BRADFORD Care Alliance has been commissioned by the Bradford CCGs to deliver the new GP Extended Access service which is being rolled out from June 1. We will act as lead contractor and have sub-contracted the delivery of extended access hubs to member practices.

A project delivery group, set up by BCA, has been working on behalf of all GP practices within Bradford to establish the first wave of roll out for this service in line with the requirement to deliver Extended Access for 25% of the population of Bradford City and District CCGs by June 1 2017.

This first wave will provide 57.5 hours of services per week working out of one location, rolling out by 2018 to provide access in a number of locations for 100% of the population living in Bradford.

We have been commissioned by the CCGs for a three-year phased programme of delivery.

Extended access to primary care will initially be delivered from a central location (yet to be confirmed) in Bradford and will cover 25% of patients registered with GP practices in Bradford City and Bradford Districts CCGs.

The first wave service will comprise a mix of GP and pharmacist clinics, working with voluntary and community sector (VCS) providers.

Were working with a number of practices across Bradford District and City CCGs to confirm their inclusion in the first wave and as soon as they are confirmed, we will be updating the details here.

Whilst delivering services that are within the scope of the core GP contract, the service will not replace GP out-of-hours, nor provide urgent care.

The services to be provided by the VCS are being designed to meet needs expressed through patient feedback and their locally known needs and we are working with the VCS Alliance to deliver this aspect of the contract.

Available fromJune 1, the opening hours will be 6.30pm 9.30pm Monday to Friday, including bank holidays. Saturday opening will be in place no later than December 1 2017, the times for which will be confirmed in due course.

The practices involved in the first wave will:

  • Receive payment for the provision of services
  • Be able to offer a greater range of appointment times for their patients (in line with a fair share agreement)
  • Have the opportunity to help develop, test out and shape the extended access service model before we move to the required 100% extended access coverage across multiple locations required by October 2018 for all Bradford registered patients
  • Work collaboratively to provide a service for all patients in a defined geographic location.

All practices involved in Wave 1 of the delivery of Extended Access will be invited to an Engagement Event on Thursday 11th May starting at 6pm.

The location is yet to be confirmed but will be in Bradford, and we look forward to being able to share the plans and approach as well as taking questions from your practice on the Extended Access programme.

A more detailed briefing will shortly be issued to all the practices that have been identified for inclusion in Wave 1.

Looking beyond June 1, we will launch further waves as part of a planned roll-out of Extended Access across Bradford.

We are keen to identify future sites for the services to be delivered from and by so if you would like to express an interest, or have any other questions about Extended Access, please contact Martin Myers by email martin.myers@bradford.nhs.uk.

An initial Q&A document has also been prepared to help give you an insight into the programme, and you can access it here.