Healthcare providers North Norfolk Primary Care and Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C) have been awarded caretaker contracts for four healthcare services offered by OneNorwich Practices in the UK.

Under the caretaker contract, North Norfolk Primary Care is required to handle the Norwich Walk-in Centre, the Vulnerable Adults Service, and the registered patient list of Norwich Practices Health Centre until March 2025.

NCH&C has been awarded the caretaker contract for the Lymphoedema Service until April 2026.

The handover of these contracts follows the announcement in October that OneNorwich Practices would wind down by the end of this year.

The contracts allow the two healthcare providers to manage services until these can be re-procured.

The move is aimed at minimising disruption to services that provide support to thousands of patients in Norwich and the surrounding areas.

OneNorwich Practices offers primary medical services in Norwich and the surrounding areas via several commissioned services, including Norwich Practices Health Centre, the Norwich Walk-in Centre, the Vulnerable Adults Service, and the Lymphoedema Service.

Furthermore, it offers a Weight Management Service, and a host of other services such as the Home Visiting Service, Care Homes at Scale, and Enhanced Access appointment coordination for the Norwich Primary Care Network.

In October, NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (the ICB) announced that they were working closely with OneNorwich Practices to provide support as it undertook a review of its financial condition.

Meanwhile, ICB is working to identify alternative providers to take over the several contracts that it has with OneNorwich Practices.

North Norfolk Primary Care is an experienced GP provider organisation that offers urgent care, cancer services, and elective care pathways across Norfolk and Waveney.

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C) offers a wide range of health and care services across Norfolk. 

Additionally, the ICB and OneNorwich Practices are collaborating to identify providers for the remaining services that the latter delivers and explore broader employment opportunities within the Integrated Care System for staff retention.

OneNorwich Practices interim chief executive Paul Wood said: “The award of these caretaker contracts for these essential services is good news for the registered patients of the Norwich Practices Health Centre, Vulnerable Adults service users, the circa 80,000 residents from across Norfolk and Waveney who utilise services from the Walk-in Centre annually, as well as those patients receiving specialised care through the Lymphoedema service.”