News and information
Assurances over Scarborough Hospital future
Published on Oct 15, 2018
You may have seen recent social media posts or heard rumours about the future of Scarborough Hospital.
York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Scarborough and Ryedale CCG and East Riding CCG, working under the auspices of the Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership, are undertaking an independent review of the configuration of Scarborough acute services.
This review is at a very early stage, and contrary to what has been reported in the media and on social media, we are not in formal consultation and there are no proposals for what any of our services might look like in the future.
The review is looking at the services that are currently provided and through detailed analysis will seek to understand the health needs of our population now, what they might look like in the future, and how these might be met.
We have been as open as possible and involved as many clinicians as we can in the early stage of this review. This work is likely to take many months and there will be opportunities for staff and the public to get involved.
The events that are taking place this week (Monday 15 October in Scarborough and Tuesday 16 October in Bridlington) are not to consult on proposals, as no proposals have been developed.
The meetings, aimed at people who are members of various local health networks and groups, are to seek input into the development of evaluation criteria on options for sustainable services in Scarborough.
Healthcare is changing, people are living longer and there is a growing need for different types of health and care services, which are often provided outside of hospitals. This should mean that, with increased out-of-hospital care, fewer people will require the types of services that acute hospitals currently provide. Whilst this is good news for patients, it puts pressure on hospitals such as Scarborough where we are already seeing challenges in recruiting enough specialist staff or seeing enough patients to make services sustainable. We need to think about how we can do things differently to provide the best services for local people, not just finding a ‘quick fix’ for the problems we face now, but finding longer term solutions that meet local needs.
We have committed to retaining an emergency department in Scarborough, and to do anything else would be unthinkable not least due to the impact on other hospitals and the local population. Our efforts are focussed on what we have to have at Scarborough and what innovative staffing models we can develop to safely deliver them if traditional staffing is not possible.
Read MoreNHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG invites local organisations to Commissioning Maze event
Published on Oct 1, 2018
NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning (CCG) group is inviting community organisations in Ryedale to play the Commissioning Maze and manage the local NHS budget.
The Commissioning Maze is a board game used to generate discussion about specific spending decisions made by NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG and is an opportunity for local groups to gain a greater understanding of the commissioning process.
Organisations who take part will be allocated a real-life NHS budget and as they play they will be faced with a number of scenarios covering topics such as public health, patient experience, innovation and prevention.
There will be a member of staff from the CCG on each table who will help teams make decisions and take notes; this feedback will be used to influence the CCG’s future commissioning priorities.
Derwent GP and NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG Governing Body member, Dr Chris Ives, said: “The CCG is always looking for ways to engage with the community; the Commissioning Maze is a good way to help people understand the limited budget we have and the difficult spending decisions we sometimes have to take.
“When we’ve played the game with community groups in the past, it’s generated fantastic discussions as they’ve grappled with different spending priorities and put forward their approach to a range of realistic NHS spending scenarios.
‘For me, the feedback we gather from these events is a key part of how we make decisions going forward and helps us develop as a commissioner of NHS services.” The event will be hosted at Malton and Norton Rugby Club on Wednesday 24 October from 6pm to 8pm, with a free pie and pea supper for everyone attending.
If your community organisation is interested in being involved and would like to bring along a team to the event, please get in touch and register your interest by Friday 12 October 2018 to alex.flowers@nhs.net.
Read MoreWork starts on improvements to specialist community mental health services for new and expectant mums
Published on Oct 1, 2018
Mental health services for new and expectant mums in the Humber region and parts of Yorkshire are expanding this autumn using an NHS cash injection worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Having secured part of a £23 million NHS England grant earlier this year, the Humber Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership – an alliance of more than 20 healthcare organisations, Local Authorities and Voluntary Sector organisations – will work together to deliver perinatal mental health services across Hull, East Riding, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Scarborough and Ryedale, and York.
From 1 October, the services will extend to ensure women who experience complex mental health needs, as well as their families receive the support they need and have access to treatments at the earliest possible stage.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust is strengthening its specialist community perinatal mental health services in Hull and East Riding, whilst working collaboratively with NAViGO and Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust to implement a new service for the North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire areas.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust will provide new, much needed community perinatal mental health services across the Vale of York and Scarborough.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive and the Mental Health Partnership Lead, Michele Moran said: “We are delighted to have started work on improvements to a much needed service to the Yorkshire, Humber and North Lincolnshire regions.
“So many new and expectant mothers experience mental health problems and we’re proud to work with our partners to extend the perinatal service into underserved areas and hopefully help hundreds of women and their families.”
The funding granted is part of a £365 million plan to ensure 30,000 more women can access specialist perinatal services by 2021.
