Plan for future of health and care services across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin unveiled

The Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) for Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin sets out how the health and care system can remain fit for the future, help patients to become healthier and respond effectively to the growing demands being placed upon it.

It sets out ambitious plans for transformed neighbourhood services; safe and effective hospital care; ways in which new technology can be harnessed; and how gaps in the workforce can be filled and financial resources better spent.

The next stage will be to refine the ideas further through engagement with local communities, the NHS workforce and stakeholders.

STPs are a national initiative, and England is divided into 44 areas known as “footprints”. The Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin STP has brought together partners across the local area (including Mid Wales) to collaborate on challenges faced by the NHS in order to deliver the NHS Five Year Forward View of better health, patient care and improved efficiency.

Simon Wright, Chief Executive of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust (SaTH) and the lead for the STP said:

“NHS services in the area have some real strengths and our staff are dedicated to first class patient care. However the way services have historically evolved they are no longer able to meet the demands of the future, with ever increasing demand, and we need to change and support new solutions.

“We have set out four main priorities, some of which are more developed than others. Now we want to talk to as many people as possible about how we can help the population to become healthier with the resources available.”

The four priorities are:
Going Local
Bringing care closer to where people live, helping people avoid preventable conditions and managing long-term conditions. This is especially important in rural areas. A neighbourhood model is being developed as the basis of providing better services for patients who require professional help but not hospital care.

Safe and Effective Hospital Care
300 clinicians have helped develop plans for hospital care. They are the people who deliver NHS services day-in-day-out. A large amount of public engagement has already been carried out as part of the NHS Future Fit programme.

Into the Future
New technologies offer enormous opportunities for helping people access help and support for their health and to manage long lasting illnesses.

Staffing and financial challenges
Designing new roles for healthcare professionals and train more doctors, nurses and other staff. £74 million could be used more effectively than at present, with a need to improve efficiency.

Simon said: “We will have to be innovative and the STP details how we think the changes can be achieved in an area that is hugely diverse, with many people living in relatively deprived urban communities. We also have an enormous geographical area with people living in remote rural areas where journey times are long and public transport poor. This has helped shape our proposed neighbourhood-based approach, with teams bringing together GPs, social care professionals, community nurses, therapists, mental health workers and members of the voluntary sector to work far more closely together.”

“We also need to continue with our plans for safer and more sustainable hospital services. These are more developed due to all the work we have done through the NHS Future Fit programme, and the large amount of public engagement that has gone on over recent years.”

Simon added: “The STP is not a final detailed plan of how we want to change things. It represents the views and aspirations of the organisations involved. We will take all of these ideas to the patients who use our services and our own workforce. We’ll be talking more about this in the coming months.

“Any proposed changes will be subject to engagement, and a consultation on NHS Future Fit is already planned. We will only take forward proposals which will support the long-term future of our NHS and will benefit our patients.”