Kent & Medway CCG GP Led Out of Hours Home Visiting Service Market Engagement

The current configuration of OOH home visiting means a variety of urgent care services are currently offered in Kent and Medway. These are inconsistent across the county and the pathway for patients is often unclear. Currently, for urgent services patients can contact their GP Surgery, call NHS 111 and attend a UTC/Walk in Centre/Minor Injury Unit, or pharmacist. The new emphasis for all urgent care services such as out of hours home visiting services will be through NHS 111 as a single point of access, where patients will be triaged by call handlers with assistance from the Clinical Assessment Service (CAS), before referral on to face-to-face services. NHS 111 now has the capacity to arrange appointments with a range of urgent care services including GP practices. The pandemic and the need for strict infection protocols meant appointments being agreed for people to attend services, has helped test the 111 pathway to urgent care.