Response to reduction in services
We asked:
"For the sexual health service to meet the budget challenges we are required to reduce the number of clinics. The reductions proposed are:
Monday to Thursday: Reduce from 8.00am to 8.00pm service (this is equivalent to 3 4-hour clinic sessions a day), to 2 4-hour clinic sessions per day, which will include a mix of morning, afternoon and evening clinics.
Reduction in hours on Friday: From 8.00am to 4.00pm, to 8.00am to 1.00pm, a reduction of 4 hours.
Closure of a Saturday service: This currently runs between 9.00am and 1.00pm.
Do you agree with this reduction in service clinics?"
The majority of respondents (72.5%) replied “no” to this question.
| Response | % of respondents |
|---|---|
| No | 72.5% |
| Yes | 18.75% |
| Don't know | 8.75% |
Of the 53 respondents who wrote comments, 32 specifically mentioned the cut to a Saturday service and that this shouldn’t be an option as it will significantly reduce access to those who work. Many people suggesting cutting a clinic mid-week instead. Evenings and weekends were considered to be the best times to attend by the majority of respondents.
Reductions to Monday to Friday clinics were accepted but a number of respondents who wanted to be reassured that evenings would still be available for working people.
Reason why Saturday closure was considered
Saturday morning clinic is the most expensive clinic to run as the building is required to be opened for this service only.
You said:
Don’t close Saturday Clinics.
We did:
We looked for other more cost-effective ways of developing the service within the budget allocated. This included not running the central booking line and having self-check-ins screens to reduce the need for a receptionist. However, these ideas were discarded as could be a potential risk to service users and building security as it would have resulted in an unstaffed reception and waiting room.
Reducing to 1 Nurse list rather than 2. Again this was felt to be a risk, as in the event of a patient becoming unwell or needing support or second opinion, we would need to ask the patient to return on a different day.
Moving the Saturday clinic to a building which is already open thus reducing overheads would solve the problem of the unstaffed waiting area but might compromise confidentiality if patients had to sit with the generic patients as we call by number or first name only (which is different from the usual GP approach).
This proposal would have also resulted in outlay and investment as supplies such as lithotomy, liquid nitrogen, drugs cupboards, and other devices are required, so these would need to be moved across weekly or permanently. Any moving of equipment permanently needs investment in new equipment, and any weekly moves require extra staff time for collection of equipment and travel time, so is unlikely to be cost effective.
We have now re-costed the Saturday and propose that we increase Saturday services (as we have the building open) and stop Wednesday morning services. This would be cost neutral.