A presentation will be given at the meeting
Minutes:
Dr Victoria Moyle and Margaret O’Dwyer from Bury CCG attended the meeting to report on the consultation that was currently being undertaken in relation to how urgent care was provided across the borough.
Urgent Care Services were described as those that are designed to assist patients with an illness or injury that does not appear to be an emergency, but is considered too urgent to wait for routine care
It was explained that there were a number of different options open to Bury residents from A & E to Out of Hours GP services and walk in Centres.
It was felt that there was currently a lot of duplication in services across the Bury area and patients were unsure of where to go to receive treatment. The Urgent Care System today has evolved over a number of years. Many patients attending A&E who are considered to have a primary care level of need. (National and Local issue)
Walk-In Centre attendances are recurrently reducing.
There are System pressures nationally and locally
A number of meetings had been held with stakeholders and other groups to review what the current offer was and to discuss how this could be updated to provide a better service to residents.
The vision was explained :
To realise an Integrated Urgent Care System with better connecting health and social care services which delivers the following principles:
• Delivers the best possible outcomes for the patients of Bury.
• Promotes self- care for patients where appropriate.
• Builds on NHS 111 as a single point of access.
• Reduce duplication and confusion for patients.
• Develops the concept of the clinical hub for Bury as described in recent guidance.
Patients would always be advised to telephone the NHS111 number in all instances except where an A & E visit was required. The 111 number gives access to appropriate advice and referral if necessary to one to one treatment.
The CCG would be looking to provide new services which would further extend the offer available to patients. These included:-
Vulnerable Patient Service
A & E Front End Model
Wound Care Service
Ambulatory Care
It was explained that Bury already provided GP extended working hours and additional GP appointments. Children aged 0 -12 were offered urgent appointments on the same day and there was an enhanced level of support elderly and frail patients.
Statistics had been reviewed from the patients attending the two walk in centres in Bury and it was reported that 41% had received self care advive, 29% were non Bury residents, 17% had received wound care and 4% had been directed to A & E. It was also explained that where walk in centre provision had been removed up to 25% of attendees had not presented elsewhere..
The consultation was running for 8 weeks and those present were asked to take part in the consultation which could be accessed online, via telephone or through the post.
Questions and comments were invited and the following points were raised:-
· A local resident referred to the fact that children under 12 who required same day appointments and it was a clinical need were given an appointment asked whether GP surgeries were informing patients of this.
It was explained that publicity was required to highlight a lot of the new initiatives that had been and were planned to be put in place.
· Councillor Walker asked what the locations were of the 6 new wound centres.
The locations were reported as being Prestwich Medical Centre, Moorgate Medical Centre, Tottington Medical Centre, Townside, Whitefield Medical Centre and Radcliffe Medical Centre.
Councillor Walker asked whether the 67,000 reported users of the walk in centres was split equally between the two.
There had been 33,000 at Prestwich and 34 at the Moorgate site.
· Councillor Southworth explained that she was part of the Labour Group in Bury who were opposing the proposed closures of the Walk in Centres. She had had conversations with a number of different health workers including a paramedic who had shown her photos of ambulances queuing at A & E, a nurse who had talked about waiting times in A & E for patients to be seen.
· Councillor Southworth had also spoken with people who had used the Walk in Centres and had felt that they felt the service saved one persons finger and the other one their life.
· There were also issues with people being informed that services were available at certain locations over bank holidays but when these locations were telephoned there was no answer.
Dr Moyle explained that there would be a primary care presence at A & E which would redirect non A & E patients to the most appropriate treatment. This would take pressure off A & E services.
· A member of the public explained that they were not aware of the NHS111 number as the information was not being shared.
· Councillor Hankey asked if a patient telephoned 111 at 1am, what response time should they expect.
It was explained that the 111 service response was aiming for a less that 60 second answer time and a staff rotation of 15 minutes. The call staff could offer advice themselves or refer a caller to a more specific clinician depending on the issue.
· A representative from Dementia services explained that carers may not be aware of what to do in certain situations and may be reluctant to telephone the 111 service. He asked what could be done in these situations.
There was a need t ensure that clinicians were as supportive as possible to all of their patients and that all acre options were explained and included within individual care plans.
· The dementia representative asked that the consultation includes a focus group from dementia patients and their carers.
· Councillor Southworth asked what the proposed timescale was for the new services to be up and running.
It was explained that the online survey was available until 31 October and comments could also be submitted in the post or over the phone. No decision had yet been made on the Walk in Centres but a timescale for the other services was March 2017.
It was agreed:
That Dr Moyle and Margaret O’Dwyer be thanked for their attendance.