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Search for'Mini-hospitals' plan could help move care closer to home for patients in Hull
07:00 - 13-May-2008
Services such as some day-surgery and X-ray testing may be moved from Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill hospitals to sites in the north, east and west of the city.
The multi-million-pound plan by Hull Primary Care Trust (PCT) also includes opening five new GP practices in Bransholme, Kingswood, Orchard Park, Holderness Road and the Willerby Road area and a city centre walk-in clinic.
The idea of the mini-hospitals is to encourage more patients to attend outpatients appointments by offering them nearer where they live.
They would also have testing equipment, such as ultrasound and cameras which can look inside the body.
The trust believes that having these facilities available in more locations than now would see more patients diagnosed earlier.
The mini-hospitals – known as integrated care centres – would not have the facilities for overnight stays but could provide more than 150,000 outpatient appointments, 30,000 health tests and 4,600 operations each year. They would be available for Hull residents.
The surgeries in Orchard Park, Bransholme and Kingswood are scheduled to open next year with the other practices to follow.
Each will have three to four GPs, serve at least 6,000 patients and open between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday, as well as Saturday mornings.
The walk-in centre will offer care seven days a week from 8am to 8pm. Booked appointments will also be available.
It is not yet known how much Hull PCT would have to invest in the mini-hospitals, but if approved, they are expected to open within the next two-and-a-half-years.
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