NHS confident Lerwick walk-in clinic has proved a success
Scottish Government to continue providing funding, but NHS awaits figures
THE SCOTTISH Government has told NHS Shetland it will continue to provide funding for the Lerwick walk-in clinic when its 12-month pilot ends next year.
However the health board has had no indication yet of how much funding will be given.
Interim depute chief officer Anthony McDavitt said it would be “dependent on what comes through from government” whether the walk-in clinic could continue after May 2027.
NHS Shetland officials were speaking this morning (Friday) at an event to mark six months since the walk-in clinic pilot started in Lerwick.
The clinic provides primary care for non-life threatening conditions such as coughs, pains, rashes and fevers from the Grantfield vaccination centre building – across from Toll Clock Shopping Centre.
Opened in May as an initial weekend-only service, the clinic has since expanded to offer same-day treatments on weekdays from 12pm-8pm as well.
Dr Deepa Shah – who is leading the service – said she was confident that it had proved to be a success so far.
“The feedback we’ve had from it has been really positive,” she told Shetland News.
“It’s been a good example of NHS Shetland and the team working really well, at quite a rapid pace, to get together a new service.”
An average of 46 patients have used the clinic every weekend since it opened, with patients typically waiting just 19 minutes to be seen.
The clinic is open to everyone across Shetland – not just people in Lerwick – and is even available for visitors to the isles to use.
Shah said that four in 10 people using the clinic had been from outside the town, which has helped ease the demand on health centres across Shetland.
Help keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Good local journalism takes time, care and people on the ground. Membership helps us keep reporting the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read. Members get a weekly newsletter created especially for them, local ads only, and can bookmark stories and join the conversation in the comments.
Already a member? Sign in.
“The A&E department [at the Gilbert Bain Hospital] have said there has been a reduction in people coming to them with things that could be seen at the walk-in clinic,” Shah added.
“The majority of people that we’re seeing, it’s been really useful and helpful for them.”
McDavitt, who is also pharmacy director, added that the A&E department was seeing “less inappropriate” visits, with more people choosing to use the walk-in clinic instead.
There has also been a “slight improvement in the Monday morning experience at some of the health centres as well”, he said.
Anecdotally there has also been an increase in men aged 45-65 using the clinic in the 5-8pm slots, NHS Shetland said.
A fifth of patients visiting the clinic, however, have had to be redirected to other health services instead. Shah said they were trying to ensure people had a clear idea of what ailments the walk-in clinic could respond to.
Skin, bladder, urinary or period-related problems can be seen by the clinic, along with new stomach issues and muscle, joint or back pain.
The walk-in clinic in Lerwick is part of a 12-month Scottish Government pilot across the country, with a number of other health boards across Scotland also taking part.
Announced by first minister John Swinney during a visit to Shetland in February, the Scottish Government provided just under £1 million to run the service.
McDavitt said they had indication from the Scottish Government that it would be keen for the Lerwick walk-in clinic to continue once the pilot ends in May 2027.
But clinic lead project manager Katie McMillan stressed that there was no funding confirmed currently.
“We’re hoping the Scottish Government can give us an update at some point so we can make plans,” McDavitt said.
“This obviously is a service we have to fund so we have to make sure the funding is available to be able to do that.
“We are dependent on what comes through from government.”
Staffing has also been an ongoing concern at the walk-in clinic, with closures or amended hours at short notice due to a lack of staff.
Shah said they had “worked really hard to think about how we staff the service well”.
“We’ve benefitted from seeing when is the service busiest, when do we need to staff it the most,” she added.
Typically two clinicians are working at the weekend when it is busiest, while one clinician and one nurse practitioner can work during the week.
McDavitt said that NHS Shetland having issues with sourcing staff was “not a new thing” and was “not specific to this service”.
“It’s common across all services, it’s just an environment of staff availability,” he added.
“The public have been really understanding where we’ve had to make adjustments – there haven’t been any complaints.
Walk-in clinic operational lead Lisa Watt stressed they were “talking about people and small teams”, and said if one of two people due to work on a Saturday fell ill “that can impact on us”.
“It’s the same as any other service,” she said.
NHS Shetland has been hugely impressed with not just the amount of positive feedback it has received from patients at the walk-in clinic, but just the amount of feedback generally.
“About 40 per cent of the people that come through have given feedback,” McMillan said.
“That’s the most feedback we’ve ever had,” McDavitt added.
NHS Shetland is keen to ensure that it can make it as clear as possible to people using the service, or who want to use the service, how to find the walk-in clinic.
“If you go to a GP practice and you’re from Yell, you know what to do in Yell, where to get your medication – but if you’re coming to Lerwick you might not,” Watt said.
The walk-in clinic is based at Grantfield, in the same car park as the Toll Clock Shopping Centre. It is in the same building as the NHS Shetland vaccination centre – behind the Bolts filling station – and is clearly signposted.
Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.
Already a member? Sign in.
