Public review of West Cornwall's healthcare (From Falmouth Packet)

Public review of West Cornwall's healthcare

10:51am Friday 13th July 2012 in News By Emma Ferguson, News Editor

Medics in West Cornwall are preparing to ask the community how healthcare can be improved in the area they live.

The aim of the review is to consider, with the public's help, where it is best to invest resources in future, whether there are better ways of meeting local health needs and to consider what can be achieved with the resources available now.

To this end a public event will be held next Wednesday, July 25 in Committee Room 1 of Penzance’s One Stop Shop at St Clare.

It is based on the old Penwith District Council site and Committee Room 1 is at the back of the building where there is car parking and disabled access.

Dr Colin Philip, chair of Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “We want people to know that we are and have been listening to their concerns around access to NHS care in west Cornwall.

“It's sometimes good to take stock of what resources we have, whether they are still right for the local population and how we can do things better in future.”

Dr Philip, the shadow commissioner of the NHS healthcare for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said they had “learnt a lot” from speaking to people in the area about developing the new 24-hour doctor-led Urgent Care Centre that has now opened in West Cornwall, adding: “It has reminded us just how vital it is to ensure that community services in Penwith match the needs of our residents.”

The CCG said that that it was these discussions over the role played by the West Cornwall Hospital that had prompted GPs in charge of commissioning healthcare to take “a fresh look” at NHS services across the whole area.

The CCG added that it wants to bring more care closer to people's homes, to reduce the need for travelling long distances and to “think innovatively” about new ways to deliver care.