An exciting opportunity to improve your services in Edenbridge for the future Tell us what you think about ideas to bring together the care you get from your GP practice and NHS staff in the community. Have your say 24 May to 8 July 2016 NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust Edenbridge Medical Practice
Everyone knows Edenbridge needs a new surgery. This gives us an exciting opportunity to reshape health services in Edenbridge, operating from modern premises to deliver first class healthcare for years to come. Simon Morrison Senior Partner Edenbridge Medical Practice 1
Why are we asking for your views? We know the care you receive from your GP practice and in the community is really important to you and your family. The people who plan and pay for the care you get (NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group), your GPs from the Edenbridge Medical Practice and Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, which provides NHS care in people s homes and the community hospital, have come together to look at how we can do things differently. You are already telling us that the GP practice is too small and we know it will struggle as new homes are built in Edenbridge. The community hospital is old and it will be hard for it to keep up with modern standards of care in the future. We think this could be an exciting opportunity to create a community hub to improve the care you and your family receive. We want you to have shorter waiting times to see your healthcare professional. We want you to get the treatment you need for more illnesses and conditions right here in the town. That includes things like rehabilitation to get you back home and on your feet after being in Maidstone or Tunbridge Wells hospitals, and nursing teams that can visit you at home if you are frail and need help urgently so you don t have to go into hospital. People are living longer with more illnesses, which means NHS resources need to be stretched further. So we need to help you to stay healthy in the first place and, when you do need our support, to work smarter together so we are making the best use of your money. This includes making sure you don t end up seeing lots of different people from the NHS for different care in different places. There isn t more money from Government to do everything, so we have to make some choices about what is available here in the town and what would be available across a wider area. It could mean a big change to what we have now with services being provided under one roof. We have some suggestions later on in this document about things we might be able to do. They are just ideas. We want your views on them and to hear about anything else you think we should be doing. You can give your views by filling out the questionnaire in this leaflet. The deadline for responses is Friday, 8 July. No decisions will be made yet. As well as getting your feedback on the suggestions, we are looking at what changes will have the greatest impact on your health and how we can get the most out of the money available to pay for this care. When we have all this information, later on in the year we will ask for your views on proposed options for the future. Yours sincerely Ian Ayres, Chief Operating Officer NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group Dr Simon Morrison, Senior Partner Edenbridge Medical Practice Paul Bentley, Chief Executive Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust You can give us your views by: Post fill in and return the feedback form by using the freepost address. Visiting www.kentcht.nhs.uk/ edenbridgefuture where you can give your feedback online Tweeting @nhskentchft Emailing kchft.edenbridge@nhs.net Calling 01233 667816 Meeting There will also be opportunities for you to meet with us during the next couple of months. To find out when and where visit www.kentcht.nhs.uk/ edenbridgefuture or phone us on 01233 667816 You can drop-in to Edenbridge Community Hospital to find out more between the times listed below. You do not need an appointment, please just turn up. Friday 27 May 9.30 to 11.30am Friday 3 June 12noon to 2pm Tuesday 14 June 7 to 9pm Friday 24 June 2 to 4pm. Edenbridge Medical Practice serves 12,400 people in and around Edenbridge. This is expected to rise to almost 15,000 by 2020. 2
What you have told us so far We regularly ask for your views to find out what you think about the care you and your family get. You said lots of positive things but you also said... We have to park so far away when we have a doctor s appointment The x-ray isn t always open so we still have to go somewhere else even after seeing a nurse I sometimes end up at the minor injury unit because I can t get in to see my doctor Everyone at the medical practice is great but it s hard to see my own doctor I don t always know what is happening next or who I am going to see The minor injury unit is great but sometimes we have to wait for a long time to be seen Edenbridge Hospital is clean and the care is good but the layout isn t good for patients privacy There are so many people involved, I don t know who is in charge of my care or how to get in touch with them The care is excellent but I can t always get an appointment when I need one Our community must retain medical services at its heart provided by the excellent doctors and nurses we have right here. I hope everyone in Edenbridge will get involved in helping the NHS design services that enable this. Tom Tugendhat MBE MP 3 4
