Western Sydney Care Collective is a whole of system approach designed to enable and support the delivery of value-based health care in the community, ensuring health care is outcome-focused and patient-centred, and provided at the right time, in the right place.
The Value Based Urgent Care pathway aims to reduce the number of non-urgent presentations to emergency departments by providing access to Urgent Care Service centres within the community.
Jackson* is a four-year-old patient who presented to the Urgent Care Service at Wentworthville Medical and Dental Centre after an unwitnessed fall the night before. Jackson had tripped over when getting out of bed during the night and fallen on his wrist.
His mum noticed a pussy blister on his hand so took him to see his GP. The GP prescribed antibiotics and ordered an x-ray, which showed a subtle fracture of his wrist. Jackson’s mum had heard about the new UCS service and brought him to the Wentworthville Urgent Care Service centre with a copy of the x-ray rather than taking him to an emergency department to receive treatment.
The UCS team were able to apply a cast to Jackson’s wrist and gave his mum the option of referring Jackson to a fracture clinic or continuing management of the fracture in general practice. As requested, the UCS continued to manage Jackson’s injury and provided a discharge summary for his GP and a plaster management advice sheet.
* Name has been changed to protect the identity of this client.
Read more about Urgent Care Services: westernsydneycarecollective.com.au/
Read more stories from the WW Stories project.