WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — If you hope to see a doctor quickly in Kansas, you may need to practice patience. Urgent care clinics are filling up, leading to longer wait times.
There are a variety of issues contributing to the increase in wait times. However, the main reason comes down to patient volume.
Xpress Wellness Urgent Care, 231 S. Andover Road, Andover, is seeing, on average, a 50% increase in patients compared to pre-pandemic demand.
Because of the COVID-19 delta variant surge, workers at the clinic say there is a sudden demand for the rapid COVID test.
In addition to patients with COVID, they see patients with allergies, colds and other regular urgent care needs, like broken bones. And, like other healthcare providers, they are struggling with recruiting and retaining staff.
A spokesperson for the Andover clinic says they notice that people are willing to drive to other sites.
“We had a lot of patients driving, you know, an hour, an hour and a half, you know, trying to find a place that could offer them a test,” said Rubi Litteral, APRN-CNP, executive director of advanced practice providers at Xpress Wellness Urgent Care. “So definitely, I think that patients themselves are trying to find alternative areas where the wait times either may be less or where there’s just capacity for them to be seen.”
Providers suggest you either arrive early or check-in online to help cut down your wait.
Click here to find COVID-19 testing sites across Kansas.
