City’s health plan aims to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions

DOZENS MORE nurses and family doctors could be recruited to boost NHS services in Leeds if costly and unnecessary hospital admissions were avoided.

The scale of resources, which would be freed up by relying less on the city’s hospitals and treating people in community facili- ties, is set out in bold plans to transform health and social care in the city.

NHS, council and voluntary sector organisations are working together to bring about change as part of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

A 10 per cent reduction in emergency hospital admissions would help pay for two GPs, two nurses and six community care workers in each of the city’s 13 neighbourhoods, health bosses have estimated.

Leeds City Council’s Paul Bollom, who leads the Leeds Health and Care Plan, said: “It’s about taking the pressure away from hospitals and having a bit more of a balanced approach across the city.

“We want to reduce the number of people who are in hospital when there is no real benefit for that.”

Planned changes include more treatment centres to provide alternative places for people to be looked after outside hospital.

Call operators in the NHS 111 service could also be trained to provide more localised information to guide people to alternatives to A&E.

Mr Bollom said: “The help people need might be around the corner, but 111 staff don’t necessarily know about that and have a national script to follow.

“We’re working up a more local response that knows about where the pharmacies, doctors and voluntary services are.”