Last night I attended a meeting with representatives from Birmingham’s CCGs, hosted by Steve McCabe MP, to discuss the Katie Road Walk-in Centre.
First of all it was pleasing to see that the CCGs are committed to consulting people and taking any and all ideas on board. I have argued against the implementation of CCGs in the past, but one of their strengths was always going to be their connection to local communities, so it is pleasing to see them investing in pre-consultation – and not just a tick box consultation – to get as wide a range of views as possible.
Secondly, it was good to see that those involved want to make the most of the facility. In my contribution I argued that the key to an improving service and a sustainable NHS is to keep people out of hospital through quality community provision. As such, I believe the success of Katie Road as a GP-based walk-in service means it is ideally suited to be the launch pad for these services. Others in the room came up with some great suggestions for new services and it would seem that the team are committed to making the most of the centre.
There will be a formal consultation on Urgent Care across Birmingham in the autumn so make sure you offer your views.
Andrew Mullinex 