The nurses of the Koryukivka Center of Family Medicine will start an independent appointment

Patients of the "Koryukivka Family Medicine Center" will have the opportunity to receive services at a nurse's appointment. In the near future, such an option will become possible, because nurses will undergo appropriate training and conduct an independent appointment, without a doctor.

It will involve independent counseling by nurses for non-communicable diseases, including patients with chronic diseases, and prevention among those at risk. The introduction of such a model will make it possible to optimize the working hours of medical personnel, reduce the waiting time of patients for an appointment with a specialist, free up the time of doctors to solve more complex issues and cases, which, in turn, will contribute to improving the quality of services, increasing patient satisfaction due to improved communication and greater attention to their needs.

Historically, medical workers in health care institutions are exclusively engaged in the treatment of patients. The communities to which medical services are provided by the Koryukivka Family Medicine Center will be one of the few in Ukraine, in which, taking into account international trends, nurses will carry out disease prevention measures, which in the long run will have a positive effect on the health of residents.

The innovation, which has already become a widespread global practice, will be introduced in the center of family medicine within the framework of the Program "Restoring the population's access to medical care", which is implemented with the support of the USAID Project "Supporting the Health Care Reform". The program in Chernihiv Oblast is implemented by the "Cancer Fight Foundation".

Within the framework of the Program, training is planned for managers, doctors and nurses of the Koryukivka Center of Family Medicine. The latter will improve their qualifications by practicing the skills of independent counseling of patients regarding risk factors. This training cycle will involve the acquisition of competences in prevention and work with patients who are overweight and do not have enough physical activity, smoke, and those who are at risk of cardiovascular diseases, in particular due to high blood pressure.

Head of the Koryukivka Family Medicine Center Svitlana Leshchenko emphasized the need to introduce a separate nursing reception of patients.

"This is very relevant for our community, as we have health centers where there is no doctor on a permanent basis. The average medical staff works there. These structural units are located at a considerable distance from the dispensary and/or very close to the border with Russia, where shelling occurs periodically. Therefore, the doctor cannot always go there even once a week. It is in these remote locations of health care facilities that there is a huge expediency in mid-level medical staff (nurses) with extended powers", - commented the head of the institution.