Press Release from the NHS Trust
People living in Purbeck are being offered the chance to have their say on how health services in their community are developed for the future. The local NHS and GPs have been reviewing how healthcare is provided in the area at the moment and have drawn up two sets of proposals.
The aim is to make sure that services keep pace with best medical practice, are of a high quality and able to meet the future needs of local people. The proposals reflect the need to improve community services, enabling more people to be treated in or near their homes, avoiding hospital admission wherever possible.
Dr Christian Verrinder, a Wool GP who is chairing the project alongside Dr David Haines a Swanage GP, said: ‘We would like to reassure people that these proposals are at an early stage and nothing will be decided until Purbeck residents have been given ample opportunity to let us know what they think.
Between 24 May and 20 July 2012 residents, local organisations, local authorities, hard-to-reach groups and other interested parties will be asked for their views on current services and the new proposals. One way we will do this is through a series of workshops to which everyone is invited. They provide an opportunity to find out more, ask questions and give an opinion, so we would urge people to book a place.
Then a final proposal will be drawn up, taking comments we have received into account, and local views sought in a variety of ways between September and November.
Over the coming years, developing and maintaining sustainable services for patients is a key priority amongst local GPs. We believe this is a good opportunity to look afresh at how services are organised in Purbeck and think through how we can provide better services for local people’
How are health services delivered in Purbeck now?
At the moment, there are: Six GP practices (at Wool, Sandford, Corfe Castle, Wareham, Swanage, and Bere Regis), Two community hospitals (at Swanage and Wareham). Between them they care for a population of around 33,000, providing a range of services for the people of Purbeck.
At the moment, some services are provided in Swanage Hospital and Wareham Hospital. These old buildings are expensive to run and no longer used to the extent they once were, as new ways of caring for people in the community develop.
Swanage Health Centre has outgrown its present site and is in urgent need of more space and facilities for the growing range of services GPs now provide.
Generally, we feel it would be impossible to meet local and national clinical standards for healthcare needed for the future with the facilities available at the moment.
Why do services need to change?
The way healthcare is delivered is changing, with the emphasis moving to providing services close to - or in - people’s homes, avoiding the need for them to go into hospital wherever possible. If they do need to be admitted, community services working together can enable them to be discharged as soon as it is safe to do so.
In Purbeck, we want to ensure that we use available resources in a way that means we can keep pace with these developments for our residents. For example, at the moment doctors, nurses and their teams are having to spread their work across the different sites, sometimes leading to duplication and inefficient use of their time. How can we improve this situation? The two hospitals are just 10 miles apart and are serving a relatively small population.
Could we use the funding they need in a better way for Purbeck residents?
These are just two of the questions we have been considering at a time when, in the current economic times nationally, everyone knows the importance of working in the best and most efficient way possible. However, we would stress that we are not cutting the health budget for Purbeck. Any savings we make through the changes will be reinvested in healthcare for the area. By doing this will be able to develop and sustain the high-quality services Purbeck needs and deserves.
Proposal 1
This proposes two new purpose-built polyclinics providing a wide range of services – one in Wareham and one in Swanage. In Wareham the new building would include:
a GP practice a range of investigations, diagnostics and treatments including x ray and minor surgery under local anaesthetic a minor injuries unit outpatient appointments integrated teams working together to provide ‘hospital at home’ services potential to have some new services not currently available in the town. In Swanage the new building would include: a GP practice, a range of investigations, diagnostics and treatments, including x-ray and minor surgery under local anaesthetic endoscopy services, a minor injuries unit, outpatient appointments, potential to have some new services not currently available in the town, Inpatient care.
The NHS would continue to provide inpatient care - including care for people at the end of their lives - by purchasing: six NHS-funded beds from care or residential homes in Swanage, eight NHS-funded beds from care or residential homes in Wareham. Some of these beds would be for palliative care and could be increased in number if needed.
Proposal 2
This proposes a brand-new Purbeck Community Hospital with up-to-date facilities based in Wareham and a modern, purpose-built polyclinic in Swanage. In Wareham the proposed new Purbeck Hospital would include: a GP practice, a range of investigations diagnostics, and treatments including x-ray and minor surgery under local anaesthetic, a minor injuries unit, outpatient appointments, integrated teams working together to provide ‘hospital at home’ services, 12 NHS-provided Community beds, potential to have some new services not currently available in the town.
In Swanage the new building would include: a GP practice, a range of investigations, diagnostics and treatments, including x-ray and minor surgery, under local anaesthetic, endoscopy services, a minor injuries unit, outpatient appointments, potential to have some new services, not currently available in the town, Inpatient care.
In Wareham, inpatient care would be provided in the new Purbeck Hospital (see above). In Swanage, the NHS would continue to provide inpatient care - including care for people at the end of their lives - by purchasing two NHS-funded beds from care or residential homes in the town. These beds would be for palliative care and general care and could be increased in number if needed.
