr Shah said there may still be occasions when NHS Shetland needed to adjust the opening hours to reflect available staffing, but added they would “communicate any changes as early as possible”.
“I’d like to thank everyone in our community for their continued support as we continue to develop and improve this new service.”
A programme of improvement works is also planned for early autumn to further enhance clinical capacity and the patient experience at the Grantfield location, with more details to come from NHS Shetland in the coming months.
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The walk-in clinic is available to everyone in Shetland, including people who are not registered with a local GP practice. Visitors to Shetland can also use the service.
Patients can attend the clinic for same-day assessment of urgent, non-life-threatening conditions that would normally be managed in primary care. This includes new or acute symptoms such as pain, rashes, fever and infections.
The service is not intended for emergency care, ongoing management of long-term conditions, repeat prescriptions, medication reviews, minor injuries, administrative requests or specialist care.
Patients attending the clinic may be seen by either a GP or an advanced nurse practitioner.
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