A NEW unit to speed up accident and emergency services has opened at Lewisham Hospital.

The Primary Care Suite (PCS) has been designed to treat patients with minor injuries and ailments rather than making everyone wait in accident and emergency.

Emergency nurse practitioners (ENPs), working alongside GPs, treat and discharge patients with various injuries including bites, stings and cuts.

Within half-an-hour of opening, Scott Harrison, a 23-year-old carpenter who had been working in Brockley, came into A&E.

His hand had slipped while he was using a knife and he had cut his thigh, he was quickly assessed as being suitable for treatment in the PCS. ENP Del duKamp cleaned the wound and stitched it up, and after a short period of observation Mr Harrison was free to leave.

Del duKamp said: “Scott's injury is exactly the sort of thing we'll be treating in the new PCS, we have autonomy to see, treat and discharge patients with minor injuries.”

PCS manager Amanda Barnes said: “Ultimately, by treating these patients in a dedicated environment, we will be able to free up staff in our busy adult and children's A&E departments.

“Unlike main A&E, the patients won't have to wait until others with more serious medical conditions are seen.”