Outdoor health checks for patients in Seghill

Friday 23 July 2021

Student nurses and clinicians in the North East have teamed up to transform the way they deliver health checks for the local communities.

Staff at Netherfield House Surgery in Seghill, Cramlington have collaborated with three nursing students from Northumbria University to review patients for urgent follow up health checks.

The outdoor health roadshow enabled 100 patients to be seen in one day, with services ranging from BP checks to diabetes screening and pulse checks.

This latest move is part of the ongoing adaptation of services to ensure that the health needs of the public are met, despite the ongoing pandemic. The need for additional health screening checks arose as many patients have avoided making appointments during lockdown, due to concerns around overwhelming the practice or catching COVID-19.

Involving students in this new way of working is a step towards future proofing local health care services, encouraging the future workforce to think differently.

Joanna Vinits, practice nurse at Netherfield House and link nurse for NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said, “I’m incredibly proud of the work the students have done in pulling this roadshow together and it is showing just how valuable they are to our practice team.

“COVID-19 restrictions may have lifted but the virus is still very much with us and we are continuing to see patients in the safest way possible whilst still giving them the care they need.”

Joanna first started as the CCG link nurse in January 2021 and has since been promoting nursing placements in general practice to train and retain new recruits.

Joanna continued, “It’s great we can take advantage of the good weather we are having so we can see patients out in the open where there is less risk of transmission. I look forward to working with more bright and innovative trainees in the future.”