‘Talk Before You Walk’ to access new bookable appointments at Gainsborough’s Minor Injury Unit

Bookable appointments and a fresh look – that’s the offer from Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) at the newly reopened Minor Injury Unit (MIU) in Gainsborough.

For the first time ever in Gainsborough, patients needing medical help will be able to ‘Talk Before You Walk’ by calling NHS111 to get an appointment at the MIU.

The appointment service will help to minimise waiting times and support social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Those attending the MIU without a pre-booked appointment will be assessed and may be provided with an appointment to return later in the day.

During lockdown, the MIU’s waiting area at John Coupland Hospital has also been repainted to improve the environment for patients and staff.

The area is now reconfigured to allow safe social distancing, with patients seated two metres apart.

Tracy Pilcher, deputy chief executive of Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust and director of nursing, allied health professionals and operations, said:

“During lockdown we’ve been busy looking at the improvements we can make to the services we provide to our patients at Gainsborough Minor Injury Unit, using the learning from the coronavirus outbreak.

“Our local team has done a great job to introduce a bookable appointment service for patients who ‘Talk before you Walk’ by calling NHS111.

“This makes a real difference for our patients by minimising waiting times and the risk of spreading coronavirus. And for our busy medical team, it means we can prioritise our patients more effectively to get the right help in the right timescales to meet their specific needs.

“Many of our team at Gainsborough were redeployed to Lincoln Urgent Treatment Centre and our Clinical Assessment Service providing telephone advice to help support our patients who were unwell. It’s great news that they have been able to return to normal duties to deliver great care, close to home from our MIU at John Coupland Hospital.”

The ‘Talk Before You Walk’ campaign highlights the benefits of using the NHS111 telephone service, website or app to get the right medical help first time, every time.

Key benefits to patients include:

• convenient bookable appointments at the MIU with social distancing
• telephone and online video consultations with a clinician to diagnose symptoms and arrange treatment from a prescription, available to collect from a local pharmacy to sending an ambulance
• effective prioritisation of services to make sure patients who need help get the right help to meet their medical needs.

All existing services available from the MIU will resume, including:

• X-rays available if required
• a walk-in service from 8am to 8pm with clinical assessment and appointments within a two hour timeframe

The MIU is open is open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. If you live in Gainsborough and require medical help, please remember to:

• call NHS111
• go online to NHS111 online
• or use the NHS111 app.