February 2024 – Update on Health and Care Services in Leighton Buzzard

1.We are pleased to confirm that additional clinics to respond to winter pressures continue in the Town, led by hard working primary care teams. Appointments are booked on the day via registered practices, and this is providing an additional five hours’ capacity for minor illness issues each day.

2.The Town’s Primary Care Network (PCN) has employed an additional First Contact Physiotherapist to support with residents’ musculoskeletal issues as part of the new Same Day Minor Illness Service. Clinics started w/c 12 February 2024 and are held in one of the recently secured additional rooms at the Health Centre on Bassett Road. Pre-bookable appointments and same day appointments for urgent issues are available. We know that a very significant proportion of primary care demand is related to MSK issues, and we are pleased to see this support making a difference locally.

3.We know there is particular interest in the additional rooms secured at the Health Centre to support additional access to primary care services. In addition to the physiotherapy support described above, a second room is currently being used for additional phlebotomy and respiratory clinics alongside smoking cessation services and medication reviews. Two further rooms are also supporting additional phlebotomy services and other PCN services. Between 1st April 2023 and 31st October 2023, 16,900 blood tests were undertaken in Leighton Buzzard – more than Central Beds comparator practices over the same period. We appreciate that some patients continue to need to travel outside of Leighton Buzzard for blood tests, and we would like to see as many patients as possible receive this service in the most convenient setting for them. 

4.The PCN page on each practice’s website is being updated with a list of services provided, how they are accessed, and where they are held. You can read more on the pages for Leighton Road, Bassett Road and Salisbury House.

5.We continue to work with a range of partners to develop the Outline Business Case (OBC) for additional services in the Town. We are looking particularly closely at the range of estimates for the capital that could be released from the DHSC-owned site on Vandyke Road. The OBC will explore potential additional premises as well as how we could make better use of the existing health estate in the Town, including that which is currently used for administrative purposes. We anticipate that we will be in a position to share the key findings from the Outline Business Case in May 2024, and look forward to discussing its conclusions with residents and local representatives.

BLMK Integrated Care Board, 23 February 2024