title: No waiting in vein.
abstract: Patients in the Wirra with a suspected DVT can now be diagnosed and treated in a nurse-led centre. The service has reduced waiting times and unnecessary hospital admissions. The service is a collaboration between two primary care trusts and Wirral Hospital NHS Trust. Patients can be referred directly to the walk-in centre by GPs or A&E departments. They can also self-refer. In the first year of the service, the clinic treated 1,600 patients. Nurses take a full history and can order diagnostic tests. Before the service began, 900 patients a year were admitted with a suspected DVT, more than half unnecessarily.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000451:nursing*; D000078329:Workforce