Hillingdon Hospital leads the way in urgent care innovation
Hillingdon Hospital is reshaping urgent care through the Pharmacy First initiative.
This encourages patients who could be better cared for in the community to seek help from their local pharmacy.
Patients who visit our emergency department with minor health concerns such as sore throats, shingles and insect bites are assessed by a clinician and advised whether a pharmacist might be able to help instead.
If the patient is eligible and happy, a digital referral is made by our teams to their chosen pharmacy.
This initiative is helping to reduce waiting times in our emergency department and ensure patients receive the right care at the right time from the most appropriate healthcare service.
NHS Pharmacy First was successfully piloted at Hillingdon Hospital earlier this year - more than 100 patients were redirected to community pharmacies and patients received the care they needed more quickly.
This work showcases the joint working between our staff, local pharmacies and North West London Integrated Care Board. Plans are now underway to roll this initiative out across other NHS Trusts in North West London.
Wendy Martin, divisional director of operations at Hillingdon Hospitals, said: "Our Urgent Treatment Centre team worked closely with colleagues at North West London Integrated Care Board to ensure that an accessible patient pathway was set up. Patients have benefited from being offered redirection early in their care journey - not only does this retain capacity in our hospital for those who really need it, it is hoped that patients will continue to use the pharmacy first service in the future, saving them a trip to hospital or their GP."