Sharma visits Broad Street Mall NHS Walk-in Centre

Reading West MP Alok Sharma visited the Reading Walk-in Health Centre located in the Broad Street Mall on Friday 9th December. Alok was shown the new self-check-in service that is being piloted at the Centre, which is run by Assura Reading, a partnership between 18 local GP practices and healthcare provider Assura Medical.

Janice Greenhill, Primary Care Lead for Assura Wessex Region, explained that new Patient Navigators will greet people as they arrive to signpost them to services at the walk-in centre. The Patient Navigators, who are experienced receptionists who have been given extra training for the role, will also help patients to ensure that they have the right forms to fill in and help them get the most appropriate treatment as quickly as possible. Patients do not have to be registered with the Walk-in Centre to use the new service, which launched on 11th December and will run until 2nd January.

Alok said: “I was interested to visit the Reading Walk-in Health Centre in the Broad Street Mall and see the facilities for myself. The Patient Navigators should help patients get the most appropriate treatment quickly once they arrive at the Centre which will benefit all those registered at the Centre, as well as those who just walk in over the Christmas period, including some of the many thousands of my constituents who have previously used the services provided by the Centre.”

Janice Greenhill explained that the pilot was timed to coincide with one of the busiest times of the year in the run up to Christmas: “As we are open from 8am to 8pm 365 days per year, we are often busy on Bank Holidays and over the Christmas period when other GP services are closed but we are committed to ensuring that all our patients get the same high standard of care and are seen as quickly as possible. As well as our new Patient Navigator we also have a self-check-in facility and we are trialling a new approach where once patients have checked-in, they can leave the centre and then will be called or sent a text message once it is near their appointment time.”

Dr Sanjeeve Sockanathan, a GP at the centre, added: “We will be open as usual between the hours of 8am to 8pm right across the festive period, including Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Day. Patients are welcome to drop in if they need to see a doctor or nurse during these times and they do not have to be registered to do so, though patients may register with us if they wish.”

Photo: Alok with Patient Navigator Maria Ramsey at Reading Walk-in Health Centre..