SA DIVISION

INFORMATION SHEET

What is Urgent Care?ThisThis is a new area of medicine that originated in the United States due to the failure of Emergency Departments to provide timely and easy accessible care to the sick and injured. Mostly run by Emergency Physicians they are basically walk in emergency centres for GP’s to refer to or patients to elect to attend for episodic care. They do not do appointments, routine care or chronic illness etc. They have the ability to handle major emergencies if necessary with Resus capable facilities but are not predominantly ambulance focused.

TheyThey are aimed at the 75% of patients who attend emergency centres but do not require to be admitted. These patients normally have the longest waiting time while the doctors are looking after sick stretcher patients so they become dissatisfied with the wait or the cost. Our centre will aim at an “in and out in an hour” philosophy where waiting times will be almost nil with on site path lab and XR to get things sorted quickly so they can go back home. We can take some ambulances but you need to have the view that we will be able to discharge them and not require urgent admission. Things such as fracture and dislocations, asthma, severe migraine, chest infections, can all be treated.treated.

As with the policy we had at Wakefield Emergency Centre all patients will have letters, emails or faxes back to their GP’s and return to them for after care. There will be a close relationship and we will discuss patients per phone regarding any complex arrangements.

The Centre will be fully equipped to Emergency Centre standards and have multiple consulting and treatment areas. Concept photos only.

Ekera Medical Pty Ltd is the parent company and is in the process of opening two centres in Melbourne. Adelaide will be number three. Local Director will be Dr. Nyk Wolianskyj who with Dr. Phil Kay, Emergency Specialist, commissioned Wakefield Emergency Centre in 1996 and managed it until sold to LCM in September 2011. Both Nyk and Phil are Directors of this new site. We still own our patient data base and medical records so all is still there. This site will be faster and cheaper than using public or private ED’s for those patients that suit. Referrals can be by phone, fax, email or letter as with WEC. We will treat and investigate the patient and then get back to you rere options for further care. An “ehealth” hub has been formed for your access and continuity of your patients. We will be doing little or no after care and will have good access to Specialists if need be. For patients who may need admissions which can be up to 10% we will arrange all this.

Links• http://www.ekeraurgentcare.com.au • http://www.ekera.com.au