Patients contacting Virgin Care’s adult community services and urgent care teams in West Lancashire are benefiting from an enhanced service through a new care coordination hub.

Anybody calling 0300 247 0011 or e-mailing vcl.westlancs-spa@nhs.net now accesses a multi-disciplinary team made up of administrators, district nurses and therapists. Having clinicians within the hub means more enquiries can be dealt with at the first point of contact, helping patients to get the support they need as quickly as possible. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hub extended its hours so that the team is now available seven days a week, from 8am-6.30pm during the week and 8am-6pm at the weekend. Staff have been given the equipment they need to work remotely so the service can still operate effectively despite the challenges we currently face due to the pandemic. In addition to this, the automated phone system is being updated to make the system easier to navigate – put simply, patients will soon have less options to choose from before they are able to speak to someone. Michelle Lee, Managing Director of Virgin Care in Lancashire, said: “We are committed to providing quality services for West Lancashire residents and improving the patient experience by looking at new ways of working. We had already started doing the work to develop our care co-ordination hub but the COVID-19 pandemic drove this forward and we are now able to offer a service that is much more easy to access and effective in responding to patients.” Claire Heneghan, chief nurse at NHS West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “The CCG’s vision for joined up care, known as Building for the Future, aims to help everyone be more in control of their own health, have better access to health services and receive co-ordinated support tailored to their own personal needs. “It is therefore vitally important that our community services are coordinated in such a way that it makes it easy for patients to access the care that they need in a simple, uncomplicated way that allows them the confidence to know where to turn when they or a loved one need support of community health services. “The Care Coordination Hub, particularly with its automated phone system will simplify accessing the right service for patients.” Patients can contact the care co-ordination hub to access any of the adult community services run by Virgin Care as well as Skelmersdale Walk In Centre and West Lancashire Urgent Treatment Centre. For full details of the services provided, visit https://westlancscommunityhealth.nhs.uk/ Pictured: Alison Johnson, Care Co-ordination Hub Team Leader