DHU Healthcare has joined forces to work in partnership with ELR GP Fed Ltd (East Leicestershire and Rutland GP Federation) to ensure services are better protected during times of high demand on health services.
NHS and health services across the UK have been working together against the backdrop of ever increasing pressure on its services, encouraging the NHS and its health partners to innovate and work together to ensure the right treatment and advice is there when patients need them.
DHU Healthcare provides General Practice, NHS111, Urgent and Emergency care and support across a number of GP surgeries, Urgent treatment Centres, hospitals and community settings across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The Urgent Primary care and Out of Hours support has been formalised through signing an official partnership agreement with ELR. This will ensure that when demand on services in the East Leicestershire and Rutland areas is higher than expected, support and resources will be more readily available to provide the best possible patient care closer to home.
“The best quality care to patients”
Stephen Bateman is Chief Executive of DHU Healthcare, he said: “This is great news for patients and health services within the ELR region, officially recognising our ability to provide additional support, clinicians and resources when demand rises. We are a not-for-profit, Community Interest Company that provides a wide range of NHS services with a commitment to ensuring compassionate care is available to the communities we serve.
“We have a long history of providing this support to ELR and are delighted that we’ve been able to cement that relationship and continue to share our expertise in providing urgent and emergency care to a region we know very well. We are both committed to providing the best quality care to patients and look forward to building on what we’ve already accomplished together to provide an increased level of support at a time when we all know health services are challenged.”
DHU Healthcare already runs three GP surgeries in Leicester, provides Urgent Care Centre services at Loughborough, Oadby and Merlyn Vaz, Primary Care Centres at Hinckley, Coalville, Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Lutterworth, Oakham and Enderby, LLR’s NHS111 service as well as home visiting across the city and counties, paramedic support, Childrens and Young People Mental Health support and the Clinical Navigation Hub co-located at DHU’s offices on the Leicestershire County Council site.
“Putting the patient at the centre”
Stephen added: “We can use those resources to support other parts of the LLR system as required, as well as those we have in neighbouring counties such as Derbyshire and Northants where we offer similar services. Our Care values, Compassionate, Accomplished, Respectful and Encouraging, align with those adopted by ELR and we both pride ourselves in putting the patient at the centre of any decision we make. This is a brilliant example of partnership working in action to support and benefit our patients, staff and the communities we serve.”
Robert Whitehead is the Chair of ELR GP Fed. He said: “the ELR GP Fed board is very pleased that we have formalised our relationship with DHU in this way. The partnership provides the opportunity to continue to provide services to patients in our community and develop further services where appropriate.”
Pictured above: Picture back row, left to right: Chris Lyon (Director, Head of Operations, ELR), James Watkins (Chief Operating Officer, ELR), Dr Sole Garcia (Interim Deputy Director of Urgent Care, DHU), Stephanie Andrews (Finance Business Partner, DHU), Carly Gray, Company Secretary, DHU), Sarah Cooper (Finance Business Partner- Urgent and Emergency Care, DHU)
Pictured, front row, left to right: Robert Whitehead (Chair, ELR), Steve Atkinson (Independent Chair), Stephen Bateman (Chief Executive, DHU)