"Walk in Assessment"

Anything else?

I went to Wythenshaw hospital with my Mother , who is 85 and suffering from a suspected chest infection. Apparently it is no longer possible to go directly to the NHS Walk In Centre, but patients are assessed in A&E.

While I have enormous respect for the very hard working staff within the hospital, surely this process is seriously flawed . The result is that additional pressure is being put on an already overstretched A&E department. Patients wait in A&E to be assessed - and are clearly not a priority as in most cases, they are not a medical emergency. We were referred, eventually, to the Walk In Centre, only to be told that there was no GP to see us, and we were sent back to A&E.

There should be a simpler way for patients to seek advice from a doctor without taking resource away from such a busy A&E unit.

I do appreciate that there were many patients in need otf urgent attention, but this was a real ordeal for my Mother who was really quite ill and struggled with the time she had to wait without knowing when it would be possible to be seen by a doctor.

I feel very sorry for the staff who are clearly being out under considerable additional pressure