Urgent & Unscheduled Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Urgent & Unscheduled Care - Essay Example Urgent care centres shall be open on a continuous and 24-hour basis. Unscheduled care can be defined not only as the professional care, but also as the social care provided to a patient who cannot be ignored. The need of the unscheduled care is not pre-planned or an appointment with a professional. The concept says that the demand for unscheduled care can possibly incur at any time and the services should be provided in order to fulfil the demands of the one in need. Whenever contacted for, the unscheduled care shall be available. It gives the framework that if the unscheduled care is delayed, it can result in the loss of time or long term illness (Hill 34). The urgent and unscheduled care may have five levels of care at which they are operable. The levels of care are organized in the way of their priorities and type of care required. As the complexity of the problem increases, the volumes of such patients coming for urgent need decreases. This is because the more complex the problem of the patient will be, the more planned and organized the treatment will be for which there is scheduled care. The levels of care are a strategic framework according to which the hospitals and walk in centres prepare their equipment and professionals. The first level of urgent care is the self care. This means the patient is capable enough to provide himself with the immediate care needed, for example an injury happens, so the patient himself washes it, applies an antiseptic and puts on a band-aid. Self care can be provided by the nearby people or family members too. At times self care is provided by professionals through techniques such as the phone and internet. In some countries there are medical professionals who are available on the phone and internet 24 hours a day, so the patient can get the best urgent treatment at home if getting to the hospital may take long (Laird, Wardrope 278). The second level of care is