A CLINIC for children is being launched in a bid to bring down waiting times in the north of the county.

The rapid access clinic is opening today at the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

It will allow GPs to refer urgent cases, which they do not think can wait for a normal appointment, to the Thursday afternoon clinic.

It will initially run fortnightly, but will be weekly from April.

The clinic will be run by an experienced paediatrician and will also provide follow-up appointments.

Dr Ranjini Mohan, Children’s Consultant at Oxford University Hospitals Trust, said: “We hope that the new clinic will reduce patient waiting times to see a paediatrician, in cases where it is deemed to be urgent but not urgent enough to require ED (emergency department) attendance, and so also reducing ED and ward attendances.

“It should also improve the patient experience on the ward, as all ward attenders will now be seen in clinic, freeing up space as well as time for nursing and medical colleagues to care for children admitted to the Horton.”