Out-of-hours GPs at QA to ease the pressure on A&E
PORTSMOUTH'S out-of-hours GP service is to move from a surgery to Queen Alexandra Hospital to help ease pressure on A&E.
The service, for Portsmouth and South East Hampshire residents, will move from Drayton Surgery in Havant Road to the Cosham hospital next month. It will be housed next to the A&E department.
Health bosses hope it will help ease pressure on the emergency department at QA as patients who visit A&E but do not need emergency treatment can be quickly directed to the GP base. And patients in the GP service who are diagnosed with a serious illness can be quickly admitted to hospital.
Maria Purse, emergency pathway manager for Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'We do experience people who come to the emergency department with a minor illness who could be appropriately treated by the out-of-hours GP service.
'By having the Drayton service on-site we will be able to quickly redirect people who should actually see their GP instead of being treated in the emergency department. This will improve waiting times, allow us the time to treat the people who really need the emergency department and ensure all people get the most appropriate and very best care for their condition.'
The out-of-hours service is for people who need urgent medical care or advice out of their usual GP hours. Patients can be offered advice by phone, get a home visit, or be asked to visit the GP out-of-hours base. NHS Portsmouth, which commissions health care in the city, decided to move the service - which will be run by Solent Healthcare - to help A&E and create a 'one-stop-shop' at QA. Innes Richens, director of strategy and system management at NHS Portsmouth, said: 'By making the system more efficient we are reducing costs. We also think the hospital will be easier for many people to get to as it's well sign posted and they may well have been there before,'
If you have an urgent problem which can't wait until your GP surgery opens, and you live in Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareham, Havant or Waterloovile, call the out-of-hours service on (023) 9237 7921. It's available Monday to Thursday 6.30pm - 8am, and across the weekend from 6.30pm Friday - 8am Monday.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
