Roaming doctors to visit 1,000 patients’ homes
Cllr Steven Kelly - Credit: Archant
Roaming doctors will visit 1,000 of the most needy patients in their own homes to provide them with better treatment while saving NHS funds, it was proposed yesterday.
Members of Havering Council’s health and wellbeing board gave the go ahead to start employing the new GPs that will visit those patients who can end up in A&E hundreds of times a year.
Board chairman Cllr Steven Kelly described the scheme, known as the complex care system, as “brilliant”.
He said: “It’s a way of giving continual care and giving confidence to the people who need care constantly.
“One person, for instance, went to A&E hundreds of times in a year for a range of conditions.
“It will stop them going through A&E and will save a fortune for the NHS while giving them better care.”
He added that they’ll aim to employ “the whole gang” of health staff including social workers and occupational therapists.
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The patients will be those who suffer from a range of chronic issues such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, or dementia.
Cllr Kelly also proposed that iPads could also be included in the scheme so patients can talk to doctors screen-to-screen.
Initial proposals will see 50 people from across Havering, Redbridge, and Barking and Dagenham, be signed up to the scheme but after the two years it’s expected there will be 1,000 patients.
It will be funded by the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund – a £50million pot that was handed to the NHS nationwide to improve access to GPs.
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