First Darzi Centre Uses SystmOne
The first fully operational new GP health centre in England was officially opened in Bradford at the end of November by Health Secretary Alan Johnson, and it uses SystmOne as its clinical system.
The Hillside Bridge Health Care Centre is one of the new GP health centres opening across England that will see patients from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, as part of a Government programme to increase access to family doctor services.
(L-R) Dr. Peter Dickson, Medical Director, Bradford & Airedale tPCT; Dr. Saskia de Mowbray, Clinical Director, LCD; Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Health; John Chuter, Chair, Bradford & Airedale tPCT; Mollie Temple, Chair, LCD
The Hillside Bridge Health Care Centre is situated in an area of Bradford which suffers from a high level of social deprivation and health inequality and where existing GP services have been stretched for some time.
The new Centre is run by Local Care Direct (LCD), one of the UK’s largest community-owned social enterprise health providers.
Local Care Direct's IT Manager, Jon Slack, says that SystmOne was chosen for Hillside Bridge because, "It fits with the strategic direction of clinical software use across Yorkshire and the Humber, the GP workforce are familiar with it, it's relevant and up-to-date and it fulfils all the requirements in terms of QOF and innovation for development."
The Hillside Bridge Health Care Centre caters for patients from all across Bradford, the vast majority of whom, if they have accessed a GP service before, will have an existing SystmOne record. Jon says, "The fact that we can see the full clinical record of any patient who may drop in from the Bradford area, that's our primary catchment area, is a real benefit. The GP can see that patient's history, allergies and care plans."
Having only opened recently, how are staff getting on so far? "We're still very busy, and it's going exceedingly well at the moment," says Jon. "The staff at the treatment centre were previous users of SystmOne so they already know their way around it. Most of our calls are being handled centrally at a local call centre that provides services for patients 24 hours a day. Those people have had to be trained on SystmOne. They're all very pleased with it and have picked it up extremely well."
So what are the hopes for the centre in the long term? "The centre is designed to attract people who have not or would not otherwise be registered, therefore giving them easy access to routine GP primary care. The goal is to attract those who are not already registered into the NHS GP services. Over time, the GP patient list will grow, and that will benefit the health of those patients in the community."
Across Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and the West Midlands, another 20 Darzi centres are in the process of going live on SystmOne.
"SystmOne is ideal for use in these centres," says TPP Customer Relationship Manager, Chris Marsh. "The centralised system allows patients from any GP practice to attend the Darzi centre and have their record available. Then, of course, any information entered at the Darzi centre can be accessed if the patient then returns to their GP practice, or is treated at any other care setting that uses SystmOne. This is what integrated care is all about."
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LCD, which has been providing out-of-hours and other health services in Bradford since 2004, was awarded the contract by the Bradford & Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust in November, following a competitive tendering process.
Officially opening the new Centre, the Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, said it was “a revolutionary facility” which will be accessible by both registered and unregistered patients without the need for an appointment.
“It is really brilliant," he said. “People will be able to come here and access a range of services such as sexual health services and podiatry services – and those with long term conditions like asthma will also be able to be seen here in the community rather than traipsing off to a hospital.”
Mr. Johnson said he was “really pleased” that Local Care Direct had won the contract. “This organisation is a social enterprise that is putting something back into the community and they are very much focused on tackling health inequalities,” he said.
He added that the Hillside Bridge Centre was the first of 152 such centres being planned throughout the country and, following a tour of the facilities with the Clinical Director of Local Care Direct, Dr. Saskia de Mowbray, and the Bradford & Airedale tPCT’s Medical Director, Dr. Peter Dickson, he emerged well satisfied by what he had seen.
“This is what we envisaged that GP-led health centres would be all about,” he enthused.
Dr. de Mowbray said: “Local Care Direct is delighted to have been given this opportunity. We will be bringing high quality clinical care to the residents of the area and, as a community-owned organisation, we will be working closely with local people and community leaders to address the health inequalities currently being experienced.”
Helen Hirst, Director of Service Development at Bradford & Airedale tPCT, said: This really is an exciting opportunity to change the face of primary care in an area where people need more GPs and extra services. Up to 4,000 extra patients will be able to register at Hillside Bridge and, with the extended opening hours, they will have a greater choice of appointment times than ever before.
“We believe the best place for someone to receive care is from their own GP. However, in some cases, people may find it hard to get to their own GP so the additional service for unregistered patients will offer them the opportunity to receive care when they might otherwise have struggled to do so.”
The Hillside Bridge Health Care Centre in Bradford is the first of 152 such centres planned as part of a £250 million extra investment in primary care services announced by the Government last year. The programme will also include setting up of 112 new GP practices in under-doctored areas which have significant health challenges.
The new LCD Bradford at Hillside Bridge Health Care Centre practice will include 2,500 patients previously registered with the former Pollard Park practice and, over the next five years, will expand its list size to 6,000 registered patients.
The new Centre will provide three key aspects of care:
1. A traditional GP practice for up to 6,000 registered patients
2. Booked appointments for non-registered patients who live or work in the Bradford & Airedale district
3. Appointments for non-registered patients who live or work in the district who simply want to turn up to see a doctor or other health professional.
