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New Urology One Stop Clinic opened
A new Urology One Stop Clinic (OSC) was officially opened at Malton Community Hospital today (26 January 2017).
The new One Stop Clinic, which was officially opened by The Most Reverend & Right Honourable Dr. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, is an enhanced service for all urology patients across the region, which allows fast access to diagnosis and treatment. In contrast to traditional services, patients will only require one appointment and will leave the clinic with a treatment plan.
Elements of the service, which were consulted upon last year, have been designed with patient input and with learning from the Trust’s other one-stop services. The concept of a single assessment and diagnostic centre successfully brings together the common aspects of urological diagnosis and outpatient services under one roof. Consultation and diagnosis mean that patients stay within the clinic, while stopping off at various points to see a specialist, have an examination and undergo various tests.
Mr Graeme Urwin, Consultant Urologist, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, explains more: “Patients are often worried when they are referred to us, so we wanted to design a system which was both kind to the patient and efficient.
“The development of this clinic means that patients who may have needed to come to the hospital up to four times, often over several weeks, for their tests and results, now come for the morning or afternoon and have their tests undertaken while they are here.
“This means that, for most patients, by the end of the clinic they are either reassured there is nothing wrong or they have discussed a treatment plan with their specialist. We believe that this approach is truly patient-centred and will be safe, timely, equitable and of high quality.”
The OSC is led by a team of highly trained urology specialists headed by consultant urologists. To enable the clinic to run as efficiently as possible the specialist team also includes doctors, specialty registrars, urology nurse specialists, radiographers and ultrasonographers.
The majority of adult first referrals into the urology service will attend this clinic, which will run three days a week, accommodating around 180 patients. Follow-up appointments, including surgery, will continue to take place at the Trust’s other sites.
Officially opening the clinic, Dr. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, said: "I am delighted to be here today to see the work that has gone into developing this clinic. I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work and dedication to improving the health of those who will attend the clinic in the years to come. For some who tend to be reticent about seeing a doctor, knowing that you can come to one place to be tested, and be given results and guidance as a one-stop clinic is a real blessing.”
Patrick Crowley, Chief Executive, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, adds: "The one-stop model is the gold standard approach to urology diagnostics. By pooling resources from York and Scarborough to create a single team, it has given the Trust an unique opportunity to redesign the urology service and enhance patient experience. Congratulations to everyone who has helped make this happen.”
The purpose built clinic space has been created within the old vacant day theatres suite and involved extensive construction works. The OSC includes a new reception and waiting area and a whole suite of rooms for examinations, consulting and treatment.
Included in the new facilities are three state-of-the-art pieces of diagnostic equipment, which were purchased from generous charitable donations from the Malton Hospital League of Friends. The Friends donated over one hundred and twenty thousand pounds to help purchase an ultrasound, trans-rectal ultrasound and urodynamics machines which will benefit thousands of patients right across North Yorkshire for years to come.
Dr David Wilson, President, Malton Hospital League of Friends said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our volunteers, staff and customers for all their support in helping us to purchase essential equipment for this remarkable facility.”
Following the official opening guests were invited to take a tour of the clinic.
26 January 2017
Mr Graeme Urwin, Consultant Urologist, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said of the unit: “Patients are often worried when they are referred to us, so we wanted to design a system which was both kind to the patient and efficient.
“The development of this clinic means that patients who may have needed to come to the hospital up to four times, often over several weeks, for their tests and results, now come for the morning or afternoon and have their tests undertaken while they are here.
