A new hub which brings a range of NHS services under one roof to benefit patients has launched in Solihull. The new ‘Solihull Locality Hub’, located next to the Urgent Treatment Centre at Solihull Hospital, went live on Friday 1 December and will also use smaller satellite community clinics in Solihull.
Following on from the creation of two similar hubs in Birmingham, the Solihull Locality Hub brings together a team of various healthcare professionals from general practice, community services and acute care. GPs will work alongside multidisciplinary staff from Solihull Council, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) including respiratory nurses and therapists, community nurses, advanced clinical practitioners, allied health professionals and administrators.
For patients over the age of 18 and who are registered with a Solihull GP, the hub team provide same day, early intervention and crisis response care; the kind of treatment which cannot be as easily or effectively provided by GP practices.
This includes patients who cannot be treated at home by community teams because, for example, they need diagnostic tests offered at Solihull Hospital. It also includes patients who can benefit from urgent treatment provided by a multidisciplinary team.
The hub does not only offer treatment when patients have an acute need. The team also supports with preventative treatment, for example for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are at risk of their condition rapidly deteriorating.
Dr Tara Shah, Clinical Lead for Solihull and GP at Bosworth Medical Group, said: “After existing hubs in Birmingham were evaluated, we felt that adopting this joined-up approach in Solihull would clearly benefit our patients.
“By having a team with diverse clinical experience providing these services, it is hoped that patients will be seen more quickly and by the right healthcare professional at the right time. We hope that the hub will allow us to care for more patients in the community, meaning fewer people need to go to A&E and speeding up access to secondary care advice and guidance.”
Dr Nish Patel, Clinical Lead for Solihull and GP at Solihull Healthcare Partnership, said: "The new hub will join up the urgent treatment services available at Solihull Hospital, meaning patients will have a better experience overall. The extra services that the hub provides should also mean that ambulances can get back out on the road more quickly and that a GP-led multidisciplinary approach will offer care closer to home and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and attendances.”
The Urgent Community Response (UCR) team are the single entry point for the Solihull Locality Hub. They can refer patients directly, but so can GPs, care homes, NHS 111, the Solihull Urgent Treatment Centre, and the West Midlands Ambulance Service. Patients that are referred to the Solihull Locality Hub by the UCR team will be reviewed and a care plan will be put in place. The patient may then be referred by the hub to an alternative service to deliver the patient’s care plan.