Month: August 2015

.Press Release 

29^th July 2015 

Age is not a barrier to developing Breast Cancer

Be Clear on Cancer 

‘1 in 3 women who get breast cancer are over the age of 70, so don’t assume you’re past it’ is the message from the NHS ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaign launched earlier this month. The campaign emphasises that increasing age is not a barrier to either developing cancer or effective treatment and a lump is not the only sign of breast cancer. Women should tell their General Practitioner (GP) if they notice any changes to their breasts, with a view to being referred to the breast clinic.

During 2014/15 there were 46 people on the Island 70yrs and over who were diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Commenting on the importance of being breast aware, at any age, and the difference early detection can make, Mr Stephen Parker, Consultant Breast and General Surgeon, said: “This year’s campaign has only been running for a few weeks and already the breast unit is seeing an increase in the number of referrals.  It is encouraging that the message is getting out to the general public to be aware of changes in their breasts and seek a referral to the hospital if they are worried.  I would, however, emphasis that a large proportion of patients who are seen in the breast clinic do not have breast cancer.”

Even in women without symptoms, the NHS Breast Screening Programme invites all women aged between 47 and 70 for screening every 3 years provided they are registered with a GP. Anyone over the age of 70 is not automatically invited for screening but are encouraged to continue to contact their local Breast Screening Unit to make an appointment.

Mr Parker joined the breast team at St. Mary’s Hospital in January of this year and during this time the service has undergone a review to ensure that patients receive the right level of care at the right time in their care pathway and in line with national guidance. In response to feedback from staff and patients, important changes have been made to the pathway of care for patients with breast symptoms.

Everyone referred to a specialist with breast symptoms will be seen within two weeks of referral by a GP. Previously, women with breast symptoms were referred by their GP to the breast team however they underwent imaging prior to their appointment. This has changed as not all patients require imaging. All women are now seen for an initial consultation with a Breast Consultant before any investigations are carried out in order to eliminate any unnecessary investigations being performed. The Consultant will assess the patient and decide whether further tests, such as a mammogram or ultrasound, are necessary. If breast imaging is considered necessary, an appointment is made for the same day and the results are available on the day, wherever possible.

There are now separate clinics for new patients, follow up and result appointments following a biopsy and appointment times have been extended to give patients more time to talk through the treatment options and address concerns they may have.

Speaking about the recent improvements made to the service, Mr Parker said: “I am pleased to have joined a breast unit that is patient focused and forward thinking and wants to provide the best service possible for the women on the Island.  The service reconfiguration has stream-lined the service so that patients can be seen promptly and the small number of patients who do have breast cancer have longer appointments to be able to talk through the diagnosis and plan their treatment.”

Anyone unsure about the Breast Screening Programme and would like further information can visit the he National Breast Screening Programme website www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk or telephone the Breast Screening Unit at St. Mary’s Hospital on 01983 534560.

The majority of services provided by Isle of Wight NHS Trust are commissioned and funded by Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS England and Isle of Wight Council.

 

 

Press Release

31st July 2015

Island welcomes new funding for new model of care

My Life a Full Life to be developed faster and further

NHS. England and its Five Year Forward View partners have announced that the Island’s ‘My Life a Full Life’ initiative to promote the health and well being of the Island population and to develop integrated care, focused on the needs of the person, is to receive a share of £41million new funding this year.  This is to implement the programme at a scale and pace that would not otherwise be possible with current resources.

The Island was identified in March 2015 by NHS. England and its Five Year Forward View partners new models of care programme as one of the first 29 ‘Vanguard’ sites which would lead the way in developing new models of care for the rest of England.  Following a successful two day visit to the Island in May 2015 by the team from NHS. England and its partners, the Island was invited to bid for the funds required to implement My Life a Full Life more quickly, and there will be the opportunity to secure funding for further support over the coming years.

 The £41m has been approved in principle for the following Vanguards:

·       Better Care Together (Morecambe);

·       Better Local Care (Southern Hampshire);

·       My Life a Full Life (Isle of Wight);

·       Salford Together and

·       Wirral Partners.

The final amount for the Isle of Wight and the other Vanguards in this group will be finalised in August.

‘My Life a Full Life’ is a partnership of organisations on the Isle of Wight and includes the Island’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Council, NHS. Trust (a unique provider of ambulance, community, hospital and mental health services), One Wight Health (the GP. collaborative) and the voluntary sector.  Jointly they serve a population of 140,000 with 2.5m visitors per annum on an offshore Island which is only accessible by sea and air.

