Commuters get new NHS centres
From spring next year, commuters will be able to access GP services near where they work through seven new NHS walk in centres.
An oft-heard complaint for many who work in the city is the difficulty in making GP appointments for routine matters. Individuals have to register for GP services near where they live, rather than where they are employed, and this means that many who commute some distance from home find it nearly impossible to book a GP appointment without having to take time off work.
In an attempt to combat this, the Government has announced that it will be seeking to set up seven new walk in centres in Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds and London – where there will be four centres. Bids to run the centres are now being sought.
These will be located near Tube and rail stations and open between 0700GMT and 1900GMT. Though they will offer most GP services, including minor injuries and prescriptions, they will not necessarily be staffed by doctors, rather by “experienced nurses”.
Announcing the plans – and £25 million of funding – Health Minister John Hutton, said: “The new NHS walk in centres will make it easier for commuters to fit seeing a GP or nurse around their daily lives. The twelve-hour opening hours and convenient location are ideal for meeting the needs of today’s patients.
“These centres will improve access to primary care for a proportion of society that has traditionally been poorly served. They will also improve choice and convenience for patients, while adding extra primary care capacity in the areas where it is needed most.”
Mr Hutton also announced results of a MORI survey for the DoH, which he claimed showed that 63 per cent of commuters would use the new walk in centres.
There are currently already 57 walk in centres in operation across the UK.
Doctors’ organisations though are not convinced. The British Medical Association (BMA) said that whilst it is not against the development of walk in centres, and welcomes the fact that GPs can be involved in bidding for the running of the new centres, it has concerns about the fragmentation of patient care.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, who chairs the BMA’s GP committee, said: “Given the lack of money within local NHS bodies (primary care trusts) to pay for many of the extra patient services GP practices would like to provide, it is important that these new walk-in commuter centres are funded by new money. They must not act as a drain on the resources intended for the everyday care of ordinary patients.
“We want to carefully examine the details of how the Department envisages these new walk-in centres for commuters will function.”
