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St Nicolas medical centre update
Ensuring the provision of high-quality primary care for residents in the Weddington and St Nicholas Park area of Nuneaton is a top priority for the NHS, particularly given the significant population growth anticipated due to new housing developments.
NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) is responsible for planning and funding GP services for local residents. Over the years, the ICB has explored various options to address the needs of the expanding population while avoiding additional strain on existing services. To accommodate the growing demand, which corresponds with the construction and occupation of new houses, a scalable solution was required. This solution began with a small practice located at the St Nicholas Clinic on Windemere Avenue in Nuneaton. In December 2024, it was decided that this site would become the permanent location for the new practice, with the ICB committing to substantial investments in the facility to enhance its capacity and available services.
The initial contract to provide GP services for this new practice was awarded to OneMedical Group. Although intended as a long-term partnership, OneMedical chose to return their contract to the ICB in 2024, necessitating a procurement process for a General Medical Services (GMS) practice to assume responsibility for the practice.
Station Street Surgery, an established practice within Warwickshire North, emerged as the successful provider and took over operations in August 2024. The practice will deliver all services from the St Nicholas site, ensuring patients do not need to travel between locations for GP and nurse appointments. Patients should have experienced no disruption in how they receive their services.
Following the transition to the new provider, there has been an increase in both appointment capacity and the number of staff available at the St Nicholas site.
Since the new contract started St. Nicholas Medical Centre has made great progress in enhancing service delivery for its patients. Currently, there is a GP on site every day, providing both morning and afternoon sessions, ensuring continuity with regular GP coverage. Additionally, the practice offers virtual GP clinics on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to support clinical administration, address urgent queries, handle clinical calls, and conduct patient reviews.
Another improvement is the introduction of a regular nurse on site, conducting clinics three to four days a week, supplementing with additional nursing support brought it to deliver procedures such as smears, childhood immunisations, and other routine care. The practice has also introduced joint injection clinics with two GPs as needed, and a specialised contraception clinic every Thursday, led by a GP with a special interest in women's health.
Station Street Surgery currently provides minor surgery for its patients, preventing them from needing to travel to a hospital site. They have now opened access to these services for patients of St Nicholas Medical Centre. These services are currently delivered from the Station Street site but plans are in place to eventually expand these services to the St. Nicholas site, highlighting the ongoing commitment to improving access and care for the local community.
The practice appointment system has been enhanced to offer a balanced mix of same-day telephone consultations and pre-bookable appointments, which are typically available within a week. This improvement is aimed at providing patients with timely and flexible access to healthcare services.
For priority cases, such as palliative care, where face-to-face appointments are not available, the remote GP clinic is committed to resolving patient issues on the same day.
Additionally, the practice has updated its internal systems to streamline medication queries and ensure they are resolved within 48 hours. This includes handling blood results and clinical letters on the same day they are received, thereby reducing unnecessary patient follow-ups and enhancing overall efficiency.
Out of hours support will continue to come from the Coventry and Warwickshire-wide service so patients will have seen no change in their experience. Out of hours is accessible through calling 111 where the call handler will be able to either arrange a phone call from a GP if you need one, or if you need to be seen in person but it’s not a 999 emergency will be able to support you into the right service for you.
In collaboration with the NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), as well as NHS Property Services, the practice is implementing measures to increase capacity and further improve facilities at the site.
As a temporary measure, the practice will convert the kitchen into a clinical room, which will accommodate additional roles and enhance service delivery for local residents. This conversion is anticipated to be completed by July/August.
Looking ahead, the practice has outlined an initial plan to upgrade and add two more clinical rooms over the next year. This expansion will significantly boost appointment availability and service capacity, ensuring that the needs of the growing population are met effectively.
In addition, work continues on a medium- to long-term plan to expand the current St Nicolas Medical Centre space from 126 m² to approximately 515 m². This ambitious project will transform the site's capacity and secure its long-term future, allowing the practice to provide high-quality care to an increasing number of patients.
These efforts underscore the commitment of the NHS to deliver sustainable high quality healthcare services to the residents of Weddington and St Nicholas Park, now and into the future.
A new Patient Participation and Community Group (PPCG) specifically for St Nicolas is being established. This will be a separate group from the current PPCG at Station Street Surgery to better engage with local patients and tailor services to their needs.
The practice has started to gather expressions of interest from patients and urges anyone who is interested to sign up on the practice website.
The practice is now part of the North Arden Primary Care Network. Primary Care Networks enable practices to hire additional roles and support services across the whole network, enabling a wider range of specialisms to be delivered locally
Through the Primary Care Network we are pleased to announce the onboarding of a remote clinical pharmacist who will work for the practice from Monday to Wednesday, 12:30-6:30pm, and also support extended access clinics from 6:30-8:00pm alongside GPs. This addition is essential for managing medication reviews, particularly given our growing patient list, which saw around 800-900 new registrants last year.
Furthermore, several ARRS roles are now available across both sites, including a Mental Health and Wellbeing Coach, First Contact Physiotherapist (FCP), Wellbeing Coaches, and a remotely working Dietitian. Beginning this week, a Primary Care Network pharmacist will commence weekly face-to-face clinics every Friday at St Nicolas, further enhancing the support already provided remotely for medication reviews.