What can we do differently? We know we need to make changes to be able to give you and your family the best care we can for the future. There is only so much money and we can t have everything in every town so we need to make the best use of what is available. Here are some suggestions for you to think about. This is your turn to tell us what you think and say if you think there are better ways we haven t thought about. Have a new, bigger and better GP surgery but don t do anything else The GP surgery would move to a better, bigger building in Edenbridge. This means it could train new doctors, have a bigger, better dispensary and would be a better environment for patients. Things to think about: There would be fewer opportunities for community services to be joined up with services provided by the GP practice. There would also be less money to invest in community services. Bring the GPs and community care together under one roof How have we come up with these suggestions? It s early days but we have lots of feedback about what you think of the care you have now. We ve looked at what works well in other parts of the country and talked to GPs and other people involved in your care. We ve looked at the number of people needing to see their GP or use other NHS services, how that has increased and how many people might need it in the future. The GPs, community nurses and therapists would be based in one building. This would mean you would be able to see a range of people about different needs in one place and it would be easier for them to work together to join up your care. There would be more space for the GP surgery to expand. You could be seen for a wider range of illnesses, have more minor surgery and there could be a wider range of tests and treatments too, which are currently only provided in the bigger hospitals. There would be a minor injury unit and x-ray department open for longer. There would be closer links with the rapid response teams who see you in your home. There could also be out-patient appointments, a range of clinics, for example foot care and surgery, speech and language therapy and mental health, as well as support from social services and voluntary groups. Things to think about: We know the local community has a lot of affection for the hospital, however the current building is not the best environment for modern care in the future. We would need to prioritise what goes into the new building and we hope you would help us make those choices. What s most important to you? 5 6
Questions and answers Why are changes needed? The GP practice is too small and we know it will struggle as new homes are built in Edenbridge. The community hospital is old and it will be hard to keep up with modern standards of care in the future. We are always looking to improve the care we deliver for you. We think this provides an exciting opportunity to deliver an innovative healthcare service for the town, which is fit for future generations, possibly based at a new community hub. Will you really listen? Yes. This is the start of a conversation about what the future could look like. We are holding these discussions so we can find out what your priorities are and the services you rely on; including your thoughts on bringing GP and community services together under one roof. Your feedback will be used to develop options for the future which, if viable, will be formally consulted on by west Kent commissioners. How can I have a say? As well as this listening event, we will be holding drop-in sessions at Edenbridge hospital, for anyone in the community to attend, where people can come along and talk to us. Or if you would like us to come to a group you are involved in, please let us know and we will try to accommodate this. There will also be opportunities for people to give their views online, by email and through social media, contact details are listed in this document. When will you make a decision and what will you base it on? Over the next couple of months, we will be aiming to speak to as many local people as possible. As well as getting your feedback, we will look at what changes will have the greatest impact on your health and how we can get the most out of the money available to pay for this care. When we have all this information, we will develop options for the future. These will be informed by a combination of the feedback we receive; which services will provide the best outcomes and treatments for you, and how we make the best use of the workforce and funding available. These options will then be consulted on through a public consultation later this year. NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group will then consider the public response to the consultation before taking a decision on the way forward. Is there going to be an investment in services or is this about saving money? There is no new money from Government, but this is not about saving money. We need to make better use of the resources we have, including our staff and new technology, which means more people can receive care at home for longer and live independently. More people are living longer with more complex conditions, which puts pressure on our resources so we need to do more with what is available. We also need to plan NHS support to provide care locally now and for the future. We want to provide support for people to help them stay fit and healthy as well as recover swiftly from illness. Are you going to close the hospital? We are interested in your views on a new community hub that would be the base for both the GP practice and community staff and services. It would be designed to offer the best possible conditions for modern primary and community healthcare. The current GP practice and