Penwith Pioneer Project
Penwith Pioneer project is an exciting local Health and Social Care project. It is bringing together voluntary and statutory organisations to start a revolution in how we provide health care services. Their starting point is all of us who want to live well and safe, in our own homes. The project aims to break down all the separate teams and services that provide a bit of this and a bit of that and talk of ‘the patient’ to create a flexible service, with no rule book or barriers and remembers we are all people! Those taking part in the pilot will have a conversation with workers and have the chance to say how they would like their lives to be, whether that is to be able to throw the ball for their dog again or be able to do their own shopping.
A very small pilot in Newquay had impressive results at reducing people’s dependency on health and social care packages and reconnecting people back into their communities. The project reduced admissions to hospital and the people who took part in the pilot all spoke positively of how much it changed their lives.
The pilot here will involve at least 1,000 people. The local project is looking to attract volunteers to assist those who have the most complex needs and have become isolated from their communities to get back outside the walls of their homes. If you want to get involved then contact Helen Snashall on 07968706107 or email helen@volunteercornwall.org.uk .
If you want an entertaining but informative description of how decisions and funding flows though our current health system then visit http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-65/alternative-guide-new-nhs-england. I’ve watched it a number of times and it amazes me how anything gets done!! All credit to the Health professionals that do such a great job with this bureaucracy (all well intended) tied to their feet. I would need to watch it daily to really get my head around it. Lord Miners said the structure of the Co-op was discombobulating. I declare that the Health Service structure is discombobulating!
The Penwith Pioneer Project is a bottom up rather than top down re-organisation and I believe that the professionals on the ground are inspiring, and if allowed to, will make this work. The beauty, if they pull it off, is it will improve the care we all receive, especially as we become older AND it will cost less.