Luxurycare has become the first care home group in the South-West to offer in-house private GP appointments, in partnership with Haven Medical, a private GP Practice in Canford Cliffs, Poole.
The care home group, which offers nursing and residential care at six homes across Bournemouth and Poole, is piloting this ground breaking provision at Regency Manor Care Home, in Lower Parkstone, where it launched earlier this month.
Dr Bill Johnson of Haven Medical is now visiting the home in person each week, running a four-hour clinic there every Thursday, with a service including on-the-spot dispensing of medications and drawing of bloods for tests, prescriptions, and onward referrals to NHS and private healthcare services to speed up diagnostics and treatment.
Following a successful trial, the service is now set to be rolled out across the rest of the groups homes in the Bournemouth and Poole region over the course of the summer.
Carmela Guadalupo, Home Manager at Regency Manor Care Homes said:
“At Luxurycare we are always looking for ways to innovate and improve what we do so we are really excited about the benefits this pioneering new partnership will bring. We are proud to be the first care home in the region to do this – and among the first in the country.
“We know early intervention is essential for care home residents to stay well as it can so often prevent health issues worsening and necessitating hospital admissions. But, as everyone will be aware, timely GP appointments are becoming increasingly challenging to secure. With our NHS under such pressure, we have chosen to take action and invest in this service to meet the needs of our residents and staff.”
According to 2019 research from The Health Foundation, 41 per cent of emergency admissions to hospital from care homes could potentially be avoided with better management and treatment in the community. The new service will also benefit care home staff.
Samantha Hoskins, Managing Director of Luxurycare said:
”We appreciate that our local GP services are stretched and unfunded through no fault of their own. Demographics and need have changed both local and nationally which have not been matched by adequate funding from central government. Understandably, this has had an adverse effect on our clients resulting in more hospital admissions. This service is available as no cost option to all of our residents regardless of their own funding status. With assistance and expertise from Haven Medical, our intention is not only support our residents and team but also go back to the traditional GP visits that were previously the backbone of our much loved social care sector.”
Adam Trehane, MD of Haven Medical says:
“We’re delighted to be partnering with such a forward thinking and revolutionary care provider in the South. As Luxurycare are meeting our costs themselves, this negates the potential administrative burden and ensures that their residents are fully supported. A local first indeed! It’s great to be able to offer the medical help and support those residents need and can be rest assured of the first-class medical service that we offer at Haven Medical in the luxury setting of their care home ensuring they’re treated in a timely and appropriate way .”
Luxurycare offers nursing and residential care at Aranlaw House (Westbourne, Poole), The Branksome Park Care Centre (Branksome Park, Poole), Eagles Mount Green Community (Poole), Regency Manor Care Home (Lower Parkstone, Poole), Kingsman House (Bournemouth) and Seabourne House (Southbourne, Bournemouth).
We always recommend visiting our care homes to get a true feel for what can be offered and to learn more about our care, whether looking for nursing care, residential care, dementia care or palliative care.
On your visit, we can discuss anything you would like, including care plans for your loved one, our activities programme, and support for the family where possible.
Book a visit to our care homes by calling us on 01202 037373 or complete our online contact form, and we will give you a call back soon.
