Coming soon: Walk-in emergency healthcare at affordable cost

NEW DELHI: Unscheduled emergency healthcare is all set to become easier in the national Capital.
The city has finally woken up to the concept of urgent care centre (UCC) — ambulatory and emergency care for immediate medical treatment outside a hospital’s emergency department on an unscheduled time or walk-in basis.
The concept has already caught the fancy of developed countries like the US — it has around 10,000 UCCs since the first opened in 1970s — Canada, England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.Delhi’s first UCC will be thrown open at Preet Vihar in October, followed by another one at Kalkaji by November 10.
Dr Pervez Ahmed, who was earlier the head of Max Hospitals and now the brain behind setting up of the UCCs, told TOI that 34 such facilities would be opened in the NCR in the next 18-20 months.
Located in densely populated urban and suburban localities, UCCs capitalize on the golden hour, when immediate supportive care in life-threatening cases can save patients’ lives. Apart from critical cases, treatment will also be provided for common injuries and conditions such as cuts, burns and flu.
The facilities will include OPD clinics, preventive screenings, basic diagnostics and immunization.
At full capacity, each centre will handle 140 patients per day.
Dr Ahmed said, “There could be an eight-12 hour waiting in a public hospital, while the visit to an emergency in a private hospital can be very expensive. We are bridging the gap by providing walk in on the spot emergency care at a very reasonable cost.”
He added, “For example, a patient is suffering from a heart attack. We will stabilize the patient, put h/him on a ventilator if need be, take care of fluids and everything necessary to save him during the golden hour and then take him to a tertiary hospital of his choice or whichever is nearest.”
Around 90 such UCCs are expected across metros as well as Tier-I and II cities with a population of one million and above in the next two years. Experts say UCCs expand the healthcare options of the primary care doctor, the hospital emergency rooms and other healthcare clinics, serving to bridge the gap between these options.
“Equipped with the latest technology and offering life-saving procedures backed by distinguished emergency care doctors, well-trained nurses and other paramedical staff, UCCs will be able to handle all kinds of medical emergencies,” Dr Ahmed said.
In 2000, New Zealand became the first country to recognize urgent care as a distinct medical specialty.