Plans for a new Integrated Care Centre to deliver specialist care, better management of long term health conditions 
and services for frail, elderly patients in Hull have moved a step closer following approval of the outline business case by NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Board today.
The new Integrated Care Centre will aim to address gaps in service and provide more alternatives to hospital admission if a patient’s health condition exacerbates. Patients can be referred directly by their GP for assessment and treatment within the new Centre and discharged home, or back to their care home, the same day, with an on-going plan of care that would be shared with their GP and social care.
The new Centre is part of the Hull 2020 vision to bring public services together for a healthier future for Hull. One of the more innovative features is the location of a small Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) station on the site, with potential to utilise fire service skills to support the rehabilitation and recovery of patients following a period in hospital. This is believed to be one of the first partnership projects of its kind in the UK - building on the success of HFRS and health-led Hull FIRST Falls Response Team.
Paul Jackson, NHS Hull CCG Board lay member and Chair of the Integrated Care Centre Development Group, said:
“This is an exciting opportunity to develop a new 21st century health facility for Hull, moving a number of specialist diagnostic, rehabilitation and reablement services out of hospital and into the community. Health, social care, fire and voluntary services based within the centre will all work together with the aim of supporting people to be healthy, and to live safely and independently in their own home for as long as possible.”
“We have had a year of very productive consultation with local people who have supported these plans. The input of patients, residents and carers has been invaluable and we want to continue to involve them in the Centre’s ongoing development.”
Chris Blacksell, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, agreed:
“We have worked closely with Hull CCG over the last couple of years on some exciting initiatives, improving patient outcomes across the city and helping people remain in their own homes. The work we have done together on the FIRST falls team has delivered exceptional response times and is viewed as a pioneering approach on a national level.
“The plans for a new fire station on the site are very exciting. To share facilities seems to make sense on a number of levels given the current financial climate and a new home for our firefighters and vehicles in East Hull is probably overdue and we will continue to look closely at the feasibility of the short move from Southcoates Lane.”
Key features within the Integrated Care Centre include:
- A rapid access assessment centre for GPs and other clinicians to directly refer patients for diagnostic testing (eg. x-rays and ultrasound) or treatment primarily for long term conditions.
- A purpose built rehabilitation and reablement suite that will support people to manage their own condition following illness or change in health condition.
- Full suite of consultation and examination rooms
- A joint base for health and social care teams.
- Increase capacity for community based therapies, including chemotherapy.
Cllr Helena Spencer, Hull City Council portfolio holder for Public Health, said:
“This is a step towards developing a first-of-its kind facility in Hull, which would aim to bring together a wide range of care services to support frail and elderly people with long-term health issues.
“The city’s health and emergency services working together will ensure all of a patients’ needs can be addressed in one place, speeding up the process of getting them home.
“The council was happy to be able to make available the land, which is the site of the former David Lister school. We were sympathetic to concerns raised by the local community – these have now been addressed in the revised plans”.
Subject to planning approval the new facility will be operational in 2018. The facility will be open seven days a week.
Background information
- The population over the age of 65 in Hull is projected to increase by almost 9% from 2013 to 2020 increasing the prevalence of long term conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Heart Failure (HF), Dementia and Diabetes.
- The Outline Business Case details the design, affordability and procurement process for the new Integrated Care Centre. The site offers good access, flexibility and capacity close to a development being planned by Pickering and Ferens Housing Association for 54 bungalows on the site – supporting integrated working with social care, residential care homes, social housing, voluntary groups and charities.
- Throughout 2015 NHS Hull CCG sought views from local people about the services they access, their experience of local health care and the kind of support they would need to remain living independently. Residents have raised a number of issues that they wanted to see addressed in the planning of the new Centre and, after local consultation, some measures have been revised as a result (see below).
- The Integrated Care Centre forms part of the wider Hull 2020 transformational programme, the Better Care Fund programme and aligns with the City Plan. Find out more about these programmes and the Hull FIRST rapid response to falls at hullccg.nhs.uk
| Residents’ feedback | How the design has been revised |
| Loss of on street parking spaces on Rosmead street | The spaces have been re-provided on the new access road with laybys as close to Rosmead as possible. There is no overall loss of parking. |
| Concern regarding creating a rat run from Newbridge Road to Southcoates Lane
|
The new road has 20mph limit with traffic calming measures. The route is no shorter than using Rustenburg or Escort Street |
| Concern about overshadowing from the two-storey section | The building has been moved away from resident boundaries and the sun path diagram shows that the building does not overshadow any houses. |
| Concern about flooding risk to properties and tenfoot access roads if site is developed | The drainage design and levels of the site are reworked to store water within the site using “sustainable urban drainage systems” and not flood the new building or any neighbouring properties. The Environment Agency and Hull Flood Authority will review this during the planning process. |
| Noise from increased traffic | Projected traffic volumes are low and spread over the day rather than peak demands. |
| Concern over noise and vibration from pile driving during construction | The design now specifies low vibration piling using augered techniques to significantly reduce noise and vibration. |
| Noise generated by HFRS emergency calls | HFRS consulted and has agreed to use local controls by not using sirens or blue lights unless absolutely necessary. |
| Concern if existing boundary fence were to be replaced with low level fence and reduce the level of security to residents back gardens | Existing boundary fence to remain or be repaired. |
