The first in a number of events to gather feedback from the public on the future of health and care on the Island were held last week.
Hosted by the My Life A Full Life programme, about 75 people attended events in Shanklin and Newport to engage in lively discussions and workshop sessions which saw people share their experiences and views about health and care and what might work better.
Members of the public as well as people involved in health and care, the council and the voluntary sector all came together to talk about issues ranging from pressure on out-of-hours services to the role of education in helping the next generation make better lifestyle choices. People also talked about how services could be made easier to access and could communicate better with patients.
Participants also heard from several speakers about the My Life A Full Life health and care redesign. The redesign process, which is being managed as part of national funding from NHS England, is examining changes to the way people live and how they want to access health and care, and what that means for the future provision of services.
This My Life A Full Life team now wants to hear more from members of the public, as well as those working in health and care services, about their views on what matters to them and what they think might need to change.
People can visit www.mylifeafulllife.com/time-to-act.htm to comment online or can pick up a leaflet at a number of council and NHS locations around the Island and send in their comments by 27th May.
As well as additional events across the Island in the coming months, a formal consultation setting out proposals for change is expected later this year.
Dr John Rivers, chair of Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group, said:
“I am really concerned about the day-to-day difficulties being faced by our health and care services on the Island. In particular the shortage of doctors, nurses and carers is putting some services under excessive strain. In order to preserve and continue to improve services we urgently need to look at doing things differently. As individuals and as a community we need to reflect seriously on what we expect from our health and care services and how that could be provided safely and in a sustainable way. We need the people of the Island to let us know their views. Things will have to change and it is critical that Islanders themselves are involved in shaping the future.”
Mike Bulpitt, chief executive of Community Action Isle of Wight, said:
“It was great to see so many people engage in these first events as part of a really important discussion on the future of health and care on the Island. Getting people’s input on how services can work best moving forward will continue to be really important as the health and care redesign looks at how services might need to change. We also know the voluntary sector plays a huge role on the Island and we will be working hard to ensure its voice is heard.”
