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0024FOI2021

FOI Ref: 0024FOI2021

7th July 2020

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

We are pleased to respond to your request for information and our response is set out below:

Request/ Response

We are currently undertaking a rapid review into the aims and effectiveness of primary care community hubs (redacted) and we are currently updating this in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic to include the use of 'hot' hubs at which only those patients with possible COVID-19 symptoms are seen:

1. (a) Are hot and/ or cold hubsbeing used to deliver face to face primary care to patients with suspected/actual COVID-19 symptoms and non-COVID-19 symptoms respectively? If so, please could you indicate the numbers of each if possible.We are aware that different systems are being used across England to treat patients with COVID symptoms and those with non-COVID symptoms separately, where face to face consultations are required. Our aim is to rapidly update our review to include the use of hot hubs (and cold hubs where applicable) and request that you answer the following 4 questions in relation to the Sheffield CCG:

Yes. Within core hours we currently have two hot hubs for patients with suspected COVID to access across Sheffield.  The hot hubs  enable patients who do not have suspected COVID-19 to be seen in their own practice or primary care network, however appointments at present are largely phone and  video calls. We do not hold data for the number of appointments provided by practices over the last three months of the pandemic. The two in hours Hot Hubs, run by Primary Care Sheffield (PCS is a city wide Federation owned by all the practices) are  providing 20 appointments a day, Monday to Friday

In addition PCS provides the Extended Access Service covering the period from 18.00 – 22.00 and weekends is currently configured to offer  x 2 hot and a number of cold hub sites. The Hot Hubs currently provide 12 appointments per evening (Monday to Friday) and 24 per day over the weekend and Bank Holidays. The number of cold sites is increasing as more non COVID demand begins to present.

(b) Are hot and cold sites (or red and green sites co-located within primary care settings) being used to deliver face to face primary care to patients with suspected/ actual COVID-19 symptoms and non-COVID-19 symptoms respectively?

Yes all sites in existing primary care settings are being used to deliver face to face care where clinically appropriate.

(c) Is a different model to 1(a) or (b) above (including home visits, or other models) being used? If so, please describe this.

No

2. (a) Are each of the models used in 1(a) to (c) available to the entire population, or only in certain locations/for certain populations (please specify any such distinctions).

The COVID solution is available to all Sheffield residents both in and out of hours. Extended Access hub sites will see any patient referred by a Sheffield GP practice or the Out of Hours (GP Collaborative) Service. Under normal circumstances 111 would also be able to book into the EA Hot Hubs directly, but to ensure that clinical triage is in place all parties (including 111) have agreed to suspend this during the pandemic. This means that 111 demand for Hot Hubs will either be clinically triaged by practices in hours or the GPC out of hours

(b) How are face to face consultations delivered for those vulnerable patient groups who are not able to leave home, such as those who are/ were required to shield, the frail elderly, etc?'

This is delivered by the patient’s registered GP practice using remote consultation technology if appropriate and safe. Where this is not possible the PCNs have configured home visiting services and in some cases (with larger practices in particular) home visiting has still been managed internally. Out of hours the GPC has continued to provide a home visiting service and in particular has seen increased demand with care home support at weekends

3. (a) Immediately prior to any changes in service delivery related to COVID-19, was the hub model being used to deliver Primary Care? 

Yes, PCS has provided an Extended Access Service for 5 years using a Hub based model across the City.

4. (b) If so, how many hubs, where, and did these have specialist functions or were they accessible by all patients at practices which fed into them? 

There are six extended access hubs across Sheffield all patients and practices are able to access these.

The Crookes Practice, 203 School Road, Sheffield, S10 1GN.

The Healthcare Surgery, 63 Palgrave Road, Sheffield, S5 8GS.

Sloan Medical Centre, 2 Little London Road, Sheffield, S8 0YH.

Woodhouse Health Centre, 5-7 Skelton Lane, Sheffield, S13 7LY.

The Flowers Health Centre*, 87 Wincobank Avenue, Sheffield, S5 6AZ.

Burncross Surgery, 1 Bevan Way, Sheffield, S35 1RN.

(c) If a hub model was not being used to deliver Primary Care immediately prior to any changes in service delivery with respect to COVID-19, had you previously used a hub model but stopped? If so, why was the decision made to stop using this model? N/A

5. Are you planning to evaluate your COVID-19 model(s) for face to face Primary Care consultations? Please provide any interim data concerning this for potential inclusion in our review. Please also provide any other relevant documentation regarding face to face primary care service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic which could be helpful to our study.

The current Hub configuration of hot and cold sites has been reviewed regularly through the pandemic. It is dynamic and too early to provide definitive data on the impact of what a “new normal” will look like. Currently PCS and the CCG are preparing for the next phase of response to enable more cold capacity, that will include Hub based face to face appointments, remote consultations and digital access for patients to support self-care.

NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group

Headquarters
722 Prince of Wales Road
Sheffield
S9 4EU

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