Issue - meetings

The integrated GP out-of-hours and Urgent Care Centre service has been reviewed by commissioners, together with the provider Bath and North East Somerset Doctors Urgent Care (BDUC), to identify changes to better match staff capacity to patient demand.

The Commissioning Manager for Urgent Care and Non-Acute Services introduced this report to the Select Committee. She explained that in order to better meet the needs of patients, the service will make the following three key changes:

·  From July, remove GPs from the rota at the Urgent Care Centre on weekdays from 08:00-12:00, but retain Nurse Practitioners who have the skills and experience to provide appropriate care and treatment for patients.

·  If no major issues are identified with the above action, removal of GPs from the rota at the Urgent Care Centre from 12:00 – 16:00 from September, again with Nurse Practitioner cover during this period.

·  Introduction of a weekend remote telephone triage shift to facilitate GPs managing the telephone queue more quickly. This is in addition to the GP staffing that is already in place at the Urgent Care Centre and facilitates the service meeting the multiple priorities of patients in the Centre and those who are at home or on the phone.

Councillor Lin Patterson asked what would happen if a GP were required by a patient.

The Commissioning Manager for Urgent Care and Non-Acute Services replied that analysis suggests it is very unlikely that a GP is required to meet patient demand in the specified period, however if required, a GP can be referred to by telephone. She added that patients would then be streamed appropriately according to their condition.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson commented that she had personally found this service to be invaluable. She referred to the section of the report which stated there are ‘no financial implications’ from this decision and asked would the service not be cheaper without a GP in situe.

The Commissioning Manager for Urgent Care and Non-Acute Services replied that there were no implications to the CCG through their current contract.

The Select Committee RESOLVED to approve the three recommendations above as indicated by the bullet points.