Michelle Thompson, Assistant Director for Women’s and Children’s services for North East Lincolnshire CCG and the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership Lead said: “Having a baby is a major life event for mums and dads, and it’s natural to experience a whole range of emotions and reactions during and after pregnancy.
“But if these problems start to have a big impact on day to day life, it might be a sign of a mental health problem and this service will provide some much needed specialist support for local families who are experiencing difficulties during or after the birth of their child.”
Read MoreNew service provider for minor eye conditions in Scarborough and Ryedale
Published on Sep 26, 2018
A new service provider has been announced to deliver a Minor Eye Conditions Service (MECS) across Scarborough, Ryedale and the Vale of York.
Healthcare Business Solutions UK has been announced as the new provider as a result of a recent formal procurement process.
NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will be working with the new provider to help mobilise the new service beginning on 1 December 2018.
Both NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG and Vale of York CCG will deliver the MECS from community optician practices in their area meaning many patients will be seen closer to home rather than if they were referred into the hospital eye service.
The service will assess and treat a wide range of conditions, including: ocular pain and irritation, blurred vision, or flashes and floaters.
Scarborough Medical Group GP and NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG Associate Chairman, Dr Peter Billingsley, said: “When suffering from minor eye conditions it is important you are seen by the right healthcare professional depending on your condition, as well as being able to access the service closer to home and at a convenient time.
“The demand on GPs is currently very high and making sure patients are referred to the correct healthcare professional first time is only going to benefit local practices and hospital services.”
Patients will be seen by an optometrist with additional accreditation in minor eye conditions, within 24 or 48 hours depending of the urgency of the symptoms, so that many patients will be seen sooner than if they made an appointment to see their GP or were referred into the hospital eye service.
Read MoreMums and dads urged to take up flu vaccination offer for their children
Published on Sep 18, 2018
Mums and dads in Scarborough and Ryedale are being urged to get their child vaccinated against the flu.
The vaccine is free for the majority of children aged two and three years old, primary school age children and youngsters with a health condition that puts them at greater risk from flu.
The annual vaccination programme in schools in our area is being delivered by nurses from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust’s Childhood Immunisation Team.
Parents are being reminded to complete the online consent form for their child, available at www.hdft.nhs.uk/flu-consent or complete the paper form circulated by some schools.
The online consent form is easy to fill in and will take around 10 minutes. Parents will be prompted to type in their child’s school code, provided on the website and can also read a range of Frequently Asked Questions about the nasal flu vaccine.
For children aged two and three, the vaccine is available at their local GP practice.
Dr Greg Black, Governing Body member and Medicines Lead for NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “Flu can be a very unpleasant illness in children causing fever, stuffy nose, dry cough, sore throat, aching muscles and joints, and extreme tiredness. This can last several days or more and in many cases will lead to a parent having to take time off work to look after their poorly child.
“Some children can get a very high fever, sometimes without the usual flu symptoms, and may need to go to hospital for treatment. Children under the age of five have the highest rate of hospital admissions due to flu. Serious complications of flu include a painful ear infection, acute bronchitis, and pneumonia.
“The nasal vaccine provided through the schools vaccination programme offers good protection against flu, particularly in young children. It also reduces the risk of a child passing on the virus to a more vulnerable member of their family, such as a baby brother or sister who is too young to be vaccinated, or elderly relative who is at greater risk from complications caused by the flu.
“This particular flu vaccination has been given to millions of children worldwide and is the single most effective protection against flu we have.”
Meanwhile, in a series of films for social media – also available to watch at www.hdft.nhs.uk/flu-consent – children from North Yorkshire have been giving their opinions about the nasal flu spray and why it’s important to have it. Youngsters Maisie, Jude, Reggie, Oliver and Noah remarked how “it tickles”, “it goes up a nose hole” and how “it protects my grandma”.
Lois Alderson, Clinical Lead for Childhood Immunisations in North Yorkshire said: “We had a lot of fun talking with our five youngsters and finding out what they thought about the nasal flu spray.
“As nurses we know the benefits of having the vaccine and we know parents do too. But we thought it would be interesting to see what some of the young people actually receiving the vaccine thought about it and if they understood why it was so important.
“And even if one child thought it would protect the moon too, it was great to see they knew why it was important and what the benefits were of having it.”
You can also watch each film here:
Maisie: https://youtu.be/Ts_4QU8r7x8
Reggie: https://youtu.be/mscrFf8vAFo
Jude: https://youtu.be/rRE2IK3QBPQ
Oliver: https://youtu.be/1DKuMFDTre0
Noah: https://youtu.be/ngu2pbd08QI
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