Eight-week exercise to collect ideas on the role of the community hospital
An eight-week exercise gets under way on 1 October to gather ideas for the future shape of community health services in the Torrington area.
Also launching on the 1 October is a six-month evaluation of the enhanced model of home-based care currently in place in Torrington and surrounding area.
The exercise is being led jointly by Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which assesses local needs and purchases healthcare accordingly, and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs services in the area.
Inpatient beds at the community hospital will be open to admissions for the involvement and engagement period, which runs to 26 November 2013.
During that time, the focus will be on one broad question:
What should the role of Torrington Community Hospital be in the future, for the greatest benefit of people in and around Torrington?
Kate Lyons, Director of Operations at Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We know patients like being cared for at home, in familiar surroundings and with the support they need. We want to ensure this care is effective and of a high quality, which is why we are planning a more formal evaluation.”
Dr Chris Bowman, a GP from North Devon and vice chair of the CCG’s Northern Locality, said: “This is a real opportunity for people in and around Torrington to tell us what sort of care they would like to see closer to home. We know travel is a problem in rural communities, so what else could be brought into Torrington to save those difficult journeys? What needs aren’t currently being met and how could the hospital be used to fill this gap?
“Once we’ve looked at people’s ideas and tested them, we’ll be able to put the results alongside the evaluation of home-based care to shape ideas for the longer-term future.”
A 16-page document called ‘Meeting Local Needs’ has been prepared for people in support of the eight-week exercise. It is being distributed to local venues across Greater Torrington and can also be downloaded from here
Since the end of 2011, extra investment locally has seen more and more Torrington patients cared for at home by nursing and therapy teams, backed by support services such as night-sitting where needed. This means people can often come straight home from North Devon District Hospital or avoid admission altogether.
Some 180-200 people are now being cared for at home at any one time. As a result, inpatient admissions to the community hospital have fallen from an average of 12 a month in 2010/11 to 5.5 a month in the first half of 2013 (up to July 2013).
People can find out more and have their say by:
- Filling in the feedback form: www.torringtoncares.co.uk
- Picking up a printed copy of the 16-page document, which will be left at drop-off points in the community over coming days. A feedback form and freepost envelope is included in each copy.
- Requesting a copy to be posted – please contact 01769 575151
- Coming to one of our continuing Friday drop-in sessions, which are designed to generate an ongoing dialogue and will help highlight any issues that need consideration before the end of the engagement period – see details here
- Inviting us along for a discussion with your own group (please call 01769 575151 or 575154 to arrange)