Opinion  

There was a collective sharp intake of breath at work last week, as I read out an article about walk-in centres, published in a national newspaper. The article cited research which claimed that walk-in centres had failed, they were largely a waste of money and they had not achieved the purpose of reducing waiting times for GP services.

I was interested to note that the research had been undertaken and supported by a group of doctors, given the fact that GPs have, over the past six or so years, been known to criticise walk-in centres on a regular basis. They argue that funding should have been diverted towards traditional general practice.

I couldn't help thinking of the hundreds of patients sitting in walk-in centre waiting rooms because they are unable to register with a GP practice, or who have a GP but are unable to make an appointment to see them. They frequently report that: ‘The doctor said he was too busy to see me and told me to come to the walk-in centre'.

As well as being used regularly by GPs (many of whom are now paid a six-figure salary) as an overflow option when they are too busy to see their patients, walk-in centres appear to be viewed, by ministers, as a political pawn in the battle against A&E waiting times. They are also used, at times, by every other health professional who, for whatever reason, is unable to see the patients to whom they have a duty of care.

Despite this, walk-in centres are hugely popular with patients, if our experience is anything to go by. It is reassuring to hear from the majority of the people we see that they support walk-in centre services, saying that they suit their lifestyles. People don't want to decide two weeks in advance whether they need to see their GP (this is often required, despite advanced access) and are generally disinterested in who they see, as long as the person is competent and able to deal with their problem.

We find that the majority of our patients are either return visitors or come following a recommendation from family or friends.

To give just one example, I saw a patient last week who had missed a week of work due to a neck problem and had tried unsuccessfully to make an appointment with his GP. He came to the walk-in centre out of sheer frustration and was enthusiastically grateful to be seen. He was given a thorough assessment, provided with a prescription for the necessary treatment, given acupuncture and referred to a physiotherapist. He felt that the service met his needs and was, quite frankly, the best thing since sliced bread.

If this is the experience of patients, then are walk-in centres really failing? Despite the fact that researchers and medical colleagues insist on regular walk-in centre bashing, teams of nurses around the country are providing high standards of evidence-based, relatively cost-effective care to patients who might otherwise may not have been seen.

Speak to any patient and I'm sure their motto will be 'long live the walk-in centre'.

So, despite the publication of biased research, I believe that walk-in centres are services of the future and that they are certainly here to stay.

Paul Cornforth RN (Adult), PG Dip (Nurse Practitioner), BA (Hons) Nursing is consultant nurse (unscheduled care) at Wandsworth PCT. He has a background as a nurse practitioner in walk-in centres and general practice.