Learning from practice

The service has introduced several new ways of working, in order to be able to see more patients. 

• At the first contact with the patient (i.e., the first patient enquiry about an appointment, by phone or in person), the patient is ‘registered’.  This enables a measurement of time from contact to first appointment to be taken.


• ‘Firewall’ clinics are from Monday to Friday each week, between 8.30am and 12.30pm, to see urgent, symptomatic patients.  No follow-up appointments are seen in these clinics. 


• The service has also introduced rapid screening clinics for asymptomatic patients without physical examinations.  Fifty patients can be seen in one afternoon at these clinics.


• The service has made a differentiation between HIV and GUM services to account for the much longer consultation time needed to provide HIV services than GUM services.

Contacts

For more information please contact Professor George Kinghorn, Senior Genito-Urinary Consultant, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

George.Kinghorn@sth.nhs.uk



Source: Desk research for NHS Institute by Matrix Consulting