My Working Day: Suzanne Clarke enjoys the challenges of her role as nurse manager of the VHI SwiftCare clinic, Dundrum, Ireland's first urgent care walk-in facility
I was appointed nurse manager of the VHI SwiftCare clinic nearly a year ago when the centre opened in November 2005. The clinic, which is the first urgent care walk-in facility in Ireland, is a joint initiative between Ireland's private health insurer, VHI Healthcare, and the Well, a private primary care medical centre in Dublin. It provides year-round treatment to people with minor injuries and illnesses, without requiring them to make an appointment beforehand or to get a referral from their GP.
My role as nurse manager is two-fold. On one level, I still do a lot of hands-on nursing, working alongside my colleagues in an educational and training capacity.
On another level, I am involved in the management side of things, such as staff training, taking part in management team meetings, and looking after the rostering and recruitment of staff. Currently, we have five full-time nurses, along with a pool of six nurses who work part-time, and five doctors.
The managerial aspect of my role has been a challenge, particularly as it is a private clinic. You need to have business acumen, for example, when contacting suppliers and trying to get the best deals.
You never know what issues might arise either from a patient or staffing point of view, so you have to be quite calm and able to think on your feet. Most of the patients we see are treated for minor injuries, such as cuts, fractures, burns, eye injuries, and sporting or workplace injuries. Since the clinic opened last year, we've seen about 10,000 patients.
We try to attend to the patient almost immediately on their arrival and to ensure that they receive treatment within the hour. Because we have our own X-ray and blood pathology diagnostic services on site, along with a range of treatment services such as suturing and plaster application, we can follow through with the treatment rather than referring the patient elsewhere. The standard cost is €85 for initial consultation and up to €65 for further treatment.
Whether the injury is serious or not, it is usually traumatic for the patient, so it's important to put them at ease and to attend to them as quickly as possible.
After working in nursing for 21 years, I find it rewarding to be part of an initiative that aims to provide people with greater choice and a efficient service. Since I started at the VHI SwiftCare clinic, the response has been very positive and a second clinic opened at Dublin City University in June. Although the clinics are a new phenomenon here, they are popular in Australia, New Zealand and the US, so I'm optimistic that they will become an expanding area in the coming years.
The SwiftCare clinics open from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week.
(In conversation with Susan Calnan)