GP consultation service at Hampshire Clinic expanding

As previously reported, private hospital The Hampshire Clinic, in Old Basing, began offering the service in February as part of a wider project to enhance and expand the facilities on offer to patients.

Now, following a successful launch, the clinic, which is part of Circle Health Group, is expanding the service to meet demand.

READ MORE: New face-to-face GP consultation service to launch in Basingstoke to relieve pressure

It has increased the number of GPs practicing at the private hospital in Basing Road to meet the demand from patients looking to access primary care services.

Dr Eve Wijayanayagam and Dr Victoria Freire will join Dr Lucie Maloney and Dr Alexander Goodman to run the service, meaning appointments will be available from Monday to Saturday, offering patients greater flexibility to book face-to-face or telephone appointments.

Appointments, which cost £150, will also be lengthened from 20 minutes to half an hour, ensuring that patients looking to use the service have enough time to explain their symptoms and thus, be placed onto the correct treatment pathway for their condition.

The new GPs bring with them a wealth of experience. Dr Wijayanayagam qualified as a GP in 2010 and has a specialist interest in minor injury and elderly care. Dr Victoria Freire joins the GP team at Hampshire Clinic bringing with her expertise in women’s health and is a menopause specialist.

At a time when waiting times for specialist menopause treatments are reported as being more than seven months, the clinic said that Dr Freire’s arrival at the hospital is an opportunity to ensure that women looking for expert support and guidance will be able to access it quickly without fear of unnecessary delays.

The strengthened service will also increase the number of patients able to access specialist tests and scans ahead of any treatment.

Both Dr Wijayanayagam and Dr Freire have extensive experience working with consultants across all major specialties. Circle Health said that not only will this reduce the time taken for specialist referrals but it will also ensure that the right interventions can be made early, which overall improves the patient experience.

Commenting on the expansion of the GP service, Heather Dob, executive director of The Hampshire Clinic, said: “We are delighted to welcome both Dr Wijayanayagam and Dr Freire to the private GP service at Hampshire Clinic. Meeting the changing needs of our patients is of paramount importance and strengthening our GP service is part of that ongoing commitment.”