NHS Sussex publish "Our Plan for our Population"
Health and care organisations across Sussex have set out the immediate and long-term improvements that will be made over the next five years to bring the greatest benefits for local people.
On this page you can find more information about what this means for you and some resources to help you understand the priorities and plans.
In summary
Partners working across Sussex have come together to develop our Integrated Care Strategy – Improving Lives Together – which sets out the ambitions for health and care across Sussex over the next five years.
The ambition is to improve the lives of local people by supporting them to live healthier for longer and making sure they have access to the best possible services when they need them.
To make the ambition a reality, partners have worked together to develop a Shared Delivery Plan called "Our Plan for our Population" across system partners. It aims to bring together all the work taking place into one plan so all organisations can collectively focus on bringing the greatest benefit to local people.
The improvement plan sets out the:
Long-term Improvement Priorities that will bring about the greatest long-term benefits for local people, services and our workforce.
Immediate Improvement Priorities to services that need the greatest improvement
Continuous Improvement Priorities that need to be part of all improvements that are made
The difference this will make for local people
Over the next five years, our health and care system is aiming to make tangible improvements to people’s health and health and care services that are available to them. The benefits will be varied and wide ranging but the key improvements are:
- More people being better supported to manage their own health and wellbeing so they can stay healthier for longer and will be better supported to live a more fulfilled life and retain independence when they do become ill.
- More people and carers experiencing support and care that better meets their individual needs and is better suited to the community they live.
- More people having better access to services and experience more seamless care that is more focused on preventing them becoming ill.
- More people experiencing shorter waits for treatment.
- More people being cared for closer to home and those who do need inpatient hospital care will be able to return home quicker.
- Those who live in our most deprived areas and those with protected characteristics having more equitable access to services and improved experience of using services.
- More people who either have, or are at risk of, serious illness being diagnosed, supported and cared for at an earlier stage.
- More people being able to access services digitally more easily and feel supported to use technology in the best way to suit them and their needs.
Developing the plan
These plans have been developed and agreed across our health and care partners and responds to data, best practice, national policy and evidence. It is shaped by what local people have said about what matters to them and their experience of health and care.
Healthwatch has been involved in the development, ensuring that patients' voices are reflected in the plans. We are members of the Sussex Health and Care Assembly and Health and Wellbeing Board where the draft plans were discussed. Using our independence from the NHS, we have been able to challenge and question aspects of the plan's development.
We will be regularly reviewing the improvement plan to make sure our health and care system is achieving what it has committed to and make sure the system is also flexible to respond to new issues that need to be addressed in future.
The strategy for improving our health and care system and plans for its delivery have both been developed in just one year, representing a huge effort on behalf of all partners involved. Voluntary and charitable groups, including Healthwatch, have been key players in their development. The plans are purposefully ambitious and will require all partners to work together in innovative ways and include patients in different ways. Healthwatch supports the ambitions of the plan. We will bring external and independent scrutiny to the implementation of the plans, ensuring the patient experience lies at the heart of any changes."
Resources
The Integrated Care Strategy – Improving Lives Together
A summary of the Shared Deliver Plan: Our Plan for our Population
