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Canberra Hospital’s walk-in centre should cut waiting

By ALANA SHEGOG
The new walk-in centre at Canberra hospital will help reduce overcrowding in waiting rooms.

Australia’s first nurse-led walk-in centre is due to open in June and will treat patients with minor injuries.

Patients have been waiting hours before doctors could attend major injuries and health problems.

Of the 53,000 patients waiting at Canberra Hospital 40% were suffering from minor illnesses which can be treated quickly. The new centre will help to relieve tension by taking away minor cases which hold up patients who need urgent attention.

Th executive director of health performance and improvement, Brenda Ainsworth, said yesterday (29/04/10) that the programme gave the community more choice.

“It is an innovative model of care that uses specialist nurses to provide fast, free treatment for minor illnesses and injuries in a clinic environment,” she said

The centre will be the first to be run solely by nursing staff. The senior project manager at ACT Health, Sheryl Harrison, said yesterday ( 29/04/10) that the centre would be an experiment for future centres around Australia.

“If the experience in the UK, which this service is modelled on is anything to go by, staff find the work rewarding and the clients appreciate the prompt, thorough service available,” she said.

The risk has been minimised by the involvement of ACT Health. Mrs Harrison says the idea for the centre came after much thought surrounding policy and practice.

“The development of this has been rapid but thorough with clinicians and allied health across the ACT having input in policy and procedure,” she said.

Mrs Ainsworth says walk-in centres create a bridge between emergency hospitals and general practices. She says the centre will be open for long hours, however the atmosphere will be more like a standard general practice.

The walk in centre is part of Prime Minister Rudd’s plans to improve health care nationally. The government has given$10 million to build the centre and may build others around Australia.

The impact of the walk in centre will be determined by close observation of Canberra hospital after June 2010.

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