Meeting documents

To consider a briefing note (attached) by Scarborough & Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group

The committee considered a written briefing by Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (SRCCG) on the new local urgent care service accompanied by a presentation delivered by Dr Omnia Hefni, Urgent Care Lead at the CCG, Alex Trewhitt, Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Support, and Rachel Page, Mobilisation Manager at the new provider, Northern Doctors Urgent Care.  Members were reminded of the rationale and purpose of the new service, how urgent care was defined, and how the service was procured.  This was an integrated, one-stop for patients to access urgent care (only for sudden illness or injury that needed treating fast, but was not considered to be a 999 emergency), which would operate 24/7 365 days a year backed up by a GP out of hours service which included home visits as appropriate.  The service would be accessed in three ways – calling NHS 111, walking in, or being redirected by another health service – with the recommended method of NHS 111 to make certain the patient was accessing the right service for their needs.  The Urgent Care Centre would share the same reception as the Emergency Department at Scarborough Hospital, so patients would be directed to the most appropriate service on arrival, relieving pressure on ED and enabling UCC and ED staff to support each other in times of high demand.  Members were also advised about the new service at Castle Health Centre which would include a GP practice for registered patients open 8am-8pm and specialist services for vulnerable people.  Ms Page then introduced Northern Doctors Urgent Care, a clinically-led GP social enterprise which served 2.5 million patients across the country.  Ms Page demonstrated a track record of fast and efficient mobilisation of new urgent care services in different locations, and an ethos of putting patients and staff first and strong patient engagement which resulted in excellent user satisfaction levels.  She also described in more detail their GP out of hours service operating 1830 to 0800 on weekdays and all weekend, and their home visit capability including 4 X 4 marked vehicles, drivers and satellite navigation tools.  Members then discussed the presentation/briefing and asked questions.  In response to concerns about the quality and frequency of public transport to Scarborough Hospital, Members were reminded that the urgent care centre was for conditions or injuries that needed treating fast, not as a substitute for a visit to the GP or pharmacy.  The expectation was that people would not need to access the centre frequently, but when they did they would take the necessary steps, for example get a lift with a friend or call a taxi.  Given its function, Scarborough Hospital was in an accessible location.  NDUC was looking to introduce a scheme to reimburse urgent care users for the cost of using the hospital car park.  A dispensing pharmacy would not operate at the UCC, but the provider would have a stock of medicines available to give to users straight away, with a prescription for more drugs as required.  Separately, the CCG was working with local pharmacies to extend their opening hours.  The catchment area for GP home visits would be the same as the GP practices within the CCG area and a little greater if a reasonable distance from the nearest practice.  In respect of Castle Health Centre, the contract with the new provider was for 10 years with the intention to grow the registered list from the current figure of 2,500 to some 6,000.  Initially, this would reflect a larger payment per patient, but with its extended opening hours, it was hoped it would prove attractive to local residents.  Mr Trewhitt undertook to share details of all the Castle Health Centre’s services with Members when this information became available.  One Member cited the case of her husband who had ‘got lost in the system’ during the transfer of ophthalmology services from Whitby Hospital to Scarborough Hospital.  The oversight had been rectified but it still meant a considerable delay in his next appointment.  Dr Hefni apologised for this error made by the service provider and encouraged patients to give feedback to the CCG about their patient experience through the public engagement portal on the CCG’s website.  This two-way portal enabled the public to provide information but also to be included in consultation exercises on service redesign and development.  A further method to register complaints and compliments was through PALS.  The Chairman thanked the speakers for their contributions to the meeting and wished the new urgent care service every success, requesting a progress report later in the year.

RESOLVED that the report be received.