New care hubs in Cornwall tackle shortage of GP appointments and reduce hospital pressures

ITV West Country's Graham Lewis hears from patients using Cornwall's primary care hubs

Trying to get a doctor’s appointment in some parts of Cornwall can be a frustrating and time-consuming process, which has led to some people ending up in A&E departments.

Hospitals at Treliske and Derriford have both declared critical incidents in recent weeks, so to reduce the pressure, the NHS in Cornwall has set up a number of primary care hubs, for people who need to be seen on the day, but can’t get a doctor’s appointment.

Bob Burgess from Saltash tripped on a rock and broke his ankle while taking photographs.

A neighbour took him to the primary care hub at Bodmin Hospital, where he was seen and had his foot put in plaster in less than two and a half hours.

Bob has also had a hospital bed delivered to his home because it’s not safe for him to go upstairs.

Bob said: “At the end of the day, my condition wasn't that serious enough to warrant a stay in hospital and I'd rather be in that home in my own environment, surrounded by my friends and everything.”

He was full of praise for the new unit, adding: “From the time I got into Bodmin to the time I left Bodmin, I was absolutely looked after, no issues at all, cared for, given the injections, given tablets and everything.”

The Primary Care Hub at Bodmin has already treated more than 200 patients since it opened in December.

This includes Lisa Davey, who was referred to the hub by her doctor’s surgery with a suspected chest infection.

Lisa could not see her normal GP because they did not have any on the day appointments available.

She said: “It doesn't bother me. I don't think I've seen the same person for a long time, but that's absolutely fine as long as I'm getting seen and treated.”

Hubs have also been set up in St Austell, Helston, and Redruth, with more planned.

This is just one of the ways the NHS is trying to deal with the traditional winter pressures and reduce the number of people going to hospital.

Dr Janine Glazier said: “It is linking up all the different organisations that are in Cornwall and seeing how we can best work together.

"Because in Cornwall, we don't have the luxury of having lots of different counties around us that we can borrow GP's and nurse practitioners from. So, we really have to work together to see if we can get as much capacity out of our workforce as possible to treat our patients.”

Dr Glazier added: “What we can do is make sure that we see those patients who might be admitted to hospital later on, and because we can see them very quickly, we reduce the impact on the hospital and reduce their chances of needing an admission.”