Costa highlights PCC appointments initiative

The recent introduction of a walk-in clinic at the Primary Care Centre has resulted in around 18 unused appointments every day, Health Minister Neil Costa said yesterday as he flagged a series of improvements within the Gibraltar Health Authority.

The walk-in clinic introduced last month was part of a pilot scheme to increase appointment availability that health officials hope will ultimately ease pressure on the Accident & Emergency department at St Bernard’s hospital, particularly at times of peak demand such as winter.

“If you call the PCC now for an appointment you will be told where you are in the queue, and also that you don’t need an appointment, just walk-in,” Mr Costa said.

“Since we introduced that on December 18, there have been 18 unused appointments every day.”

“The complaint has always been that there came a point in the day where there were no appointments left. You now have a situation where the PCC is calling people up and saying we have an appointment open.”

The initiative follows other measure introduced last year to alleviate appointment spaces, including the telephone sick notes and repeat prescription service reforms.

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