EASTERN CHESHIRE
Seizing the opportunity
for better care:
Join the Conversation
This is a call to action to everyone in Eastern
Cheshire to work with us to address many of the
challenges we face in providing health and care
services that meet the needs of our population.
There is already much to be proud of in our health and
social care services in Eastern Cheshire. Staff work hard to
provide good care, local people are relatively healthy and
local organisations have a track record of working together.
But we have been delivering services in the same way for
many years and, increasingly, this is no longer meeting the
health and social care requirements of local people.
We’re living longer, many people want to be treated in their
own homes, and medical advances mean that the way
hospital services are provided is evolving. If we do not do
anything, these changes could have severe impacts on
our health and social care services.
An ageing population
Did you know?
•
n average a woman living in
O
Macclesfield Town South is expected
to die almost 13 years earlier than a
woman living a couple of miles away
in Tytherington
•
here are some 1,517 people in
T
Eastern Cheshire with serious mental
health problems such as schizophrenia
•
n estimated 8,238 primary carers live
A
in Cheshire East, with 1 in 3 receiving
support from social services with some
receiving a carer specific service
•
O
ver 22,000 bed days (at an
estimated cost of £5.5m) in
Macclesfield District General
Hospital could be avoided
•
S
enior doctor involvement in
patient care is linked to patient
outcomes, any future proposal
will need to address current
workforce gaps
•
O
ver a third of people in Eastern
Cheshire say they have to wait
too long to see their GP
People in Eastern Cheshire deserve services that
are of the highest quality and are delivered
as locally as possible. We believe that patients
should sit at the heart of a proactive care system
and that local people should be supported to
take responsibility for their own health as much
as possible.
Our belief in what is right for the people of Eastern Cheshire
is matched by our ambition to achieve it.
We can’t pretend that achieving this kind of transformation
is an easy task, but we know that by working together we
can get the best possible outcome for patients.
We need to change because:
• People’s needs are changing
People in Eastern Cheshire are living longer, with increasingly
more complex care needs. Although Eastern Cheshire is
generally affluent, it has deprived areas and there are some
quite big differences in health outcomes between areas.
More and more people are suffering from conditions such as
high blood pressure, liver failure, dementia, diabetes, cancer
and mental health problems.
• The way we provide hospital services is changing
Medical advances mean not only that fewer people need to
go to hospital for treatment, but also that people can take
more care of their own conditions in the first place, avoiding
hospital altogether. When a hospital stay is required, it can
now be much shorter. If more complex care is needed for
major illnesses or accidents, it is better to go to a specialist
centre rather than just the nearest hospital.
• People can look after themselves much more easily
Many conditions do not need to be treated in hospital at
all, but can be treated within the community by teams of
professionals working alongside patients and carers. This is
better for the patient and is a better way of providing care –
but it does need different ways of working to be done effectively.
• We cannot afford to do nothing
The cost of providing health and social care is increasing due
to demand from the increasing age and ill health of local
people and the costs associated with keeping pace with new
technology. Funding for health and social care is limited with
local health and social care organisations facing a financial
shortfall in 2014/15 of £36.9m (11%), rising to £86.2m (26%)
in 2018/19.
We have been talking to patients, carers and staff, they
have been saying that for some people services are
fragmented or difficult to access. Staff can sometimes
find it difficult to look after people in the way they would
like. Some carers feel they do not have enough support.
Some people do not get enough support to be independent
and are going into hospital unnecessarily. When people
leave hospital they sometimes find it difficult to get the
services they need.
If we do nothing, things will just get worse. Inequalities will not
only continue but also get more extreme, lives will not be saved,
access to the best services will get worse and services will continue
to be fragmented and unresponsive. Financial pressures will rise,
putting at risk the availability of local services.
This is not just an issue facing health and social care services
locally; the same issues are being seen around the country.
This is why Eastern Cheshire
needs Caring Together
An ambitious programme that aims to transform the
way we provide health and social care. It will improve
your experience of care, raise the standards of care
and will save lives.
Our ambitions for the future can be summarised as:
• Increase the number of people having a positive experience
of care
• R
educe the inequalities in health and social care across
Eastern Cheshire
• Ensure our citizens access care to the highest standards
and are protected from avoidable harm
• Ensure that all those living in Eastern Cheshire should be
supported by new, better integrated community services
• To increase the proportion of older people living independently
at home and who feel supported to manage their condition
• I mprove the health related quality of life of people with
one or more long term conditions, including mental health
conditions
• Secure additional years of life for the people of Eastern
Cheshire with treatable mental and physical health conditions
We want to hear from you
It is really important that Caring Together hears from
local people before 30th April 2014.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to respond individually
to each piece of feedback. However, all of the responses
we receive will form part of this exercise and the findings
will be made public.
Use the attached freepost form to tell
us how you think health and social care
services in the region should change.
Or get in touch with us by phone 01625 242 511
or email [email protected]
You can also find out details of how to get
involved and the latest news on our website:
www.caringtogether.info
✃
Detach here
1.
hat matters to you most about health and social care?
W
Please tick two boxes:
Expert advice
Quick access to care services
The provision of home-based care
Easy to understand advice
Knowing who/which organisation to contact
Access to round-the-clock support
2.What one change do you think could be made to
the provision of health and social care services in
Eastern Cheshire?
3.Finish the sentence:
I want health and social care in Eastern Cheshire to….
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First Name(s):
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EASTERN CHESHIRE