Kent GP-led centres pick Adastra

Two GP-led health centres in Kent have chosen software from out-of-hours provider Adastra as their patient management system.

The centres in Medway and Swale, run by London-based Dulwich Medical Centre, will use the software to support their seven day a week service, offering scheduled and unscheduled appointments to both registered and unregistered patients.

Dulwich Medical Centre said it recognised the ability of the Adastra system to help manage patient care and to measure the clinical and operational activity for the benefit of patients and primary care trusts alike.

Sabina Grzeda, a manager for Dulwich Medical Centre, said it wanted to ensure patients were routed in the most efficient and clinically appropriate way and to be able to measure its activity.

She added: “We recognised that the Adastra system would enable us to do both these things and more and are looking forward to providing additional and complementary primary medical services to the people of Medway and Swale.”

Dr Alex Yeates, Adastra's medical director, said the move followed the deployment of Adastra software to the Putnoe GP-led health centre in Bedfordshire, which was opened by health minister Lord Darzi last month.

He added: “Adastra is naturally delighted to be working with Dulwich Medical Centre in their two GP-led health centres. We will be drawing on our long-standing experience of unscheduled care to help deliver significant benefits to patient and provider alike.”

Bradford and Airedale PCT opened the first GP-led health centre in the country at the end of last year, using TPP’s SystmOne.

A total of 152 open-access centres, providing GP services 12 hours a day, seven days a week, are to be opened across England following Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review of the NHS.