A health chief from the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board says that general practice services in Bridlington have significantly improved following recent investments and the consolidation into a single large practice.
General practice services in Bridlington are in a much stronger position following a period of fragility and poor access, according to a local health chief.
Dr Simon Cox from the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board has highlighted the progress made in the town over recent years, noting that primary care is currently on a journey of improvement.
He explained that when he first began his role in the East Riding just under four years ago, the healthcare situation was precarious. At that time, there were six practices operating, but the system was under severe strain.
According to Dr Cox, three of those practices were looking to hand their contracts back. This led to a fragile environment where only one in two people could secure a medical appointment within a two-week timeframe.
Since then, significant changes have been implemented to stabilise the system, including a major restructuring of how primary care is delivered to local residents.
In April, services were consolidated into a single, large practice for Bridlington, a move designed to improve the overall provision of care and streamline access for patients.
Reflecting on the changes and the current state of primary care, Dr Simon Cox said:
"I think we are on a journey of improvement, particularly for Bridlington.
Primary care in terms of general practice is in a much better position now than it was. Certainly, when I started in East Riding a bit less than four years ago, general practice was not in a great state. I had six practices, three of them were wanting to hand their contracts back and it was very fragile, very poor access. Only one in two people could actually get an appointment within two weeks. It's in a much better place now.
We have in April consolidated into now a single large practice for Bridlington. So, the Bridlington general practice is in a much better place than it was."
The Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board has also focused on providing financial backing to boost the availability of appointments across the wider area.
Over the past two years, investments have been made to increase the number of additional appointments available, ensuring that primary care generally is more resilient.
While acknowledging that progress has been made and access rates have improved, Dr Cox noted that there is still further to go to ensure patients have the best possible access to medical professionals.
Discussing the investment and the broader picture for primary care, Dr Simon Cox added:
"For Bridlington. Primary care in terms of general practice is in a much better position now than it was four years ago.
Primary care generally is in a much better place. Certainly we have invested over the past two years significantly in general practice for additional appointments and access rates are much better.
There still needs to go further but in terms of accessing GPs, they are much better than they were before."
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