New health centres and out of hours GP services plan revealed

Health bosses are undertaking a review of services across the borough as part of plans to bring services together at 'integrated' sites.

Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG revealed plans to bring services onto the sites of Sandwell Hospital and City Hospital, in Birmingham.

These would additionally include some mental health, social care and community nursing services.

Walk in health and urgent care centres are currently based in Parsonage Street, in West Bromwich, and Heath Street, in Winson Green, Birmingham.

But under proposals bosses say these would be moved onto the sites of each nearest hospital.

More than 130,000 patients are expected to visit the walk in centres under the plans which are being discussed by Sandwell councillors at a meeting tonight (WED).

This calculates into 1,323 visits per week and 189 visits per day at each of the sites in the hospital grounds.

Officials at the CCG say they believe the new systems would reduce confusion for patients who they say have struggled to understand where to go for treatment.

CCG senior commissioning manager, Lisa Maxfield, said in the report: "The intention would be to commission an integrated model that includes the activity from walk in centres, out of hours services, the GP front end services, along with integrating mental health, social care, community nursing services and admission avoidance services.

"The intention would be to locate these on the existing city and Sandwell acute hospital sites, somewhere adjacent to the current emergency departments."

She added: "Due to the current duplication in the system where patients access multiple service providers it is anticipated that these numbers would reduce due to having one integrated service, with shared records and no confusion for patients."

Officials have admitted that these plans would need to be adjusted further once building work on the new £370 million Midland Metropolitan Hospital.

Bosses say that the new hospital would become the main treatment centre with the accident and emergency department.

But the report says that while the walk in health and urgent care centres would remain at the Sandwell Hospital site, bosses would need to find a new site in west Birmingham.

The scheme is being drawn to be implemented from 2016 under the proposals.

Members of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee will discuss the proposals and agree expected to agree to a consultation with patients at the meeting