A TEMPORARY ‘GP surgery’ could be built outside the John Radcliffe to stop those with non-serious injuries clogging up A&E this winter.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust wants to put up two Portakabins to create a ‘filtering’ service to deal with the building pressure on the hospital’s emergency departments.

It would be staffed by two specialist GPs and two nurses or admin staff and assess patients arriving at the emergency department’s minor injury unit..

In submitting the plans, architects GBS Health, said: “OUH are exploring new care models to deal with the building pressure on hospital emergency services.”

It added: “With winter on the approach, more people are admitted with underlying health problems and it is vital that our emergency departments are able to concentrate on the patients who have serious medical issues.”

Last winter the Trust urged people not to go to A&E unless in an emergency as the John Radcliffe was put on ‘high alert’.

In January all non-emergency operations at the John Radcliffe Hospital were cancelled because of increased pressure on the emergency department.

It is hoped the new ‘streaming service’ will be in place by early 2018.

Director of clinical services at OUH, Paul Brennan, said: “The new streaming service at the John Radcliffe Hospital will act as an assessment and treatment facility for patients who attend the Emergency Department Minor Injuries Unit with ailments that might be more appropriately treated by a GP.

“The service will be led by specialist GPs - for which the Trust is currently recruiting – and will aim to reduce the waiting times and congestion in Minor Injuries by delivering care in more suitable settings.”

Healthwatch Oxfordshire chairman George Smith described it as ‘worth a go’ but warned the hospital was in an ‘appreciably more serious situation’ than twelve months ago.

He added that the GPs could be better used to prevent minor injury patients even travelling to the Headington hospital.

He said: “If there's extra money for GPs I would rather see one of those put in the 111 call centre rather than both in this unit.

“Call handlers are not medical professionals and are prompted to send patients to A&E if they are not sure - and they understandably err on the side of caution.

“If a GP was in the centre to advise on those instances it would prevent people from even travelling to the John Radcliffe.”