Nottingham City East Primary Care Network (PCN) have been showcasing a pilot project which is helping patients get urgent same day GP appointments.
The On Day Service, based at St Ann’s Valley Centre, has created extra urgent same day appointments based in a central hub that practices can utilise if they are at full capacity. The service operates 5 days a week, 10am – 3pm.
The pilot has been running since May 2023 as a partnership between the PCN and Nottingham City GP Alliance.
Data showed that residents within the PCN were the biggest utilisers of the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) on London Road, with approximately 11% of the population attending between April 2022 and March 2023. Evaluation of the pilot service is underway but it is expected to have reduced attendances at the UTC and supported practices to be more resilient and responsive to their patients.
Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board, said: “I was delighted to visit the On Day service recently and spend a morning with the team. This is a great example of practices in one area working together to benefit their patients. It also fits with our principle of ‘equity for all’, as the pilot is making healthcare as accessible as possible for those communities who may otherwise struggle to get support, due to language barriers.”
62% of the residents who live in the Nottingham City East PCN area are defined as the most deprived 20% in England. It is also an incredibly diverse area with 23 different languages spoken. The area also has higher than national average prevalence of severe mental illness, depression and learning disability.
