Greenwich Health chosen as new provider for Urgent Treatment Centre at Queen Elizabeth Hospital
We are pleased to announce that, following a competitive tendering process, Healthier Greenwich Partnership have chosen Greenwich Health as the new provider for the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. We are confident that the new, integrated service will lead to a number of improvements for patients including a better experience and better access to urgent care services.
Greenwich Health are made up of local GPs and other clinicians already working in the borough. The team will be able to access patient notes from local GP practices in the UTC. They have also been chosen to provide the GP Out-of-Hours service for the residents of Greenwich which will mean a better link between these two important services.
Dr Niraj Patel, GP and Chair of Greenwich Health said: “We are delighted to have won this contract and believe that input from local GPs to deliver urgent care services will have real benefits to patients and also to our GP practices. Our team will act as a link between the hospital and community services.”
Dr Jim Milton, Divisional Medical Director and Consultant Geriatrician said “We are really pleased to be partnering up with Greenwich Health in our Urgent Treatment Centre here at the Queen Elizabeth. Close links with our local GPs are vital – they will help us access clinical records faster, reducing waiting times and allowing us to care even more effectively for the severely unwell people we treat. Looking forward to getting started with the team.”
The UTC is located next to Emergency Department at the hospital and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week providing treatment for patients with less serious injuries or illnesses that are not critical or life threatening but still require urgent attention. The new arrangements are expected to be in place by 29 June. Patients can continue to access the UTC services as normal during the transition.
About Greenwich Health:
Greenwich Health are the local GP federation, they are owned by the borough’s general practices and embedded within the local care system, operating under a not-for-profit ethos.