Our integrated ‘My Life’ model is:

·       Prevention-based.

·       Health and well being focussed.

·       Built on the involvement of people, families and carers.

·       Encouraging people to live healthy and well and build on people’s individual strengths

·       Maximising the potential of local communities as a means of support for local people

At the centre of our model is the person.   Individuals will be supported by My Life Coordinators who will coordinate and navigate support for the person across the community and care system. This coordination role will triage, reduce complexity, increase awareness of care and support and maximise improved outcomes for the person.    Three Integrated Locality Teams (teams that work seamlessly together) will deliver person centred care and support in the community, with GP clinical leadership and multi-specialist staff.

Our new care model is aimed at improving health and well being, care and quality outcomes, delivering more care at home and in the community. The key features of the current and future care models are shown below:

Current model   Future model   
Currently, there is a larger reliance on statutory services. Our model has been:

·       Episode based

·       Unintegrated and disjointed.

·       Profession directed.

·       Doesn’t give flexibility for where people receive care and support.

·       Financially unsustainable.  People will have greater involvement with their associate life and family/friends. Our co-produced new care model:

·       Builds on people’s and community strengths

·       Is person centred and directed

·       Has integrated services

·       Is based in the community / at home

·       Is a significant shift to prevention

·       Reduces reliance on statutory services

·       Is a sustainable model for the future  

Suzanne Wixey, MLAFL. Programme Director says: “This is fantastic news and the result of a lot of hard work by all the agencies involved.   The age and well being of the Island’s current population is a reflection of how the rest of England’s population will be in 20 years’ time. We want to be a Centre of Excellence and lead the way for delivering care, health and well being in isolated communities, and want to extend the programme to include children and mental health. When we get care right here, we can lead the way for the rest of the country.   We want to accelerate delivery of our programme and Vanguard support enables us to forge ahead.”

The agreed programme for the remainder of 2015/16 includes:

·       Prevention and Early Intervention: to develop a comprehensive prevention strategy, expand Local Area Coordinators, and expand a pilot for mental health treatment using new technology.

·       Integrated Access: to provide crisis response and reduce hospital admissions. Over the next 12-months utilise technologies to give a holistic and coordinated point of contact.

·       Integrated Locality Teams: to embed multi professional locality teams, changing the way care is delivered on the Island. Within 2015-16, we will have more care delivered in the community and GP demand managed in new ways.

·       We will undertake a Whole Integrated System Review covering our whole system (including Primary Care, Secondary Care, Social Care, Mental Health and Children’s Services).  This will reflect the work already undertaken and we will build on this to identify the impact of new models of care and support across the system. This will enable us to implement change quicker in some areas and will also provide a blueprint for sustainable services elsewhere.

·       We will review and start to bring together Statutory Organisations, sharing functions such as Information Technology, Human Resources, Estates, Commissioning, Provision of Services across health and social care and this could include the voluntary sector.

Suzanne continued: “We believe it will deliver improved outcomes for people, families and carers, whilst reducing bureaucracy and duplication thus leading to more effective, efficient support and responses to people’s, families’ and carer’s individual needs.”

The anticipated outcomes are:

·       Care is personalised for the individual.

·       People have access to a range of support that helps them live the life they want and remain a contributing member of their community.

·       People have access to easy to understand information about health, wellbeing, care and support, which is consistent and accessible and up to date.

·       People are able to get skilled advice to plan their care and support.

·       People are able to plan ahead and keep control at times of crisis

·       People have considerate support delivered by competent people

·       People tell their story once and are listened to

The anticipated efficiencies are:

·       Reduced duplication

·       Improved skill-mix to provide staff with a wider skill-set and allow greater flexibility

·       Provision,  purchasing of services and core functions of statutory organisations streamlined (to lead to a reduction in overall costs).

·       A  financially and clinically sustainable health, care and well being system for the future

·       Centre of excellence in leadership and workforce: giving the Island the right resources, with the right skills, in the right place.

The following quotes are from a range of organisations and individuals involved with ‘My Life a Full Life’:

Michael Bulpitt, Chief Executive at Community Action Isle of Wight

“This additional funding shows that NHS. England and its Five Year Forward View partners recognise that the Island has an approach that has real potential to meet the difficult challenges we know exist. From helping people to help themselves, to joining up ICT. systems, to taking a more preventative approach, we’ve shown real ambition in our proposals and been rewarded.   Now the hard work starts.”

