Clinical Negligence Solicitors

Bath and North East Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (BaNES CCG) has appointed Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and B&NES Enhanced Medical Services (BEMS) to run a Bath-based Urgent Care Centre.

The Urgent Care Centre opened in 2014 and offers urgent treatment 24/7 to patients who cannot wait to be seen by their local GP, or are not registered with a local practice.

Bath and North East Somerset Council said that the appointment of the RUH and BEMS to jointly run the service follows a rigorous procurement process led by the CCG.

BEMS is the local GP Federation, whose members include all General Practices in B&NES, as well as patients and staff.

The council says that BEMS has been providing care for local patients since 2004 across a range of community services, including GP out-of-hours services.

The RUH and BEMS will take over responsibility for the centre from 1 May 2018 and will be working closely with colleagues from B&NES Doctors Urgent Care (BDUC) – who currently run the Urgent Care Centre – over the next few months to ensure the smooth transfer of the service.

Local GP and Urgent Care lead for the CCG, Dr Elizabeth Hersch, said:

“We are pleased to appoint RUH and BEMS to deliver this key service for people in B&NES.

“This appointment builds on our ambition to join up urgent care services such as the Urgent Care Centre, NHS111, the ambulance service and GP out-of-hours, so patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time.

“An integrated approach will also help us to relieve the pressure on A&E, which is intended for people with acute injuries or life-threatening illnesses.”

Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the RUH, Dr Dominic Williamson, added:

“We’re really pleased – we have an exciting vision for the future of the service and we’re confident we can further improve the way that urgent care is delivered for our patients.

“We’ve involved patients, clinicians and management teams in our plan – and drawn on extensive experience of the needs of our local population to bring together the best of primary and secondary care in the Urgent Care Centre.”

Chief Executive of BEMS and a local GP Dr Andrew Smith also said:

“I’m delighted that we have been given the opportunity to run the Urgent Care Centre – I believe that our partnership with the RUH will allow us to deliver a high-quality, more integrated and patient-focused service.

“We welcome the staff already working in the Urgent Care Centre to our partnership – and look forward to developing the service with them and the public we serve in the coming months and years.”

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors can advise NHS patients who have suffered injury as a result of medical negligence on how to make a no win no fee claim for compensation, including claims involving: