Integrated health and care – inviting communities and individuals to have their say

All NHS organisations in the area are committed to working together on ambitious plans to improve health and quality of care services for over 3 million people, in particular focusing on six shared priorities to help build a health and care system which is fit for the future by:

1. Improve population health and prevent ill health by increasing public awareness about living more healthily, by tackling the biggest causes of early death and continuing to reduce tobacco and alcohol consumption.
    
2. Improve the quality and sustainability of local health services by working with clinical teams, across organisational boundaries, to develop services which give equal access to safe, effective, high quality care and the best possible health outcomes.
    
3. Improve how we use technology to deliver more efficient, effective services and transform outpatient care by helping people make appointments, manage prescriptions and view health records online to reduce unnecessary visits to hospital or other services.
    
4. Improve the health, wellbeing and sustainability of the NHS workforce by ensuring staff have the skills and support they need, while developing collective recruitment, retention and training to facilitate working differently and more flexibly in the future.
    
5. Improve access and standards of mental health care by better coordination and consideration of the connections between physical and mental health, supporting people with severe, enduring mental illness and providing better support for children and young people.
    
6. Improve access and standards of care for people with learning disabilities so that more people can live in the community, with the right support close to home and enjoy the best possible outcomes.

At the roadshows staff, patients and members of the public can find out more about the region’s integrated care system and how NHS organisations are working together.

People will be able to share what makes them most proud of the NHS, where they would like to see improvements and what concerns them the most about the future. For those who cannot attend a roadshow, they can complete a short online survey which is available for people to feedback views:

Life expectancy for people in the North East and North Cumbria remains amongst the poorest in England and the region has some of the starkest health inequalities with high levels of preventable disease and early death rates. All of this drives much of the pressure on our local health and care system with record numbers of people accessing services year-on-year.

As part of the roadshows, people will also be urged to play their part in helping the NHS by:

• Taking more responsibility for their own health
• Having their flu jab if they need one
• Quitting smoking
• Becoming more active
• Keeping NHS appointments or cancelling them
• Choosing the right NHS service and keeping emergency services free.

Engagement with staff, patients, service users and local people will remain at the heart of how the NHS continues to make improvements to services. To see a full list of all NHS ‘Join our Journey’ roadshows visit Join Our Journey or follow @NENC_ICS on Twitter or Join Our Journey on Facebook

Teesside Roadshow dates:

• Monday 28 October: 10am – 4pm - Darlington market place
• Tuesday 29 October: 10am – 12 noon - University Hospital Hartlepool
• Tuesday 29 October: 2pm – 4pm - University Hospital of North Tees