25/07/05
Patients in need of urgent out of hours medical help that can't wait until their GP surgery reopens are set to benefit from a brand new Primary Care Centre in Gloucester.
The state of the art facility is located on the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital site and from 1st August, 2005 it will replace the temporary out of hours centre operating from Rosebank Surgery in Stroud Road.
The new building will contain 6 fully equipped consulting rooms and waiting and reception areas with doctors and nurses based in the facility. The new premises will also provide a base for the Out of Hours District Nursing team, which will continue to ensure a co-ordinated team approach to the delivery of services during the Out of Hours period.
The move is designed to ensure that patients in need of urgent care benefit from a seamless service and receive the most appropriate care at the right time with Primary Care Centre staff working in close collaboration with the Hospital Emergency Department.
Chief Executive of West Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, Stephen Golledge praised healthcare staff at Rosebank Surgery for providing a temporary home for the Gloucester Primary Care Centre since October 2004. He said:
"Because of the continuing re-development work at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital it was necessary to provide a temporary base for the Out of Hours service in the City. We are very grateful for the commitment and professionalism of the Doctors, Nurses and administrative staff for making sure that patients were able to access the best possible care and treatment during this period."
Chair of West Gloucestershire PCT's Professional Executive Committee and local GP, Dr Mike Roberts explained that patients should continue to access the out of hours service in the same way from 1st July.
He said:
"Patients in urgent need of medical help who need to access the service should call the county-wide Out of Hours telephone service on 08454 220 220. Specially trained staff will then refer patients to the Primary Care Centre if appropriate. It's important to stress that the service is there solely to provide urgent treatment or care to patients who, for medical reasons, cannot wait until their GP surgery re-opens".
"The NHS needs to make sure that every member of the team working in the new Out of Hours service is making the best use of their time by responding to urgent medical enquiries only and this means not having to handle routine enquiries - such as requests for repeat prescriptions or test results. The public can play their part by using the Out of Hours service responsibly. If a patient's medical problem is assessed as non urgent patients will be advised to use their normal family doctor service when the GP Practice re-opens."
GP surgeries are no longer routinely open on a Saturday morning and are closed on public holidays. Patients are advised to plan ahead and ensure they have ordered and collected repeat prescriptions in advance from their GP surgery and have sufficient medication to meet their needs. Many surgeries have schemes in place with local pharmacies and patients should contact their surgery in advance to find out what is available.
If patients are not sure whether they need to see a doctor or not they should call NHS Direct on 0845 4647.
The new Out of Hours Service officially went 'live' across the County in October 2004 and provides urgent treatment or care to patients who, for medical reasons, cannot wait until their GP surgery re-opens. It is a service run by dedicated Out of Hours staff including doctors and specialist nurses.
West Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust |
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