HEALTH chiefs are promising a more integrated approach to urgent health care services across Somerset following a deal with a new provider.

Somerset Doctors Urgent Care has been commissioned by the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group to deliver “innovative” out-of-hours urgent care and the NHS 111 helpline service to the county’s 540,000 residents.

The Somerset CCG says the close collaborative working between all parts of the county’s urgent care services is expected to relieve the sort of demand experienced by district hospitals last winter when accident and emergency departments saw unprecedented numbers of frail elderly patients and those with long-term conditions being admitted to hospital.

Minehead-based Dr Ed Ford, Somerset CCG’s GP emergency care lead, said the plan was to deliver a significant improvement in emergency and out-of-hours medical services in Somerset, which were designed to help the most ill and vulnerable.

“Our aim is to see more seamless care delivered to patients, whether in their own home or in the community, as well as fewer people feeling they need to attend hospital accident and emergency departments when they don’t have an urgent need to be there.”

Dr Ford said Somerset Doctors Urgent Care was already successfully providing the 111 and out-of-hours services for people living in Staffordshire and out-of-hours services for those in Bath and North East Somerset.

“We hope the same success will be replicated for the people of Somerset.”

Helen Mee, regional operational manager with Somerset Doctors Urgent Care, said she believed access to the right service could be improved through a more integrated approach.

“We are looking forward to working closely with other local healthcare providers in the county to deliver high quality patient care,” she said.

The 111 telephone helpline continues to be the number to call for non-emergency queries, operating 24 hours a day, providing health advice and signposting the public to the correct service for their healthcare needs.