Update on how practices are preparing to accept patients

We continue to work closely with NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (HIOW ICB) and colleagues at practices across Portsmouth to ensure the transition of patients goes as smoothly as possible and with little to no disruption to our normal, everyday service currently provided to our registered patients.

In readiness for the arrival of new patients in the spring, practices across Portsmouth are:

• Recruiting a range of extra staff to manage the increased demand and provide additional availability to GPs, nurses and other clinical specialists including pharmacists, physiotherapists, care coordinators, social prescribers and practitioners.
• Updating telephone systems which will make it easier for patients to get through with their queries and requests for appointments.
• Recruiting additional administration staff, including care navigators, to answer more calls coming into the practice.
• Refurbishing and creating more clinical space at The Drayton Surgery’s Wootton Street site and Portsdown Group Practice’s Cosham Park House and Paulsgrove sites to continue to deliver the highest quality care and services to existing patients, and to ensure any new patients who join from North Harbour are similarly treated.

“We anticipate that The Drayton Surgery and The Portsdown Group Practice will between them take on the majority of patients currently registered at North Harbour, due to the practice boundaries and the postcode mapping. Both of these practices have given us considerable support in managing the transfer. They are both large, stable and resilient practices and we are confident in their recruitment plans and capacity to manage the majority of the North Harbour patients between them. 

“We have been grateful for their proactive, partnership approach, which has been hugely important in helping us manage this situation for the North Harbour patients. In addition to this, some patients will be eligible to choose other practices, dependent on their registered address. This also includes options for those who live closer to practices in Portchester or the south of the city.”

Jo York, Managing Director at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board in Portsmouth

Please note that North Harbour patients are unable to re-register at another surgery at this time. This is because the patient transfer must be managed, to ensure practices know how many additional patients they will have and can plan what extra staff and resources they may need to support patients.