Enter and view: Harold Wood Urgent Treatment Centre (Polyclinic)

Healthwatch Havering undertook an enter and view visit of Harold Wood Polyclinic Urgent Treatment Centre on 4 December 2023.  They spoke to 17 patients.

Calling patients from the waiting area by the GPs, Nurses and streamers is not an adequate means to communicate with patients waiting to be seen. This can be especially difficult for hearing impaired patients and those who have children with them, or if the staff member calling them does not have a loud voice. It would be far preferable for an electronic screen system to be used: if there are confidentiality issues about displaying names, it would be simple to issue each patient a numbered ticket then show the number on a screen.

Although the shared reception area is difficult to divide – and worked originally when both services were operated by the same provider – more steps should be taken to ensure that patients go to the correct part of reception to report in. 

The existing signage is poor and confusing. There is no obvious direction to the UTC area. Although there are some signs telling patients where to go to register that their vehicle is in the car park, the registration point is next to the UTC receptionist’s location and there is a risk that patient confidentiality could be breached. The registration point should be moved to the front entrance and clearly marked for patients to use. 

It would be useful if a separate children’s area could be established within the larger waiting area as it is inappropriate for young children to mix with sick adults in the same area. 

There are no hot refreshments available. There is a water dispenser. Considering the amount of time people are waiting this is not adequate or acceptable (diabetics, dehydration etc) 

 More clinical staff (nursing and Advanced Practitioners) be available as this would help patients and staff receive a better service particularly in high demand sessions.