A BUZZ of ideas and discussion was seen at two major events intended to help in the transformation of approaches to health and social care in Wigtownshire.
The public workshops in Wigtown and Stranraer last week were part of Transforming Wigtownshire – an innovative programme which sees service providers working in partnership with communities to develop new, sustainable approaches from the ground up.
Lynda McKie is project manager for Transforming Wigtownshire, and she said: “We’re extremely grateful to everyone who took part in these very well-attended events.
“The intention was to move forward discussion about issues that matter to people in Wigtownshire around health and social care.
“And these workshops have proved very valuable in drilling into those issues, developing discussion in these areas and starting to think about what approaches can be taken making best use of available resources.”
Topics covered at the workshops included mental and physical wellbeing and health and social care education, as well as ways of using technology to provide easier access to support.
Discussion also took place around the best use of facilities including Galloway Community Hospital, where investment has been continuing in areas including ophthalmology and dialysis.
And those attending the workshops included representatives of organisations for across Wigtownshire, as well as member of the public, along professionals working within the field of health and social care.
Lynda said: “Obviously, it’s not going to be possible to transform our approaches to health and social care overnight.
“However, we really feel that we’re making good progress, and that this approach is the correct one.
“We’re encouraging everyone to come together and explore ways to tackle the challenges we face, such as attracting and retaining staff as well as meeting the needs of our increasingly older population.
“Now we need more people to get involved and together build approaches which work not just for them but generations to come.”
The workshops follow a summer of activity by the Transforming Wigtownshire team.
This included engaging with people at the Wigtown and Stranraer shows, as well as meeting members of local community councils.
And two weeks ago, members of the team attended a special Wigtownshire Women’s Institute Health and Wellbeing event – setting out the project to over 80 attendees.
The next step in Transforming Wigtownshire is to collate the information from the events, and to begin looking at specific areas, such as Services for Older People, Emergency and Urgent care and Maternity services.
The programme will also be promoted at the Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership annual review and NHS Dumfries and Galloway annual review which takes place at Creebridge House Hotel, Newton Stewart, from 10.30 am on Thursday November 1.
Anyone interested in joining the Transforming Wigtownshire programme is asked to contact Lynda McKie by emailing [email protected] or phoning 01776 707737.
