Impact on demand following the launch and closure of NHS walk-in centres

Abstract

Walk-in-centres were established in 2000 to reduce demand on urgent and emergency care in the NHS. However, there is currently debate over whether walk-in centres are achieving this aim. This review examines the literature to identify the impact that walk-in centres have on other health services and to determine any potential effects of walk-in centre closures. The majority of current research has examined activity immediately following the opening of a walk-in centre, reporting non-significant reductions in attendances at other services. Instead, walk-in centres resulted in a high proportion of duplicate attendances. However, more recent research has produced some conflicting findings, stating that walk-in centres can result in up to a 20% reduction in emergency department attendances. These more recent findings indicate that walk-in centres may be more effective at diverting attendances once they are more well-established in the community. Given the limited research into the long-term effects of walk-in centres, the true extent of their impact is currently unknown. Further research is therefore required to quantify the long-term benefits of walk-in centres in order to enable evidence-based decisions on their future within the NHS.