NHS Soho Walk- in center

Fast and efficient. Long live the NHS!

Friendly nurses! What a relief to walk into an NHS clinic and not be greeted with either a deathstare, apathetic look, or derision. Those three describe my two previous encounters with the NHS so luckily I haven’t been sick much in the last 3 years.
Now to be fair, I’m actually a fan of the NHS. Sure I hate paying NI taxes as much as anyone, but I do appreciate not having to pay when I do need to use a hospital. However, I’ve heard the horror stories and lived in a slight fear that I may shoplift a few germs inadvertently while I’m there due to lower the spectacular conditions that result when you put too many people into too small a space and fail to provide enough funding (which has been spent on fancy ways to blow up caves). This slightly irrational fear is made worse when you are going to a walk-​in clinic which in the states would be crammed with coughing, dirty, mostly homeless people who have no private medical insurance to rely on.
Luckily, within 30 seconds of walking into the Soho Walk-​in Clinic, my fears were put to rest. The receptionists are very friendly and patiently took me through the process of registering and explained the next few steps. The waiting room was quite spacious and turnover fairly high so everyone was spaced several seats apart. A selection of newspapers and magazines (fairly recent) were also provided in case you didn’t have a phone or book to keep you occupied. The place was also very clean which is quite a feat when you are catering to sneezing and coughing invalids.
After being called in for a quick screening which consisted of a few questions, I was told it would be under an hour before I saw the nurse. I should note that there are only nurses here and not full doctors so if you are seriously ill they will likely have to refer you to one of the full hospitals. However, for most things they are more than capable of diagnosing and dosing you up.
About 30 minutes after the screening, I was called in to see a nurse. First off, she was hilarious. I do appreciate it when they give you a bit of banter rather than just rattling off questions in as efficient a manner as possible. While taking my blood pressure we had a bit of a chat about things and she was pretty good with explaining what she was about to do. It was also a fairly educational experience as I learned that I was borderline overdosing on paracetamol (too many Lemsip Max tablets in one day) and that it can have serious consequences like stopping your heart. Fair enough, I will follow the instructions more carefully from now on.
I was diagnosed with tonsillitis in about 10 seconds flat and given penicillin right there. I definitely appreciate being dispensed drugs on site as it avoids an annoying trek and wait to Boots when you just want to feel better. My nurse was also good at explaining the importance of following the full 10 day régime despite the fact I’d likely feel fine after 3 days. If she hadn’t mentioned it, I would have been very tempted to stop after a few days (I don’t like taking pills) but that would have helped push along the development of a penicillin resistant strain which isn’t good for anyone.
Overall, I was very pleased with my experience and would definitely recommend the Soho Walk-​in clinic to everyone. I’ll be going there as my first stop next time I’m sick for sure!

super site bravo

This NHS Walk in Centre is one of the better ones in London: Nice interior, friendly staff, very convenient location (Soho). They treat a lot of tourists (fee: 50 Pounds for non-​residents). I was there on a Saturday afternoon, was seen within an hour, got my medication and felt better the day after. I will go there again if I need help on a weekend or in the evening.

What do you do when you find yourself turning into a gianormous swollen strawberry coloured mess?
Well the A&E will probably put you down at the bottom of the list, so unless you are good at faking heart attacks, you will probably be there till the cows come home.
Hail this (to me at least) little know and mythical institution known as the «walk in centre». You go there with your (to you, not to them) «minor ailment», a nurse sees you and gives you a prescription/​bandage/​whatever that will hopefully cures you.
Granted I had to wait for an hour and the diagnosis was wrongish (i had viral hives rather than allergies, though apparently this is easy to mix up and viral hives are kinda an allergic reaction) and the pills didn’t work, I did leave with a bit more faith in the nhs.
And the nurses were nice and the receptionist hated kids so I’ll be kind and give it a 4 stars rating.

I had a very good experience at this walk-​in centre and would recommend it for seeking treatment advice or routine medical care.
I was referred here for treatment when the cold symptoms I had continued to worsen after 10 days. The staff were polite and efficient. The wait time to see the nurse was less than 30 minutes (mind you, this was a Monday morning in late June and not the peak of cold and flu season). The physical examination she conducted was thorough, hands-​on, and certainly unlike anything I have experienced in the USA.* At first, the exam seemed too rudimentary to possibly be an effective diagnostic tool, but I was wrong.
The nurse also had a significant number of questions to ask, along with inquiring as to how my specialist in Los Angeles had treated these same symptoms on previous occasions. The nurse seemed impressed by what I recounted to her, stating that the diagnostics and treatment my specialist in LA. had administered were rather advanced. Even so, I found her examination and line of questioning impressive. As it turned out, her diagnosis and prognosis were spot on. Even better, this service would have cost me at least 250 US dollars at my physician in Los Angeles, whereas it only cost me 25 pounds in the UK. Based on this one experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to come here again.
Hours of operation…
Monday-​Friday 8.00am-8.00pm
Saturday-​Sunday 10.00am-8.00pm (also Bank Holidays)
closed Christmas Day
* In America, physicians are reluctant to touch patients unless absolutely necessary, lest they be sued. Americans tend to be overly litigious.

An NHS walk-​in clinic, just off Soho Square. Can get super busy, especially around lunchtime and after 5 — if you want to be seen quickly, best to get there at 8am when it opens. Do lots of stuff here — bandages, dressings, contraception, general advice — all usual GP stuff. Really convenient, and the nurses are really friendly and helpful, despite being run off their feet.