From this week, three Winterfield clinics hold behavioral health appointments open each day rather than filling the diary in advance. Mission Hills, Ocean Vista, and Balboa Heights each keep six slots a day unbooked until 8am on the morning itself.
The problem this addresses
The average wait for a first behavioral health appointment at Winterfield was 31 days. For someone in crisis that is not a wait, it is a refusal with a date attached.
The clinical reality is that a significant share of people who need to be seen urgently were being routed to the emergency department, which is a poor setting for it, or were not being seen at all.
How it works
- Six slots per clinic per day, released at 8am for that day.
- Booked by phone, through MyWinterfield, or by a referral from any Winterfield clinician.
- Forty-five minutes, with a licensed clinical social worker or a psychologist.
- If ongoing care is needed, the follow-up is booked at the end of that appointment.
These are additional appointments, not a redistribution of existing ones. Scheduled behavioral health capacity is unchanged.
What this is not
It is not a crisis service. Anyone in immediate danger should call 988 or go to an emergency department. The same-day slots are for people who need to be seen this week and would otherwise wait a month.
Whether this holds depends on recruitment. Two of the three clinics are running the program with staff working additional sessions, which is not sustainable past the autumn. Three posts are open.