Last week I visited Camborne Redruth Hospital and the Urgent Treatment Centre at Redruth to see the new ward that is currently under construction and meet some of the fantastic NHS staff doing great work at the UTC to help take the pressure off Treliske and local GPs surgeries.

All of us will need the NHS at some point in our lives and, as medicine advances and we live longer, the demand for NHS services also increases. Added to that, we have seen a growing problem of mental health conditions particularly during and immediately after the pandemic. All of these factors have increased the case load for GP surgeries.

The model of General Practice that has been a central plank of our health system since it was started has been under pressure in recent decades. This is partly because of the relentless growth in demand for their services but also because doctors have different aspirations for their careers. Many want a different work/ life balance or to have a portfolio career doing a few shifts at a GP surgery as well as some other work in acute hospitals. It is very common for them to now work part time at the surgery and part time elsewhere in the NHS. On average, doctors now work about three days a week in the surgery and that affects capacity and the number of appointments available.

There are a number of approaches that have been taken to address some of these trends. Firstly, a huge amount has gone in to training new GPs just to increase the numbers available to take certain shifts. Secondly, despite all of the difficulties locally at the moment with Boots withdrawing some of their branches, there has been a big drive to encourage people to go to a pharmacist before resorting to their GP to take the pressure of surgeries. Thirdly, to provide a pressure release valve both from A&E at Treliske and from GP surgeries, there is the Urgent Treatment Centre at Redruth where people can drop in if they have an urgent need or injury.

The UTC initially had some issues recruiting staff when it was first started but are now in a much stronger position and are seeing about 100 patients per day. This is having an immense impact in reducing pressure on Treliske and providing some additional urgent capacity locally.

Whenever I have visited hospitals in our area I have always been incredible impressed by the commitment and professionalism of staff. It is good to see some additional capacity coming with the new ward to help with the fantastic work they do on stroke rehabilitation. Although the NHS budget has almost doubled in the last 10 to 15 years, demands on it and the costs of certain treatments have grown too. Progress has been made dealing with the backlog of treatments caused by Covid but there is further to go to get the system to a sustainable footing.