GPs in Worcester have taken the wraps off a new service for patients, modelled on their successful COVID-19 Vaccination Centres.
The new programme will be known as City Wide Services and aims to offer increased capacity as well as a wider range of primary care services accessible to all patients across Worcester.
All services will be run by Worcester City Primary Care Network, the collaborative body of GP surgeries in the city.
“What the vaccine rollout has given us is a new way of looking at local primary care services, and new ideas around how GP surgeries can work together to deliver services more efficiently citywide,” said Dr Nicole Burger, clinical director of Worcester City Primary Care Network and senior GP Partner at St Johns House Medical Centre.
“We’ve learned by sharing resources and working collaboratively as a network, we can support patients by offering clinics targeted at specific problems—modelled on those developed for the vaccination programme.”
A pilot clinic was run on Tuesday (June 22) for patients requiring Ear Care services with patients from GP practices across the city receiving treatment at this first hub.
Two more hubs are set to open in July and August, running regular clinics for Ear Care patients, with these set to continue throughout 2021.
Matthew Payne, senior administrator at Worcester City Primary Care Network, said: “City Wide Services offers the opportunity to expand across a wider variety of healthcare services in the future.
“We’re starting small with a handful of sought-after services and we know by working from the ground-up, we will fundamentally change the way patients can access care”.
July will also see the launch of new Doppler Clinics, where patients needing vascular leg assessments will be invited to attend at similar citywide hub.
In August a new First Contact Physiotherapy service will begin, allowing patients to see a physiotherapist or podiatrist on the day, be referred for scans, and receive further treatment, without the need for a referral from their GP.
In addition to City Wide Services, Worcester City Primary Care Network also offers patients increased access to clinical pharmacists, social prescribers, wellbeing coaches, lifestyle advisors and care home visiting paramedics who work across all ten practices in the city.
Dr Burger added: “The last eighteen months have been more challenging than any in the history of the NHS, and it will naturally take some time to rebuild and recover.
“Our practices have been extremely resilient and we’re hopeful the things we’ve learned over the course of the pandemic will allow us to build even stronger local services, designed around what the people of Worcester really need.”