How you can have your say
We will be seeking your views over a 16-week period in two phases:
Phase 1: (24 May to 20 July 2012).
Purbeck residents, local organisations, local authorities, hard-to-reach groups and other interested parties will be asked for their views on current services and the two new proposals.
Phase 2: (September - November)
This phase will seek views in a variety of ways on the final proposal, which will have taken into account the comments we have received, information on how services are being used and best clinical practice. No final decision will be made about the proposals until these phases have been completed.
The events will include a presentation, followed by questions and answers and then a workshop. They will be held as follows:
12 June 2012: 10.15am – 12 midday, Wellbridge GP Practice, Wool
13 June 2012: 10.15am – 12 midday, Royal British Legion, Corfe Castle, 2.15pm – 4pm, Swanage Bay Holiday Park
14 June 2012: 10.15am – 12 midday, Methodist Church, North Street, Wareham, 2.15pm – 4pm, Sandford Community Hall, Sandford, 6.15pm – 8pm, Bere Regis School, Rye Hill, Bere Regis.
Places are limited, so please contact the NHS Dorset Involvement team on 01305 368064 to book a place.
Making Purbeck Healthcare Fit for the Future – additional workshop
Newsflash 23 May 2012
An additional workshop has been organised in Swanage to help local people share their views about proposals in Purbeck. Tuesday 26 June 2012, Methodist Church Hall, 105 High Street, Swanage, 6.45 pm for 7pm start. Places are limited, so anyone wishing to attend is asked to register in advance by calling 01305 368064 to book a place.
Copies of the proposals along with an online response form can be found on the NHS Dorset website - http://www.dorset.nhs.uk/getinvolved/purbeck.htm.
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15 comments:
well anything is better than the barbaric system we have now, someone is going to die with this telephone scheme.
There is a Save Swanage Hospital e-petition for Richard Drax at www.virtual-swanage.co.uk
Missing information. Where would the new facilities be located?
They say they'll be consulting 'hard-to-reach groups'. I assume this means local GPs. It's very hard-to-reach Swanage Medical Practice at the best of times.
I assume this would be the usual 5 day week service too - don't get sick at the weekend in Swanage, there's no NHS for 20 miles!
There isnt an epetition on Virtual Swanage as its not confirmed yet if the hospital will close or not.
Purchase beds from local care homes????!!!!! There is already a shortage of carehome beds in this town,with Swanage residents often having to go into residential care in Bournemouth/Poole etc. This makes it difficult if not impossible for relatives/spouses/friends to visit them. This is blatant privatization of the NHS. These proposals will be lucrative for GP's, Im sure, and care home owners will be rubbing their hands together in glee. If building a new "Polyclinic" is cheaper than keeping Swanage Hospital open, then lets see the figures to prove it. Huge amounts of money have been poured into this hospital over the years by the league of friends to update it and provide new equipment. What a waste if it were to close. The services that the new polyclinic would provide are already being provided by the hospital!! oh yes, I forgot the polyclinic would provide "other services" not available in the town. What could these mysterious "other services" be? Its probably the staff in the hospitals that cost most money, not the building and these proposals are designed to cut staff, and minimize care to a bare minimum,no matter how they dress it up to look. Our hospital currently provides an exemplary level of care on the ward to our elderly and should be held up as a shining example of how it should be done.It is a sad state when we live in a world where some executives within the NHS are able to earn literary hundreds of thousands of pounds for six months work yet front line staff are being axed or cut down on. Is there no end to the greed of the already wealthy? It is morally wrong to bring profitability and competition into healthcare. Imagine if it was your elderly relative, where would you want them to be?
How accessible is consultation at the Vista Bar on a Thursday morning?
Up a hill, no public transport and out of town. Is this a hint of hoe accessible the proposed healthcare will be? Elderly disabled and working people are immediately excluded
I've allways said close the hospital sell the land and build a decent clinic. Lets hope this happens.
I would have thought more people live within a ten minute walk of the Vista than alternative venues with the possible exception of Herston Hall.
As I understand things the proposals will result in a reduction of in-patient hospital beds in Swanage. If this is the case then I wholeheartedly oppose the plans.
Yes, remarkable that is being presented as an effort to treat people more locally but reduces local in-patient beds. Another example of believing two mutually exclusive things at the same time or is it Orwellian new speak? More means less.
Both proposals have a flexible provision of beds to meet the needs at any given time and by not spending vast sums of money on two very old buildings the plans outline the reinvestment in resources to provide much more care at home. This is a facility that the ageing population is going to need and would prefer I am sure.
One thing to have at these hospitals are children wards and people to deal with injured children and their problems
unlikely that a carehome will deliver the same quality of care and service that the hospital does
I understand that the friends of swanage hospital are still going to carry on with some major work in the hospital wouldnt it be better to stop spending donations untill such time as it is known what is happening?
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