Charing Cross Launches 24/7 Health Centre

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Fulham Centre for Health open round the clock

A new 24/7 health centre offering local people easier access ro GPs and emergency care is now open at Charing Cross Hospital. 

The Fulham Centre for Health will work alongside the emergency department to provide urgent care for people with minor injuries and illnesses.

It will also function like a normal GP surgery and offer registration to local residents with appointments available between 8am and 8pm seven days a week.  

Being on a hospital site means the centre also has quicker access to diagnostic services such as X-ray. 

Dr Shamini Gnani, GP, says: " The new centre will improve patients' access to the most appropriate type of care for their illness and more quickly than in a traditional Accident and Emergency setting. This means the emergency department will be free to focus on the most seriously ill patients who need critical care."

The centre is the second to launch in Hammersmith and Fulham following the opening of the Hammersmith Centre for Health in April this year – where 78% of 'walk-in' patients have been seen or treated by a GP or emergency nurse practitioner.

Explaining the decision to put GP surgeries alongside emergency departments, Miles Freeman, NHS Hammersmith and Fulham’s Director of Commissioning, says:  "We know a lot of people go to A&E with problems that aren’t life threatening – often it’s because people aren’t sure where the best place to go is or because other services are closed.

" Rather than telling people not to go to A&E, we want to make sure the right range of doctors and nurses are on hand to help with every kind of problem."

The two centres for health represent a £2.5million investment by NHS Hammersmith and Fulham in new GP-led services for the borough’s residents. The centres are run by Partnership for Health – a partnership comprising Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Central London Community NHS Healthcare and the GP out-of-hours services London Central and West Unscheduled Care Collaborative.

Patients living in the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham who are interested in registering with either of the centres should call 0203 313 4100.

 

 

 

September 10, 2009