Urgent Care Centre Blackpool

Updated 10 July 2019

The Urgent Care Centre (Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Whinney Heys Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY3 8NR) is a registered location under the provider FCMS (NW) Limited and delivers urgent care services to the Fylde Coast population. The service is part of the NHS Blackpool clinical commissioning group (CCG). The provider is registered to carry out the regulated activities of diagnostic and screening procedures as well as treatment of disease, disorder or injury and transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely. FCMS (NW) Limited are working in collaboration with other local urgent care providers to align the service provision at the Urgent Care Centre with other local sites as part of the Fylde Coast Integrated Urgent Care Service. The providers share managerial oversight of the urgent care provision across the system to better manage demand and resources to ensure patient needs are met.

The Urgent Care Centre is a purpose-built facility within the local NHS Foundation Trust hospital premises and shares its reception area with the hospital’s accident and emergency department.

The centre provides open access primary care to local and temporary residents and visitors to the Fylde Coast either by appointment through the NHS 111 service, to patients walking into the centre or from the local North West Ambulance service. The service’s reception is staffed by staff from FCMS (NW) Limited who are trained to liaise with patients on arrival and signpost them to the appropriate service. The Urgent Care Centre is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. Bloomfield Medical Limited provide clinical staff every day from 8am to 10pm. FCMS (NW) Limited provide clinical staff in the period from 6.30pm to 8am Monday to Friday and all day on a Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays. There is an overlap of Bloomfield and FCMS clinicians between 6.30pm and 10pm Monday to Friday and they work alongside each other on a weekend and bank holidays.

The centre is staffed by a team of GPs, advanced nurse practitioners, non-medical prescribers, practice nurses and health care assistants. The clinical team are supported by an operational lead and team of other non-clinical personnel including an HR lead, receptionists and administration staff. The staff at the centre are also supported by a broader management structure within the provider organisation and those other providers in collaboration as part of the integrated urgent care system across the Fylde coast.

The provider ensures a GP is on site throughout the location’s operational hours.

Updated 10 July 2019

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Urgent Care Centre Blackpool on 14 March 2017. Overall the service is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for recording, reporting and learning from significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ care requirements were assessed and delivered in a timely way according to need.
• The service met the National Quality Requirements.
• Staff delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• There was a system in place that enabled staff access to patient records, and the out-of-hours staff provided other services, for example the patient’s own GP and hospital, with information following contact with patients as was appropriate.
• The service managed patients’ care and treatment in a timely way.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• The service worked proactively with other organisations and providers to develop services that supported alternatives to hospital admission where appropriate and improved the patient experience.
• The service had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. The vehicles used for home visits were clean and well equipped.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The service proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We identified the following areas of outstanding practice:

• The organisation had implemented an End of Life care pathway in conjunction with the Hospice at Home Team. There was a direct referral route for all patients across the Fylde Coast requiring access to the Hospice at Home provision. The service was a tri-partnership between the hospice, FCMS and two local CCGs (Clinical Commissioning Groups) that delivered a unique approach to unscheduled care overnight, reacting to prevent avoidable admissions at the end of life.
• The organisation worked with the ambulance service to reduce hospital admissions and had made some significant changes to how work is distributed around the local healthcare economy. For example in one week 203 ambulance cases were assessed and 186 (91%) were deflected to more appropriate services.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice