Falmouth residents can have their say on hospitals and health service shake-up

Local health and care leaders say the current system needs reform and people must seize the moment to reform services including GPs, community services, hospitals and home care.

NHS England has set out a series of Sustainability and Transformation Plans for each area of the country, including Cornwall, setting out proposed changes to the service, and a public meeting is to be held in Falmouth this month.

The public will be able to examine the plans and discuss them at the Maritime Museum on Monday, January 16, from 3pm to 4.30pm

Phil Confue, the senior responsible officer for the health and social care Sustainability and Transformation Plan and chief executive of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: "Lifestyles, communities and technology have changed and our approach has become outdated, fragmented and reactive. We also cannot ignore the fact that the NHS is spending more money than is allocated and not always in cost effective ways.

"Local services must adapt to meet the needs of the current and future population - including those who visit our region each year. We must put more focus and resources into preventing ill health, keeping people in their homes or communities and adapting services for a growing, ageing and technology enabled population."

He added: "We want to continue to involve the local community in making the changes and encourage as many people as possible to have their say on the priorities and approach set out in the Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

"In the next five years, we have a once in a generation opportunity to change the way we provide health and social care services, and community support is vital if we are to succeed."

As well as the community event, people can have their say on the five year health and social care plans through a survey, and all the details can be found at cornwall.gov.uk/shapethefuture