Access 365: acute medical admissions service

The Physicians’ Clinic operates a 365 day per year private healthcare acute admission service providing urgent access to hospital care for private patients who become seriously ill during the hours between 6AM and 10PM. Access to our acute medical admissions service is through GP referral,or through any private urgent care facility or A&E department.

Our service can be accessed between 6am to 10pm, 365 days per year. We provide fast assessment for any patient who may need immediate access to inpatient care. We can provide acute medical admission for private patients to The Princess Grace Hospital or The Harley Street Clinic, leading private hospitals located within 500 yards of our clinic.

Our 365 acute medical admissions service is managed by Dr Efthimia Karra, who is a highly experienced acute care consultant. She, or one of our other acute care physicians, will arrange for you to be admitted to one of the private hospitals without delay so that we can assess your condition quickly and efficiently.

 

Our 365 private acute medical admissions service and acute care service can, for example, provide:

• Rapid testing to determine the cause of acute breathlessness.
• Prompt treatment for acute kidney problems, including acute kidney injury or pyelonephritis. Once a patient is admitted we can even arrange for kidney dialysis and/or intensive care, if necessary.
• Emergency care for acute complications of diabetes including ketoacidosis and hypoglycaemia.
• Urgent cardiac assessment for patients who experience severe breathlessness, angina, severe fainting or decompensated heart failure.
• Emergency management of deep vein thrombosis or suspected pulmonary embolism.
• Investigation of a high fever, symptoms of severe gastroenteritis or suspected meningitis. Prompt treatment for an acute infection, such as pneumonia or septicaemia.
• An urgent assessment of the upper or lower digestive system by endoscopy or colonoscopy to investigate bleeding or severe abdominal pain.
• Care for an acute liver problem, such as in patients with decompensated liver disease or acute jaundice.
• Intensive care or admission to a high dependency unit for patients whose health deteriorates suddenly, giving cause for concern.
• Acute care for elderly patients.
• Assessment by a neurologist for severe back pain, neck pain or headache.
• Investigation of a severe skin rash, eruption or acute cellulitis.

GPs or other consultants can access our 365 acute medical admissions service by calling 0207 034 8180 between 6AM and 10PM 365 days per year

 

The limits of our 365 acute medical admissions service

There are some circumstances where A&E really is the best option. Call 999 for a paramedic ambulance (and possibly also the police) if someone is:

• Injured in a serious road traffic accident or fall, or has been shot or stabbed.
• Experiencing severe pains in their chest, and possibly also down the left arm, or has great difficulty breathing.
• Observed to collapse suddenly and does not regain consciousness within a few minutes.
• Experiencing acute symptoms associated with mental illness. We are not able to offer psychiatric care.

 

Private medical insurance and acute medical admissions to hospital

Pre-authorisation for acute medical admissions, investigation and treatment should always be obtained from the private medical insurer.

Pre-authorisation from your private medical insurer may not always be possible in a medical emergency, particularly out of hours and at weekends. In situations where pre-authorisation from your private medical insurer has not been obtained, patients will be treated as self-pay patients and a deposit will be required by the hospital on admission.

Authorisation by the private medical insurer may be sought retrospectively, and is more likely to be approved in cases where patients have been referred to us by their GP, by another recognised specialist or by a recognised urgent care facility. However, we cannot guarantee that any private medical insurer will authorise an admission; this will depend on the terms and conditions of individual private medical insurance policies.