Manchester Extended Access Service (MEAS)

Rather than every GP practice having to open at evenings and weekends, CMN operates its service from four strategically positioned host sites to ensure no patient has too far to travel. All practices within the central Manchester area can then book appointments for their patients with a GP, nurse or healthcare assistant at these host sites.

Our current host sites are:

Providing Access To Care Homes (PATCH)

This is a partnership project delivered by CMN and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT). The service started in October 2014 with the aim of delivering patient centered, proactive and reactive care to residents in central Manchester care homes where they are registered with a central Manchester GP practice. A key aim of the service is to improve the care of patients in residential and nursing care homes by developing and maintaining good relationships and communication between professionals, care home staff, patients and their relatives. There are four integrated elements of the service.

Care Homes Paper by Tim Greenaway

Each of the 14 care homes covered by the service has been allocated to one of 8 lead GP practices. These practices were chosen as the practice looking after the majority of patients in each home already as they already had relationships with the care homes staff and the majority of residents and relatives. Patients were encouraged to migrate to the lead practice due to the more intensive care offered and through natural turnover in the residents of the homes. We have achieved complete or almost complete registration with the lead practice in 11 of the 14 homes and migration to the lead practices continues. Each lead practice provides a weekly review of patients in the homes at a set time. During this time proactive and some reactive care is delivered. Meetings with relatives can be set up, relationships with staff developed and working with the nursing and medicines management colleagues facilitated.

The PATCH service provides nursing and administration support designated the 'Care Homes Support Team' (CHST). This team is provided by CMFT. The CHST nurses provide planned reviews of nursing needs and respond as the first line to calls from the homes. They have particular skills in end of life care but also provide experience in catheter care, other nursing skills, prescribing and manage minor illness in the homes that is beyond the scope of the care homes staff. The CHST has significant experience managing end of life care and has facilitated improved care and avoided inappropriate admissions in this area. The CHST works closely with the district nursing team, IV team and other professionals to enhance patient care.

Medicines management staff from CMFT's community medicines management team provide medication optimization reviews for patient in care homes as part of the service. Costs have been reduced but also many risks identified and resolved and poor medication practices in homes corrected. The project has won a national medicines management award for innovation.

The clinical lead is a GP with an interest in care homes primary care. They facilitate a monthly meeting of everyone involved in the service, as well as encouraging learning through the review of patient cases and significant events. This activity has a powerful effect on attitudes and behaviors.

ST3 Sponsorship Programme

Central Manchester Networks is proud to announce that the UK Visas and Immigration Service have granted our application to become a licensed sponsor under the Tier 2 system. This means that CMN now appears as a licensed sponsor on the Register of Sponsors

Central Manchester Networks will obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship for each Tier 2 migrant worker seeking to work as a GP in Central Manchester practices and/or within medical services that relate to contracts held by our organisation and the various PCNs within our region.

To find out more or to apply to work with us as a Tier 2 migrant worker General Practitioner, please contact us on 0161 224 9649 or cmn.enquiries@nhs.net.

Frailty Assessment Unit

CMN are pleased to announce that we were approached by Manchester Royal Infirmary to provide a GP and consultant joint frailty service to assess patients that attend the A&E department at the hospital who may be frail and may benefit from a frailty assessment. This is resulting in a reduced waiting time for many of the patients attending the A&E department for care and it is also helping with signposting of patients who can be looked after by another service, to save them having to be either admitted to hospital or be passed around until they reach the correct department for their care. Patients assessed by the service are often able to return home without admission to a hospital bed or be discharge earlier with this extra support put in place. The hospital report to us that they are delighted with the services these GPs bring to them and they have asked for additional support over the busier winter period.

Children's Acute Services

CMN are pleased to announce that we were approached by Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, as a result of the ongoing success of the Frailty Assessment Service, to provide a GP-led, consultant supported, Acute triage service in their Urgent/A&E department at the hospital. Due to the extra work in the Winter periods, CMN have been asked to provide additional GP hours. We are told that the extra GP support received by seeing the patients and their families when they arrive at the department, is enabling families to return home sooner, to avoid admission and to receive the most appropriate care they need at that time, rather than having to book to see their GP separately whilst still having the reassurance from both a GP and consultant led service.