‘Too popular’ walk-in health centre faces cut in hours

Former Health Secretary Alan Johnson opened the Hillside Bridge access centre in Bradford in 2008, the first of a network of 150 walk-in centres across England under flagship Labour plans to improve availability of GP care.

But NHS bosses in Bradford are today expected to agree a public consultation over plans to cut its opening times for walk-in patients to reduce soaring costs.

The centre would become the latest in the region to face cuts. A survey by the Yorkshire Post has already revealed how the surgeries have proved far more popular than expected, with one centre in Bridlington dealing with seven times more patients than expected.

In a report, NHS managers in Bradford say the centre in Barkerend was designed for the most deprived people in the area including the homeless, refugees and drug users, but evidence suggested they were using it only rarely.

Instead, more than a third of walk-in patients were those at other local GP practices, who in some cases were seeking a second opinion, leaving the NHS to pay double for the same service.

Demand was four times higher than expected, with 23,500 patients using it in 2009-10, compared to 6,300 expected.

Costs of the health centre, which also provides a variety of other services, were £260,000 higher than planned at £1.2m in its first year, an increase of 30 per cent, and in the second year of the contract had increased further.

It said the walk-in service had “not resulted in demonstrable improvements in health outcomes or cost benefits and has actually increased demand for urgent care services”.

The report suggested reducing the daily opening hours for walk-in patients from 8am to 8pm to noon to 8pm. Patients most likely to use the centre are under-fives and people aged between 20 and 44, mainly in the afternoons.

The report said officials would work with local GPs to identify difficulties which patients say they have accessing appointments at their own surgeries.

Evidence compiled by the Yorkshire Post suggests half the access centres in the region are seeing at least double the number of walk-in patients expected.

Barnsley’s walk-in service was axed last year after more than four times the numbers expected sought care in its first 15 months and hours at another centre in Dewsbury have also been cut to reduce costs.

Campaigners claim their success offering on-demand appointments highlights the problems patients face getting quick appointments with their own GPs but further cuts are expected as NHS budgets shrink.