Jo Dare, Chief Executive Officer at Age UK. Isle of Wight

“We are very pleased to have been involved in the development of the My Life a Full Life Vanguard bid which highlighted the significant benefits of the voluntary and community sector working alongside our colleagues in the CCG, Trust and IW. Council.  This partnership has been rewarded by NHS. England and its Five Year Forward View partners with funding and expertise to drive forward our vision for integrated services which is excellent news and will really make a difference to Islanders using health and social care services.”

Dr John Rivers, Shanklin GP. and Chairman, Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG):

 “Health and Care on the Island has historically been reliant on statutory services.  Workforce shortages and financial pressures mean that this approach is no longer sustainable. Our plans to integrate services and develop the potential of the private and voluntary sector along with supporting more self-care are at the heart of our My Life a Full Life model.   Vanguard support will help us accelerate the delivery to move to this new care model.   This was always going to be challenging but with the additional funding for 2015/16 we will be able to make progress more quickly.  I am confident that with the support of all organisations we can create a care system on the Island which will be a beacon for the rest of England.”

Dr Mark Pugh, Executive Medical Director at Isle of Wight NHS Trust.

 “We all know that health and social care services across England face significant challenges with rising demand and broadly static funding and the Island is no different.  We need a new model of care which is sustainable and can deliver a service which is tailored to individual needs.   With this funding we now have the opportunity to develop a ground breaking innovative service.   These are exciting times for the Island and it is essential that we grasp this opportunity to create something of lasting benefit for everyone.”

Prof Rida Elkheir, Director of Public Health at the Isle of Wight Council.

 “This funding is wonderful news for the Isle of Wight. It will enable us to continue the excellent work we’ve already been doing across all of our services to integrate and provide a quality service for Island residents; one that is simple and intuitive to engage with.

“I look forward to engaging with local residents, to finding out their experiences and to seeking new ways for us to make that process easier. I know that many people have already been supported through our new ways of working, with fewer unnecessary contacts with multiple agencies, and have had very positive outcomes. Let’s do more of this!”

Councillor Stephen Stubbings, Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Community Well-Being:

“This extra funding is vindication of the model that we proposed at the start of this journey, for truly integrated services on the Isle of Wight. We knew then that our ‘one island’, whole-system approach to health and social care services would make a real difference to Island residents, and now, with this new funding in place, we have a real opportunity to drive forward that agenda.”

Dorothy Moir, an Island resident with experience of using and working with the services and organisations involved.

“This is excellent news and will bring benefits to all of us who live on the Island. Thanks to all those from every sector who have worked so hard to bring the IW bid to fruition.  NHS England Vanguard funding will build on existing good practice and will help NHS and Social Services and Third Sector organisations to work more closely together to improve our health and social care provision.”

Dave Burbage, Managing Director of the Isle of Wight Council.

 “I am very pleased to hear that the Isle of Wight has received further funding for this excellent project; one that will make a huge difference to the way health and social care services are delivered on the island which will make significant improvements to the wellbeing of Islanders though the care they receive being organised according to their needs.

“I look forward to seeing our ambitions become reality more swiftly, thanks to this extra funding. Person centered care is fundamental to our ambition for Island health and social care services and I look forward to working with our range of partners to deliver this vital project.”

Karen Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Isle of Wight NHS. Trust

“This is great news. We’ll be able to use the extra funding to push ahead with the development and implementation of our plans to integrate and improve the Island’s health and social care services and make them sustainable.   Person centered quality care is what we are aiming to deliver across the Island in collaboration with partners in the public, voluntary and private sectors.”

Martin Elliott, Director of Adult Social Care at Isle of Wight Council.

“Our ambition at the outset of this project was to create an integrated service that felt, to our residents, that the Isle of Wight provided a joined up service that was easy to access, communicated well, and treated people as people; not clients or patients.

“My Life a Full Life is doing just that.  The benefits we have seen already are testament to the excellent work already taking place.  And now, with this additional funding we will be able to make rapid improvements to support people who need health and social care support.”

Dr Michelle Legg, Ryde GP. and Chair of One Wight Health, the Island’s GP. collaborative.

“This is brilliant news.  This funding confirms that NHS. England has sufficient confidence in the My Life a Full Life programme and our new model of care to want us to roll out its development.   Without the funding we wouldn’t be able to do this quickly.   As a practicing GP on the Island I know that we cannot continue to provide services in the same old way.  We all need to change the way we access and consume health and social care services so that they are sustainable into the future.”