community hospital cannot provide this. However, the immediate discussions are not about buildings. They are about getting the services right for the people of Edenbridge and seeing how health and care professionals in Edenbridge can increase our capacity to deliver those services by working together. Once we know what these services need to be, discussions about buildings will come later. What will happen to the Minor Injury Unit? We know how important the MIU is to you and we see it as being a crucial part of the plans for the future. Having said that, this is about you prioritising what is most important to you, and we won t make any assumptions. We want to hear back from you about services including the Minor injury Unit. Where would the new building be? We don t know yet we want your views on the right services for Edenbridge and the idea of a community hub first, before we start to consider where they might be delivered from. If there is support for a new community hub, we will need to take into account the best use of resources, transport and parking. Our plans may require planning permission and significant planning and investment. The best option will depend on the feedback we receive on the services needed and this will form part of the future consultation. What will happen to the war memorial? If services were to be provided from a different location, we would look at options to relocate the war memorial, taking local views into account. There is a national shortage of clinical staff. Where will you get the staff from? Bringing together staff from the practice and community trust would provide opportunities to deliver services in different ways and could provide staff with a more attractive working environment, which has a broader range of clinical roles and career opportunities. This is already happening in other parts of Kent, where community nurses and practice nurses work as one team, sharing out home visits to housebound patients so the patients see the nurse with the combination of skills they need. Who would pay for the new building? This is something that would need to be explored and there are various options. One of the options would be a public/private partnership. The building is owned by the NHS nationally. NHS Property Services would decide what would happen to the building. Answers to more questions can be found at www.kentcht.nhs.uk/edenbridgefuture 7 8
THE WAY FORWARD All of the feedback we receive during this engagement programme will be considered along with more detailed information about the cost and clinical case for each model. We will then come up with detailed proposals which will be consulted on later this year. Please send your completed questionnaire to the freepost address by Friday, 8 July. Alternatively, you can complete the form online at www.kentcht.nhs.uk/edenbridgefuture Alternative versions If you would like this information in another language, audio, Braille, Easy Read or large print, please contact us on 01233 667816 or email KCHFT.involveme@nhs.net. 9
Tell us what you think? 1. What do you think about the need for a bigger GP surgery? 2. What do you think are the benefits of bringing GPs and community care under one roof with staff working together to provide your care? 3. Do you think there are any disadvantages to this? 4. What GP and community services would you like to see in Edenbridge?
5. Do you have another suggestion we haven t thought about or something that we might not have considered? More about you To help us to make sure we are hearing from a wide range of people from different ethnicities, ages and backgrounds, please could you fill in this form. The NHS will only use this information for monitoring purposes. We will not process it any further, it will not be shared with any third parties and all results will be anonymised. 1. Please indicate your age group: Under 18 years 18-25 years 26-30 years 31-40 years 41-50 years 51-60 years 61-70 years 71-80 years More than 80 years Prefer not to answer 2. Please indicate your gender: Male Female Transgender Prefer not to answer 3. Please indicate your ethnic group? Choose 1 option that best describes this. White English/Welsh/ Scottish/Northern Irish/British... Irish... Gypsy or Irish Traveller... Any other White background, please write in below:... Asian/ Asian British Indian... Pakistani... Bangladeshi... Chinese... Any other Asian background, please write in below:... Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups White and Black Caribbean... White and Black African... White and Asian... Any other Mixed/ Multiple ethnic background, please write in below:... 4. Do you live in Edenbridge? Yes No 5. If you are interested in being involved in the continuing work to improve services in Edenbridge, please complete your contact details below: Name: City/Town: Email Address: Telephone Number: Black/African/ African... Caribbean/ Caribbean... Black British Any other Black / African / Caribbean background, please write in below:... Other ethnic group... Arab... Prefer not to answer... 6. And please indicate how would you like to be involved in the future? Please tick all that apply. Via email/online Attend an organised group (with a companion or advocate) Other, please write in:
00448 Produced by the Communications and Marketing Team www.kentcht.nhs.uk Freepost RSYZ-CKAR-BGAA Communications and Marketing Team Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust The Oast Hermitage Lane Barming MAIDSTONE Kent ME16 9NT Thank you for telling us what you think. Your views will help the NHS in Edenbridge improve care for you and your family.