Urgent Care Centre team celebrate first birthday with 3,947 appointments

The Urgent Care Centre team at Daisy Hill Hospital have marked their first year in service, having now looked after a total of 3,947 patients.

The Urgent Care Centre team receive referrals through the ‘Phone First’ system and directly from GPs.

Pictured left to right are Karen Walker, Head of Urgent Care Services, Shaunine Murphy, Receptionist, Caroline Taylor, Health Care Assistant, Aoife Martin, Health Care Assistant, Dr Niamh Rogers, Hayden Shilliday, Health Care Assistant, Dr Rosemary Sloan, Clinical Lead, Patricia McGrath, Nurse Team Lead, Dr Chris Elliott.

placeholder image — Pictured left to right are Karen Walker, Head of Urgent Care Services, Shaunine Murphy, Receptionist, Caroline Taylor, Health Care Assistant, Aoife Martin, Health Care Assistant, Dr Niamh Rogers, Hayden Shilliday, Health Care Assistant, Dr Rosemary Sloan, Clinical Lead, Patricia McGrath, Nurse Team Lead, Dr Chris Elliott.

The Phone First approach helps patients with urgent, however not life-threatening symptoms, to get the most appropriate care as quickly as possible, avoiding busy waiting rooms and maintaining Emergency Departments for only the most acutely ill.

As a telephone-based service, the team of Doctors, Physiotherapists and Advanced Nurse Practitioners offer advice, appointments and diagnostics for those who need it or onward signposting or referral to other services as required.

Paying tribute to the Urgent Care team on their first year in service, Brian Beattie, Director of Adult Community Services for the Southern Health and Social Care Trust said: “We are very proud of our extremely dedicated Urgent Care team, who are committed to giving patients the right treatment at the right time.

“With sustained demand right across health and social care services, we need to do everything we can to reduce pressure on our Emergency Departments particularly over the busy winter months. We are also continuously working to improve our range of unscheduled care and same day emergency care services to avoid hospital admission and improve patient flow where possible.

“The Phone First service deals with over 350 calls each day. Less than a quarter of these patients actually need to attend the ED and just under half of callers are given a scheduled appointment at their local Minor Injuries Unit service or Urgent Care Centre at Craigavon or Daisy Hill. The Daisy Hill Urgent Care team have seen 3947 patients face to face in the last year, averaging out at 329 base appointments each month and have welcomed new permanent members of staff.

“Feedback from patients who use the Phone First system has been very positive. We greatly appreciate continued public support, so please ‘Phone First’ before attending an Emergency Department or a Minor Injury Unit and help us protect our services by freeing up space and staff time in the ED for those who really need it most.”