A CALL is being made for everyone to help shape approaches to intermediate care within their communities – getting involved in everything from care homes to cottage hospitals.
Right Care, Right Place: Intermediate Care is seeking to establish a joined-up approach to this aspect of health and social care to ensure it is best placed to meet the needs of people in Dumfries and Galloway over coming years.
David Rowland is Director of Strategic Planning and Transformation, and he said: “We’re really pleased to now be able to launch an extremely important undertaking that will see us working in partnership with the communities right across our region.
“In broad terms, Intermediate Care describes what help people are accessing between an acute hospital setting and what they are able to manage independently at home.
“It can be about helping people remain at home when they’re becoming more dependent on care, or helping them to recover from illness, a fall or an operation. It can be about preventing people from going into hospital unnecessarily, or returning home more quickly after a hospital stay.
“Some of the key locations which feature in the delivery of Intermediate Care in Dumfries and Galloway are its many care homes, the facilities which offer respite care, and its cottage hospitals.
“We’re asking everyone to come onboard, and, from their own experience and knowledge of others’, to help build our approaches in an aspect of health and social care which is set to play a vital role in coming years.”
Right Care, Right Place: Intermediate Care will pick up from the engagement carried out by Time to Talk last summer and build on that, driving forwards to establish tangible change within our communities. This is in line with the newly established Model of Care within the Partnership’s Strategic Commissioning Plan.
A wide range of opportunities have been established for people to play their role within this work, ranging from in-person engagement sessions to an online survey.
A series of in-person events have been scheduled right across the region from the end of January until later in February.
All those attending will be offered the opportunity to either have short, focused exchanges to capture their thoughts, or the alternative of longer, in-depth discussions.
There will be a range of information on offer to help define and detail the work being undertaken, and support people to provide their view from an informed perspective.
Materials will be offered in an EasyRead version, and with translation services available upon request.
Mr Rowland said: “While the engagement sessions begin at the end of January, everyone can start getting involved right now – with the survey now live on a dedicated web-page.
“We’d encourage everyone to go to the website to find out more about Right Care, Right Place: Intermediate Care and either plan to attend one of our engagement sessions or look to complete the survey.
“It will take time to capture people’s thoughts and ideas, and to reflect these in the plans we develop to ensure our future services are best placed to meet the wide range of ever-changing need within our communities.”
For more information, or to complete the survey, please visit www.dghscp.co.uk/rightcarerightplace
