A National Health Service walk-in centre has been launched at the Boots the Chemists branch at 66 High Street, Birmingham, by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Ms Gisela Stuart).
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Gisela Stuart with Martin Williams at the launch of the walk-in centre |
At the launch, Ms Stuart said that walk-in centres would provide immediate and flexible access to primary care services, improving the way thousands of patients got treatment for minor health problems or injuries.
The walk-in centre opens an hour before the Boots branch and closes four hours later, so special arrangements are being made to give patients access to the centre outside shopping hours. Boots's branch manager (Mr Martin Williams) told The Journal on February 29 that the walk-in centre entrance would have an entryphone for use when the Boots branch was closed. A security guard would escort patients to and from the centre via a lift.
Mr Williams added that Boots pharmacists would be able to refer patients to the centre if they came in with concerns that pharmacists were not equipped to address. He said that it might be suggested to patients with concerns about blood pressure that they could see the nurse at the centre. Conversely, the nurse might suggest that people would benefit from some over-the-counter medication. In that sort of case, it would be for the patient to decide whether to buy anything and where to go for it. There would be no referrals from the centre to the Boots pharmacy.