Our enhanced access service offers appointments outside regular working hours, including evenings and weekends. These appointments will be allocated by practices, depending on availability. This service is available to all patients registered with the PCN, and appointments can be booked by contacting your normal GP Practice.
Our healthcare professionals work collaboratively to provide comprehensive care tailored to each patient's unique needs.
You should contact your GP for a referral for most mental health support services. The services that are available via self-referral can be found below:
The PCN has been and continues to coordinate the local COVID-19 vaccination programme and provide vaccines to eligible patients in our community. Information on current vaccine eligibility and appointment booking can be found here
We also facilitate Flu Jabs for those in the community who are eligible. Please click here to find out if that’s you and book your Flu Jab.
The Universal Healthcare Network is a pilot program to improve access to healthcare services for everyone in our community. This Pilot Programme focuses on some Protocols designed to improve healthcare outcomes in Hastings and St Leonards. We are committed to delivering high-quality care that meets the diverse needs of our patients and hope this project can bring us even closer to that goal.
Our dedicated team of Social Prescribers provide a flexible, confidential person-centred service that supports individuals aged 18 and over, helping you explore services, groups and activities in the area and working with you on a one-to-one basis around areas of improving your general well-being.
The service offers face-to-face or over the telephone sessions to help support a person's needs and goals. It may be suitable for you if you’re facing challenges like well-being, employment, education, finances, low mood, anxiety, debts, unhealthy lifestyle and social isolation.
We can provide practical support, such as accompanying individuals to group activities and meetings in the community to help with exposure to meet goals. We help improve resilience, self-confidence and self-esteem, and reduce stress and anxiety. We can help build a better quality of life, improved independence, increased motivation and better social connections.
To access this service, speak with your GP practice about available support.
Our Occupational Therapists (OTs) are here to support you or your loved ones if you face barriers to daily activities. These barriers may result from physical, mental, social, or developmental difficulties, and the OT’s job is to help you find ways to continue doing the things that matter to you. This could involve finding creative ways to do things or adapting your environment to make things easier.
The needs of individuals in our community vary dramatically, and our OTs are here to ensure everyone receives the specialist care and support they need to be comfortable and connected.
If you or someone you know lives with chronic physical or mental health conditions, manages anxiety or depression or requires advice to return or remain in work, you may be eligible for support from one of our Occupational Therapists.
Please contact your GP for a referral to this service. The contact information for all our practices can be found here.
We have partnered with The Fellowship of St Nicholas (FSN) to provide Health Coaching services to our local community, providing an opportunity to come together with other like-minded people looking to prioritise their health.
The FSN organises and facilitates behaviour-focused peer support groups to help people work towards a healthier lifestyle. This may involve providing information about nutrition, physical activity or managing chronic conditions such as Diabetes. The goal is to help people become more proactive in building healthy routines, habits and lifestyles with support and accountability.
If you or someone you know struggles to maintain a healthy lifestyle, perhaps because of emotional triggers, lack of structure, or difficulty breaking down larger goals into smaller, manageable steps, our Health Coaching services may be able to help.
Please consult your GP for a referral.
Our first-contact Physio service provides direct access to a specialist physiotherapist who can provide expert assessment, advice, and treatment for a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. The service aims to reduce waiting times and provide timely care access, helping patients manage their conditions and recover more quickly.
The physiotherapist will conduct an initial assessment and provide appropriate treatment, which may include advice on exercise and self-management techniques. They can also refer patients for further tests or to other healthcare professionals if necessary. The service is available to patients aged 18 and over.
Ask your GP for a referral to access this service.
In some cases, it may be more appropriate to have your NHS consultation with a trained pharmacist instead of a GP. Some PCN Practices are participating in a new approach to improve access for patients to GP appointments. The aim is to direct patients to the most appropriate healthcare professional, which may be a GP or a pharmacist.
From 30th January 2023, if your symptoms may be resolved by a booked consultation with the pharmacist instead of the GP, you will be given a same-day referral to a pharmacy of your choice. Our Pharmacists are highly trained and skilled clinicians experienced in treating minor illnesses and are well-equipped to support you.
This will also help us to free up GP appointments for people with more complex health needs and ensure that everyone gets treated at the right time by the right healthcare professional.
Our PCN Pharmacist operates a virtual ward to care for patients with high blood pressure. This ensures they receive the specific attention and monitoring required to prevent more serious medical issues from developing and frees up GP appointment times for other patients by providing dedicated care to these patients flagged as at-risk.
If you have concerns about your blood pressure or for any prescription requests, please contact your normal GP Surgery.
We’ve partnered with Active Hastings Sports Champions to identify inactive patients or those who struggle with daily physical activity to motivate, encourage and help them find fun ways to integrate daily movement into their routine.
Find out more about this service via the Active Hastings Facebook Page. Alternatively, you may seek a referral from your GP.
We’ve partnered with them to provide funding to support neurodiverse young people in our care and to promote the inclusion of the young LGBTQ+ community in Hastings. Eggtooth is a not-for-profit creative well-being service for children, young people, parents and professionals, and offers mental health support through 1-1 sessions, groups and creative projects.
Click here explore the support available through our partnership with Eggtooth.
Our first-contact Physio service provides direct access to a specialist physiotherapist who can provide expert assessment, advice, and treatment for a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. The service aims to reduce waiting times and provide timely care access, helping patients manage their conditions and recover more quickly.
The physiotherapist will conduct an initial assessment and provide appropriate treatment, which may include advice on exercise and self-management techniques. They can also refer patients for further tests or to other healthcare professionals if necessary. The service is available to patients aged 18 and over.
Ask your GP for a referral to access this service.
By analysing top-level data for the Hastings and St Leonards area as part of the PCN, we can identify geographical, social and economic challenges that may be affecting patient care, or inhibiting access to patient care, which are specific to our area and might not be as a high priority on a national scale (e.g. higher levels of deprivation and homelessness).
This allows us to be more strategic about where we allocate government funding to maximise the benefits and provide better care for you and our community as a whole.
Address: St Leonards Medical Centre, 126 Bexhill Road, St Leonards-on-sea, East Sussex, TN38 8BL
Email: ifh.pcnenquriries@nhs.net
