Another service removed from local GP surgeries

Coun Charmaine Morgan says…

This following mesage from a local surgery is hugely concerning with potentially wide reaching repercussions. I am at LCC Health Scrutiny today and will try and raise this matter….

“Important Announcement for our patients – Withdrawal of Under-funded Service For some time now, the funding we receive from Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board for providing a wound care service (wound dressings, stitch, and clip removal), has not covered the actual costs we incur delivering that service.

“We have tried our very best over the years to improve efficiencies in an attempt to continue offering this service to our patients.

“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts it has become unsustainable for us to do so, as we are now losing money on every appointment we provide.

“We have received NO funding for the more complicated wounds we have been managing over the years, which more often involve lengthy appointments being needed over a long period of time. These include things like cavity wounds or infected wounds. As a result, Harrowby Lane Surgery, along with all local surgeries across Southwest Lincolnshire, have made the difficult decision to stop providing appointments for dressing services.

” We understand that this news will be concerning for many of our patients but due to increasing demands on our nursing team and the significant financial pressures on NHS General Practice overall, we can no longer continue to provide services that are simply not cost effective, without compromising our ability to deliver core General Practice services. Lincolnshire ICB who commission this ‘Treatment Room’ service, are working hard to identify who will be providing it and we expect to have more information from them over the next few weeks.

“We will keep you informed as soon as we have further details. What will this mean for you?

From Wednesday 2nd October 2024:

· if you come out of hospital with stitches or clips in a wound, these will be removed by another service.

· If you have a dressing on a wound that needs replacing, this will be provided by another service

· If you develop a wound, you will be signposted for an assessment with another service, who will manage any treatment

· Any wound that is from a minor injury that occurred in the last 48 hours should be treated at a Minor injury service/Urgent Treatment Centre, or Accident and Emergency department

· If you have a more complex wound, including a cavity wound after surgery or an infected wound, you will be signposted to another provider Your care remains our priority, and we are here to support you through this transition as we appreciate this may be difficult.

We hope you are able to understand why this decision has been reached.

We need to ensure that we are here for you in the years to come.If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for your understanding.”