News
Carewatch Care Services
We have successfully completed negotiations for the sale of Carewatch, our social care franchise business, to Lyceum Capital for £37m. (more ...)
L&G expands teleunderwriting service
Legal & General (L&G) has signed an exclusive deal with Primecare, a provider of integrated out-of-hours healthcare, to replicate its ‘little t’ teleunderwriting model on a larger scale. (more ...)
Primecare to run the UK's first ‘8 to 8’ GP service
Today an innovative GP service, believed to be the first of its type in the country, is being launched in Middlesborough. (more ...)
Our Customers Say
“I think we have been fortunate to have this particular Care Worker. She is caring, considerate and punctual. My father becomes quite distressed if there are changes, but he is very happy with the present arrangement.”
Daughter of Service User, Sheffield
Primary Care News
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Primary Care Services
Our business
Primary Care is usually the first point of contact for patients, often via their
local GP. Staff working in primary care include, amongst others, GPs, nurses, health
visitors, dentists, opticians and pharmacists. Primary Care Organisations (PCOs),
which include Primary Care Trusts and Local Health Boards, plan and commission health
services for their local communities.
PCOs work with local authorities and other agencies that provide health and social
care to make sure that community needs are being met. It is their role to understand
the needs of their communities, so they can make sure that the organisations providing
health care services are working effectively.
PCOs ensure that adequate, accessible and relevant health services are provided,
embracing hospitals, dentists, opticians, mental health services, walk-in centres,
patient transport (including Accident & Emergency), population screening, pharmacies
and opticians. They are also responsible for making certain health and social care
systems work together for the benefit of patients.
The services we offer
Out-of-hours - our Primecare business provides services
out of standard business hours to GPs and dental services. In the main our services
are commissioned by the PCOs as a reliable and effective service solution for GP
services. The GP's patients are redirected to Primecare for emergency and/or unscheduled
care services. Through a rigorous clinical governance process we determine the most
appropriate course of action and then organise and manage the services for that
person. This may result in telephone advice, an appointment to attend a Primary
Care Centre (PCC), or a visit by a doctor in the patient's own home.
In-hours services - Primecare provides primary care services
in-hours to support GPs and their patients. Our services can be extended to provide
in-hours support including home visiting, telephone answering and PCC consultations
to help meet daytime demand on a short- or long-term basis.
Working with A & E departments - in several areas Primecare
works in partnership with A & E departments to ensure that patients who visit a
Primecare PCC and require urgent emergency treatment are referred quickly to the
department. This model also allows A & E departments to refer patients to Primecare
wherever appropriate.
Protected learning - providing in-hours cover to GP practices.
The need to address training and management requirements is key to any successful
GP practice. However, it is not always possible to address these issues during normal
practice hours. Primecare's protected learning service meets this need by providing
cover to practices including all call handling, triage and consultations.
Special Allocation Schemes (SAS) - protecting GPs and their
staff by caring for individuals removed from practice lists. Working in partnership
with PCOs and GP practices, Primecare provides a vital secure service to deliver
general medical services to sometimes violent patients, consistent with responsibilities
placed on PCOs by the Department of Health.
Managed healthcare - an alternative to hospital treatment,
tailored to meeting the needs of individuals in the community as set out in the
recent white paper; 'Our health, our care, our say; a new direction for community
services'.
Services include:
- Home Central IV therapy and parental nutrition;
- Home chemotherapy;
- Home management of deep vein thrombosis;
- Parkinson's disease management;
- Community stroke rehabilitation;
- Post myocardial infarction rehabilitation;
- Early discharge for replacement operations;
- Admission avoidance for respiratory long-term conditions such as Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD); and
- Support for the management of long terms conditions such as diabetes.