A senior doctor has issued a bank holiday A&E plea not to forget the Brighton Station Health Centre.
Marjorie Gillespie said that the walk-in centre, in Queen’s Road, Brighton, and run on behalf of the NHS by Care UK, was open from 8am to 8pm 365 days a year.
And it could ease the pressure on A&E if patients with less serious injuries went along to the walk-in centre rather than heading to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Dr Gillespie, Care UK’s director of primary care, said: “Our centre can help with a wide number of minor injuries and illnesses such as minor throat or chest infections, stomach complaints, urine infections, ear infections, skin complaints including rashes and insect bites or stings, minor wounds, bruising and swelling, minor head injuries and sprains, strains and soft tissue injuries.
“The wait at our walk-in centre is very likely to be considerably less than at A&E and you will be seen by fully qualified nurses and doctors.
“Bank holidays always put added pressure on local NHS services so it really helps everybody if patients choose the most appropriate course of treatment.”
She also urged patients who need repeat prescriptions to ensure they have sufficient medication to see them over the bank holiday weekend.
Dr Gillespie said: “While we are able to arrange for medication to be prescribed, we can only prescribe enough for the weekend.
“Also, the duty pharmacist may not be that close to the patient so it’s not an ideal scenario for the patient.
“Additionally, it means the service is placed under added pressure when it is always very busy dealing with urgent care calls from patients.”
This walk in centre is busy enough as it is, even if you’re a registered patient. It’s not even possible to book an appointment, a doctor has to call back to see if its ‘serious enough’