A NEW way of accessing NHS community health services has been introduced across Wiltshire with the aim of reducing pressure on hospitals and improving care closer to home.
From today (April 1), services delivered by HCRG Care Group will operate under a single system known as Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Community Health.
The changes are designed to ‘simplify access’ to services and help patients receive support earlier, potentially preventing conditions from worsening and reducing hospital admissions.
Health leaders say the move comes amid growing pressure on the NHS, with the cost of hospital care across the region currently standing at £340 million a year and is projected to rise to £410 million by 2040*.
Under the new system, patients can contact community health services directly via a single point of contact – either by phone (0300 247 0200), online or in writing, without needing a GP or hospital referral.
A new team of community health navigators will assess people and direct them to the most appropriate support, ranging from self-care advice to specialist treatment.
Neighbourhood care teams made up of healthcare, therapy and wellbeing professionals will also work more closely together to provide joined-up care tailored to individual needs.
The changes follow feedback from patients and local organisations, which highlighted confusion about how to access community services and concerns that this could lead to unnecessary visits to A&E.
Regional director for Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire at HCRG Care Group, Val Scrase, said: “Bringing community health services together across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire in 2025 was an important step forward in helping people stay well for longer and enabling more care to be delivered safely in the community.
“This next phase will build on that strong foundation. It strengthens our ability to help people stay healthy and live well, while making care easier to access and better to experience.
“It also supports the NHS’s ambition to move more care closer to home and prevent ill health, while easing the pressure.
“We’ve reached this point thanks to the invaluable support of our local communities, the voluntary sector and our NHS and local authority partners.
“By working together, we’re creating a community health service that’s designed around people’s lives and capable of supporting healthier communities for years to come.”
The Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said HCRG Care Group will now take on the day-to-day running of community-based services, while also leading a wider partnership with the NHS, local authorities and charities to transform care across the region.
Patients are being reassured there will be no immediate changes to services, with care continuing to be delivered by the same staff, although some may wear new uniforms or carry updated ID.
The ICB said the long-term aim is to improve outcomes by helping people live healthier lives, identify health issues earlier and support those with existing conditions to remain independent for longer.
It added that the changes form part of a national shift towards community-based care, with a greater focus on prevention and delivering joined-up services closer to people’s homes.
Officials said work to reshape services will take place gradually, with patients, staff and the wider public involved in future plans.
We’ve had some on-line forms recently which have been very difficult to open, it is so much easier when you can actually have a letter in the post. On-line systems can be great when they work properly and don’t need a lot of time with signing in and codes needed to access something.
It’s not clear to me whether HCRG is a private profit making company or part of NHS. If the former then a part of the slow privatization process of the NHS which will potentially lead to the dismantling of our free at point of service system.