A primary care facility at work

Adam Morton visits Darley Health centre in Cavan to find out how its Primary Care Team’s coordinated approach improves the lives of patients in the local community.

The bright and open waiting area and the warmth of the welcome point to the high quality of both facilities and staff at Darley Health centre in Cavan.

The centre is home to Cootehill’s Primary Care Team (PCT), a team of health professionals who work closely together to meet the needs of the people living in the community. The centre provides local residents with access to GPs, dentists, public health and community nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists.

The centre serves as the first point of contact with the health service for the area’s 6,400 citizens. As the clinical lead for Cootehill’s PCT Fiona Gilliland explains how bringing the services together has benefitted the local community. “Prior to the establishment of our Primary Care Team, the facilities we have on offer would have been split between hospital and community visits. This facility enables a wide range of care teams to work under one roof in a collaborative way.”

The team holds a monthly meeting to discuss any issues with patients. It also gives the team the chance to discuss the best approach for treating patients who are in the process of a complex discharge from secondary care services such as hospitals and mental health teams. These meetings improve time management and allow for instant responses and easy follow up opportunities between disciplines.

One of the staff best placed to notice the benefits that the Primary Care Team has given the area is GP Dr Geraldine Gunn. With 40 years’ experience in the area Dr Gunn knows just how practical having the Primary Care Team on-site has proved to be.

“Having these teams on hand, is very important and we have a very good relationship,” says Gunn. “Prior to the establishment of the Primary Care Team it was much more difficult, I wouldn’t have been able to see the other teams and would have had to use a paper-based referral system. Referrals can be processed much quicker now.” 

Aside from a streamlining of patient care, the facility offers numerous benefits for residents of this rural area. Many users of the facility are elderly and having access to a range of care services in close proximity to their homes, rather than having to make a long journey to a hospital is an obvious advantage. Similarly, for those in the community who need to frequently access services, having recognisable local staff on hand provides a great deal of comfort and allows for the development of a bond between the patient, their family and the primary care facilitators.

Nursing

The priority for the Public Health Nurses in Darley is child health. The facility has everything needed to care for mother and baby, including all the necessary health promotion literature. Nurses are also responsible for clinics on offer such as the enuresis clinic and the leg ulcer clinic run by community nurse Frances Connaghan.

If the Public Health Nurse notices anything of worry they can go straight down the hall and consult with the necessary clinician. The benefits of being part of this Primary Care Team are numerous for both the nurses and the patient’s family.

“Having all these services available locally is a comfort to families,” says Alice Campbell. “Before the establishment of this team, we would have been working on our own and sending referrals off to another centre meaning our patients wouldn’t have been seen as quickly.” 

Physio and Occupational Therapy

Darley Health Centre is also home to a shared therapy space used by both Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists. The facility is also used for manual handling training and by Cavan’s adult physical and sensory team providing ease of access for those closer to the centre than Cavan General Hospital.

Prior to the transition to primary care, the physiotherapy and occupational therapy available outside the hospital setting would have been limited to paediatric services and disability services. Now patients who would have previously gone to hospital are able to use this facility for their treatment.

The team also run a neurological rehabilitation clinic facilitating ongoing care in the community of stroke patients, head injuries or anyone presenting with a neurological condition. As the health service’s first point of contact health promotion is a vital component of every PCT member’s job.

“Within physiotherapy we are working on obesity by offering people the option to have their weight and height taken and encouraging them to increase their physical activity levels and the PCT works to coordinate that message across all our services,” states physiotherapist Louise Slowey.