A flagship health scheme on Bradford's deprived Buttershaw estate should be copied across the city, Bradford Council says.

The pioneering work by Dr Cordelia Paterson and her team at the Reevy Hill Health Centre has made a big difference on the Buttershaw estate, which for 30 years had no GP surgery of its own.

The scheme was shortlisted for the 1997 Doctor Awards for the high standards of care given to its 1,000 patients, half of whom are under 16.

Now Bradford Council, one of the partners in the project, is to look for other parts of the city where the same approach can be adopted.

Reevy Hill Health Centre is operated under a Christian ethos and in many ways is different to normal GP practices. There is no appointments system - patients can just turn up and they always get seen that day.

A full-time nursery nurse tends children while their parents see the doctor.

In a new initiative, volunteers offer a debt counselling service to patients, in recognition of the toll money worries can take on people's health. Counsellors help people aggregate their debts and work out a realistic budget.

There is also a dentist, chiropodist and health visitors under one roof.

"Working in Buttershaw is like working in a village ... it's a community," Dr Paterson said.

"At one time it had the most stable population of any Council estate in the country. The same families keep popping up, and being the only doctor I can make connections.

"We have to break down the stigma of asking for help by building people's self-esteem. It's a huge problem where people have not finished education.

"They do not have the confidence to tell their health visitors about problems. For instance, people in Buttershaw will tolerate children bedwetting until the age of 13 rather than ask for help."

"This is a pilot scheme - not a one-off," said Ashley Parkin of Bradford Council social services. "There are other areas of Bradford where it could happen."

Councillor John Godward, chairman of the services to children and young families sub-committee, praised the scheme as a fine example of partnership between social services and health services.

"There's also an ingredient here which is rather special - Dr Paterson herself. Without her commitment, the project wouldn't have been as successful," he said.

"This model can be replicated elsewhere in Bradford, but will need the same type of commitment. I'd like to see more schemes like this. There are many places like Buttershaw which would benefit from this."

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