Purley Memorial Hospital – Urgent Care Facility - Do you use it?

[SandersteadMum]

I received the following information in a newsletter from one of the Croydon electoral candidates.

"There is an excellent, fairly new, Urgent Care Centre at the Purley Memorial Hospital. It is currently open 12 hours a day, but because relatively few people are using it (less than 20 per day), the hours will be reduced to 2pm-8pm from 1st April. If usage levels remain low, there is the risk of a further reduction in service. Anyone who may benefit from using this centre as an alternative to A&E (which is for major emergency problems) or your GP (for non-urgent or for routine enquiries) is urged to use it to ensure that it remains available to the community".

This looks like a real case of 'Use it or lose it'.
Does anyone here use it?
Did you know it even existed?
Do spread the news about this so that we don't lose this facility.

I have used the service before not long after it opened and they were great, very quick and lovely nurses. My then 2.5year old had stuffed a pea up his nose. I have also been there more recently with my daughter but ended up in A&E because they said the x-Ray was only available before 5pm. I would highly recommend this service but only for minor ailments.

I have used it several times for my DCs. It is sooo much better than having to go to Mayday A&E. THey can X-ray straightforward things - likes arms, legs etc (not backs), and deal with anyone over the age of 1 I think. Ideal for sprains, suspected fractures, cuts etc. Staff are lovely too. I am surprised they only have 20 patients a day though - perhaps I have just caught the after-school rush on each of my visits!

Shamelessly bumping this so that more people know about this facility and know to use it!!

My other half went to it for a chest x-ray and said they were really polite and friendly and he got seen really quickly.

Have used several times - well looked after, quick service and knowledgeable attentive nurses and doctors.

Have thankfully not had cause to use it yet, but this is an incredibly useful facility and has been very badly publicised! Astonishing that they have done such a poor job of making local residents aware of it's existence and then threaten to reduce opening hours because of lack of use! I also hear that UCH Croydon A&E are not re-directing people.

More on the changes that came in today: www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/Fears-voiced-hospital-injuries-unit-downgrade/story-21006475-detail/story.html

It would be helpful if locals were told about this, or that there were signs up in GP surgeries.

Well, we had need to go to this facility and I can see why it is not used.

Luckily(!) my son had his accident just before the 2pm opening time so we arrived just as it opened and paid for several hours parking. We went through to the badly-signed waiting room and I very briefly explained the situation to the receptionist. She yelled, "Did you hear that?" across the empty waiting room to someone in a room with an open door. That person came out and did not ask for further information but said we'd have to go to Croydon University Hospital (aka Mayday) as an x-ray might be needed. I asked why we couldn't use the x-ray department in the same building and she explained that the Minor Injuries Unit is privately run so they can't use it. I asked why the service which is offered within the NHS could not use the NHS radiology equipment and she said it wasn't up to them to decide who could and could not use it - although they effectively were saying we couldn't.

So, the NHS Minor Injutries Unit is privately run which means that they cannot use any equipment elsewhere in the hospital. Really frustrating to find ourselves driving up to Croydon Univesrity Hosptial - where actually the service was pretty speedy, they just x-rayed the wrong part of my son's body and he had to have a double-dose of radiation.

Anyone else have a positive experience of using the Minor Injuries Unit?

I've found a survey that asks for comments on the Minor Injuries Unit at Purley War Memorial Hospital: t.co/w6DRZ2c0nD

My family have used it a few times - once for me when I had a bad reaction to a wasp sting (my arm puffed up to twice the size!), once for my DH for a bad cough, and once for my elderly mum when she had a fairly bloody (but not serious) accident while we were out for a Boxing Day walk in Coombe Wood!

They were brilliant with my mum, and we didn't have to wait at all, though realistically all they could do was dress the wound and give advice (="go to CUH if it happens again, we're not equipped") but when I went, I had to wait over an hour and then got 2 minutes with a nurse who gave me a pamphlet about stings and told me to go to Boots and ask the pharmacist about treatments.

I think it's really important for this bit of Croydon to have an Urgent Care facility because CUH is distant and overly busy, but IMO it's really not clear enough what it's for - GP overspill? Mini casualty? Advice? I've heard several friends speaking positively about their experiences there, but as many being redirected to CUH. I definitely don't want it to close, altogether, but I'd love to see some more clarity so that people use it (properly)!

The MP for Croydon South has said that Croydon’s Clinical Commissioning Group has launched its consultation on the future of Urgent Care Services in Croydon. Further details here: www.chrisphilp.com/blog.asp?BlogID=3

The MP is campaigning to persuade the CCCG to extend the hours and offer a more comprehensive service. He is asking that those who are concerned:

1. Email them at [email protected] to urge them to keep a proper UCC at Purley Hosiptal
2. Sign the online petition at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/purleyhospital

Croydon’s Clinical Commissioning Group is consulting for the next week. The favoured option appears to include the restoration of morning opening hours and also the continued treatment of minor injuries in what they are now calling a “GP Hub”. It looks likely that one of the three Hubs in the Borough will be at Purley Hospital.

The option does not include the restoration of emergency access to the existing X-Ray facility at Purley. Therefore a visit to Mayday/CUH is necessary for anything from breaking a leg to a child swallowing a coin.

There is a public meeting tonight (7th January) at 7:30pm at Christ Church on Brighton Road in Purley (opposite the Rotary Field;

You can still express your comments by emailing: [email protected]