South East Health Ltd (SEH) is to set up and run two GP Led Health Centres in Hastings and Eastbourne, on behalf of NHS Hastings and Rother and NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald respectively.
The two centres are part of a national £250million programme of “open door” health facilities, set up following the Darzi Report. They will act as vehicles for health promotion by increasing access to health services.
In turn, this should help alleviate pressure on hospital A&E services. Set up in partnership with local GP practices, the SEH centres will open 12 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“These are very exciting projects for us, combining GP knowledge of local healthcare needs with SEH’s experience of management and technologies,” says Medical Director Mark Reynolds.
Both centres will have “open-door” policies, whereby patients can walk in and be seen by a GP or practice nurse within a couple of hours. Patients may also register formally as a patient with the practice, as they can in any other local GP practice surgery. Both also have station locations, within deprived wards specified by the PCTs.
In Eastbourne, SEH has converted a derelict café and bar premises at the town’s Grade II Listed station into a new health centre.
Eastbourne Station Health Centre
Eastbourne Station Terminus Road Eastbourne BN21 3QJ
The Eastbourne Station Health Centre opened its doors on Tuesday November 17th 2009. The Centre has been set up and is being run by SEH on behalf of NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald.
Opening hours:
08.00 hours to 20.00 hours - 7 days a week, 365 days a year
The centre has an “open-door” policy, whereby patients can walk in and be seen by a GP or practice nurse within a couple of hours. As well as the walk-in service appointments are available.
Appointments
Appointments can be made by:
Walking into the centre,
Telephoning 01323 726650 during opening hours
Or
If the centre is closed call 03000 242424
The centre is staffed by:
A team of GPs, nurses and health care assistants supported by a management and administration team
For any specific details please contact a member of the administration team or the Primary Care Business Manager, Nicola Gowers on 01323 746390
The GP Health Centre is committed to providing Patient-Centred Services. There will always be a clinician at the centre and services the centre will provide includes:
Access to services for walk-in patients
Access to emergency appointment if clinically indicated
Access to a GP for registered and non-registered patients
Walk-in, Book-on-the day, advance and routine appointments
Access to all general medical services
Domiciliary visits in accordance with our home visiting guidelines.
Chronic Disease Management for disease areas such as Diabetes, Asthma and Coronary Heart Disease
Health Promotion
Disease Prevention
Services addressing key local health issues
Enhanced services to include; Minor Injuries, Sexual Health, Smoking Cessation
The centre is taking on new patients. If you wish for the centre to be your main GP service and to register as a patient, please call into the centre or contact a member of the administration team for further information on 01323 726650
The First Few Days
Tracey Hibbett describes the opening day
“Well it's the 17th November and today is our first day! We've had two weeks of intense training, we’ve had the media in and even the local mayor came to see the new surgery.
We're based at Eastbourne Train Station and we're known as the Eastbourne Station Health Centre. We're open 8am-8pm, seven days a week, including Bank Holidays and Christmas Day! We have a team of 16 staff who include the administrators/receptionist's, doctors, nurses and Health Care Assistants (HCAs). We're very much a team and all respect each other.
The first day was extremely busy, and there was us thinking it was going to be oh so quiet! The doors opened precisely at 8am and we had patients immediately coming into the surgery. Some of them wanted to register with us, on day one, which is magnificent! We've had many, many people coming to see us and asking us how we work, thanks to the media coverage and word of mouth.
Why not come and check out our new surgery, you'd be more than welcome!
-Tracey Hibbett
Hastings Station Plaza Health Centre
The Hastings Walk In Centre will occupy the ground floor of the PCT-funded Station Plaza Primary Care Centre, now under construction. Situated next to Hastings Station, this £16million building will also house five GP practices, including the one that will partner SEH. The expected contract start date is June 2010.
Both centres will be staffed by a stable team of four to five GPs, with nursing support. The aim is that they will make access to health services more flexible and convenient. They will also provide an open access facility for people visiting or working in the towns who have an immediate need to see a GP.
The centres will start with empty GP lists and people will be offered the opportunity to register, with the aim of building up the lists to 3,000 in Hastings and 3,500 in Eastbourne. Health promotion and screening will be an important part of their work.
“We already provide the out of hours GP service for local people in Hastings and Eastbourne and will be working hard to ensure that the Walk In Centres provide the care and advice that people need,” says SEH chief executive Ron Owttrim. “We are pleased to be working with local GPs to offer a wider choice and high standard of services to people in both areas.”
