Over the last year our VCS Provider Com­mu­ni­ty has been deliv­er­ing a new ser­vice is aimed at pro­vid­ing addi­tion­al core capac­i­ty in gen­er­al prac­tice, at a time when there is con­sid­er­able pres­sure on health­care ser­vices as a result of ris­ing patient demand. This ser­vice enables patients to receive high qual­i­ty, respon­sive care for extend­ed hours beyond the cur­rent core con­tract offer and is deliv­ered in addi­tion to core hours and in addi­tion to clin­i­cal ses­sions deliv­ered out­side core hours.

Through­out 2019–20, we deliv­ered Ben­e­fits Check­ups (Wel­fare Ben­e­fits Advice) through 3 expe­ri­enced local Deliv­ery Providers. By work­ing together:

  • We pro­vid­ed Wel­fare Ben­e­fits Advice to 365 people/families from April 19 — March 20, through the 3x 3 hour ses­sions planned each week.
  • That equates to 1 person/family for every day of the year.
  • We deliv­ered 422 hours of Wel­fare Ben­e­fits Advice over the year.
  • On aver­age, 1 person/family was helped for every 1 hour and 9 min­utes of provision.
  • The aver­age cost of help for 1 person/family was just £46.

Our cur­rent ser­vice pro­vides equi­table extend­ed access to health care ser­vices clos­er to home on site or on the phone and aims to ensure a seam­less ser­vice for patients irre­spec­tive of how and when they enter the sys­tem. The ser­vices we cur­rent­ly offer in the Extend­ed Access Pro­vi­sion are:

  • Young People’s Counselling
  • Men­tal Health Triage Service
  • Young People’s Tran­si­tion work

To access any of these ser­vices in your local area, just book an appoint­ment through your GP’s Receptionist.

This con­tract runs until March 2021.

I have had an extreme­ly pos­i­tive expe­ri­ence with the Extend­ed Access Men­tal Health ser­vice.  I access the ser­vice and utilise the appoint­ments on a very reg­u­lar basis at least sev­er­al times per week.  I can book patients direct­ly into appoint­ments at their con­ve­nience.  Pri­or to the cre­ation of this ser­vice, patients were often left to “fend for them­selves”.  I have had pos­i­tive feed­back from patients who have used the ser­vice.   It would be an under­state­ment for me to say that it has trans­formed my Prac­tice.  It is an amaz­ing feel­ing that I can now offer a tan­gi­ble ser­vice for both chil­dren and adults alike.

Dr I. Zahir — Thorn­bury Med­ical Centre

Brad­ford VCS Alliance is deliv­er­ing in part­ner­ship with:

  • Step 2
  • Mind in Bradford
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