Friday 28 August 2020
Over the last four years, the Committee for Health & Social Care has been working with public, private and third sector providers to develop a new model of health and care premised on a Partnership of Purpose, concentrated on providing integrated care which places the user at its centre and provides greater focus on prevention and early intervention.
Work over this time has been split between developing the necessary foundations for such a transformation - including design work to modernise the Hospital site and exploring the development of complementary community hubs, reforming how health and care funding is managed within the States of Guernsey, receiving approval for the future model of health and care regulation and progressing plans to invest in how patient records are managed digitally - and seeking to accelerate key tangible work streams aligned to the values of the Partnership of Purpose. These have been wide ranging but have included the development of social prescribing, the commencement of a programme of joint strategic needs assessments to better inform how and where services are most appropriately provided and numerous projects looking to improve islanders' experiences, for example the introduction of a new diagnostic service in cardiology, advances in pain management and work to provide greater support to some local families.
HSC is now in a position where it can start formally accrediting those public, private and third sector partners working to realise the Partnership's values.As an initial step, the first 5 members of the Partnership of Purpose have been announced today:-
- The Health Improvement Commission -Established in 2018 and bringing together public, private and third sectors, the Health Improvement Commission seeks to empower, enable and encourage healthy living in Guernsey and Alderney. Their work focusses on four main areas; Be Active, Eat Well, Healthier Weight and Substance Use. The importance of their role was clearly demonstrated throughout lock down as they supported islanders in eating well, through, for example, supplementing nearly 1000 Guernsey Welfare Service Food Bank parcels with approximately 8,630 adult portions of fresh vegetables and fruit and encouraging islanders to be active. They maintained access to weight management services through phone and online-based provision and the Substance Use work stream continued to offer information and practical help through the drug and alcohol agencies it supports. During those difficult times of lock down, it was vitally important to continue to provide local, confidential support for alcohol, drugs, domestic abuse and mental health. As our community moves forward, the Commission continues to advocate for environments which make it possible and easy to live healthily across the Bailiwick.
- Choices -The local charity works to empower individuals to make positive choices about their reproductive and sexual health, providing an accessible, confidential and affordable service which provides non-judgemental, individualised advice. They work closely with a range of stakeholders to reduce the rates of unplanned pregnancies and abortions and are the main providers in the Bailiwick for free contraception for under 21s, a project jointly delivered with the States of Guernsey and which has seen teenage pregnancies reduce dramatically since it was introduced.
- Beau Sejour -As the Island's only community based sports and leisure centre, and with a footfall of approximately 600,000 per annum, Beau Sejour plays an invaluable role in supporting islanders' access to physical activity. It is the only facility on-Island offering Exercise on Referral 'LifeFit' sessions (689 individual referrals made in 2019) and Aqua Health Referral sessions to the local community. In addition, the Active Health team deliver other specialist classes such as CanMove (exercise classes for individuals who live with or are recovering from cancer treatment) and MoveSmart (exercise classes for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis).
- Queens Road Medical Practice -Working with HSC and the private sector, QRMP has developed the first genomic screening programme in the Bailiwick to identify and treat people with the genetic condition Familial Hypercholesterolaemia. The disease, which results in high levels of cholesterol that can lead to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of preventable death in the developed world, is significantly under-diagnosed in the British Isles and the programme is aiming to be one of the most effective in the world.
- Public Health Services -while brought to prominence through COVID-19, Public Health provides a vital role ensuring our population is as healthy as possible. By assessing, measuring and describing health and wellbeing, as well as health risks, health needs and health outcomes for our population, Public Health Services provides the evidence for shaping health and care across the Bailiwick.
Each organisation plays a different role in the overall Partnership; either by providing frontline healthcare services, raising awareness, seeking to shape future policy or providing preventative services to the community. Together they have demonstrated their commitment to working towards a healthier and happier Bailiwick.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby, HSC President said:
'I am delighted to announce that Queens Road Medical Practice, the Health Improvement Commission, Choices, Beau Sejour and Public Health Services have all signed up to become members of the Partnership of Purpose. All five recipients fully embody the spirit of collaborative working and putting the service user at the centre of their decision making and I am pleased that we could formally recognise their role. For the public it means that they can be assured that where they see the kitemark, those providers support the key principles of the Partnership of Purpose and in particular, joined-up person-centred care.
'This is just the beginning of a much wider accreditation process and in the coming months, further applications to join the Partnership will be encouraged.'
