A PIONEERING partnership between Royal Surrey County Hospital and Procare, a federation of 18 GP practices, is celebrating its first anniversary.

The group successfully bid against Virgin Care for the adult community services contract for Guildford and Waverley, which is worth £13.8m annually and will run for nine years.

Among other things, the team has successfully launched a community coordination centre at Milford Hospital, integrated the night response team into the new base with a wider catchment area, and piloted a physiotherapy advice line with extended their hours.

Hospital chief executive Louise Stead said: “Our community teams do a fantastic job and provide a wide range of care, from supporting patients to managing long-term conditions, to treating those who are seriously ill and with complex needs.

“This sees teams of nurses and therapists working closely with other healthcare professionals, including GPs and social workers, to deliver care in peoples’ homes, as well as in the local community hospitals.

“On this first anniversary I would like to recognise and thank all our community teams for their dedication, commitment and hard work.”

The Milford hospital hub is staffed from 8am-8pm, seven days a week, with all adult community health services being filtered through and triaged by the team. The night response community nursing team is due to relocate there soon to become more integrated and to cover the Surrey Heath and Farnham area.