18.01.16
Manchester rolls out seven-day GP and nurse appointments in 15 hubs
Seven-day GP and nurse services have been rolled out across 15 hubs across Manchester as part of the £5.4m GP Access Fund.
Thousands of extra appointments will be opened up between 8am and 8pm during the weekends, with around 235,000 additional consultations expected each year. Most of these will be GP appointments, but there will also be around 52,000 more nurse appointments and 52,000 more meetings with healthcare assistants.
Twelve of the hubs subscribed to the schemed are based at GP practices in the community, while a further three are situated within trusts.
The seven-day service will be available to any patient registered with the practice if booked in advance by contacting the surgery.
Dr Mike Eeckelaers, chair of the Central Manchester CCG, said the extra appointments were designed to bring flexibility to doctors as well as staff. Outcomes from the scheme will be closely measured by evaluating staff and patient satisfaction, as well as the role it plays within “broader measures to give people more opportunities to look after their health”.
Sohail Munshi, a GP at one of the relevant practices and chair of the Manchester Primary Care Partnership – the city-wide GP federation delivering the service – said the scheme will substantially benefit school children, working families and carers.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt, the principal spokesperson for a ‘seven-day NHS’, applauded “these innovative GPs” for their commitment to providing the extended service.
He encouraged other areas to follow their lead in order to roll out week-long appointments by the end of this Parliament.
The 15 locations operating seven-day services are:
- Cheetham Hill Medical Centre, Cheetham Hill
- Conran Medical Centre, Harpurhey
- Hazeldene Medical Centre, Moston
- New Islington Medical Centre, Ancoats
- Chorlton Family Practice, Chorlton
- Dickenson Road Medical Centre, Longsight
- The Arch Medical Practice, Hulme
- West Point Medical Centre, Levenshulme
- Barlow Medical Centre, Didsbury
- Ladybarn Group Practice, Withington
- Northenden Group Practice, Northenden
- Peel Hall Medical Practice, Wythenshawe
- North Manchester General Hospital
- Manchester Royal Infirmary
- University Hospital of South Manchester