Affidea Lithuania Launches its First Express Care Minor Injuries Clinic

We are extremely proud to announce that, after Ireland, Affidea has opened its first Express Care clinic for minor injuries and illnesses in Vilnius, Lithuania!

"We are the first private healthcare provider in Lithuania to offer our patients alternative emergency medical care in the event of a sports or domestic injury, when it does not require hospital admission or major surgery,” commented Country Manager Vitalijus Orlovas. “The Express Care service will not only increase the availability of healthcare services, but will also reduce queues in state medical institutions, as some patients will no longer need to go to hospital waiting rooms. They will be able to receive urgent help at Affidea Express Care without a prior appointment."

The availability of emergency medical care has always been important for residents of the whole country. The lengthy queues at general hospital admissions and the even longer waiting hours have prompted private medical sector representatives to take the initiative. According to Dr Robertas Adomaitis, Medical Director for Consulting Activities of Affidea Lithuania, so far, emergency medical care in the country has been provided solely by emergency departments located in state hospitals and clinics.

"This is the first emergency centre of its kind in the country, located in a private medical institution. Patients will be able to receive emergency care, with the added benefit of a rapid service and greater attention to their needs at the Affidea Clinic in Vilnius, just by walking in and getting treated by a qualified doctor," explains Dr Adomaitis, and notes that the services provided in the clinic are paid at patients’ own expense or by additional private health insurance.

Dr Robertas Adomaitis, Affidea Medical Director for Consulting Activities

According to Dr Adomaitis, during the implementation of the Express Care programme, great attention was paid to the nuances important to the patient, such as the duration of the waiting time, the convenient arrangement of the premises and, most importantly, the accessibility of the necessary services.

"We have all the technology available to provide first aid to patients who need X-ray, procedural or laboratory services, and we can also rely on our expertise in providing outstanding patient experience as well as the best practices of the corporation, in particular Express Care from Affidea Ireland, all of which we have applied here in Lithuania. The patient in the clinic can receive the following services - a doctor's consultation, the immobilisation of fractures, dislocations, dressing wounds, stopping blood and analgesia," he comments.

Dr Šarūnas Maciulevičius, ER doctor at Affidea Vilnius Express Care Centre

Dr Šarūnas Maciulevičius, an ER doctor at Affidea Vilnius, notes that the Express Care centre is a convenient choice for patients who have experienced minor injuries or health problems.

"Mild injuries are most often defined as bruises, sprains, fractures of the leg to the knee joint or arm to the shoulder, which do not cause a pronounced impairment of the function of the limb. As well as superficial wounds without foreign bodies - not covering cosmetic areas, or areas with difficult-to-stop bleeding or sensory disturbances. The simplest example is a twisted ankle, after which it is difficult to straighten a leg, or prevent the further swelling of the ankle," the doctor explains.

Dr Maciulevičius also notes that injuries requiring emergency medical care very often lead to stressful situations, when it is naturally difficult for the injured person to quickly assess where he/she needs to turn, highlighting injuries when the patient is recommended to call emergency services.

"When signs of severe trauma are detected, patients are of course referred to the emergency department. In the case of severe injuries, such as deformation of a traumatised limb, impaired blood circulation or when movement is impossible or significantly limited. Also, when the wound is deep – bones or muscles are visible - or a person has suffered high-impact injuries such as a fall from a height or a car accident, with loss of consciousness.

We offer an alternative for those patients who have suffered less severe injuries, which are nevertheless painful and unpleasant, if they do not want to wait for long hours along with the trauma patients," he emphasizes.