Making a Difference – Delivering Better Rural Health Gwneud Gwahaniaeth - Cyflawni Iechyd Gwledig Well Helen Howson Head of Primary and Community Health Strategy, Medical Directorate.

“We will develop and publish a Rural Health Plan, ensuring that the future health needs of rural communities are met in ways which reflect the particular conditions and characteristics of rural Wales.” (One Wales: A Progressive Agenda for the Government of Wales, 2007)

Rural Health Plan

Working from Grassroots - --

Views from the communities ’We need to train and develop staff to be multiskilled. Often you have a number of different professionals visiting people, which is inefficient. People need someone to visit and have an holistic conversation about the entirety of their needs” “The worst part of the treatment was the ambulance car service … we went via Morriston hospital and it took three hours” Case study: cancer patient ‘‘My son was injured in a school football tournament in Aberystwyth. I had to go from Aberaeron to Aberystwyth to take him to hospital. He was left by those organising the tournament lying on the football pitch – Where was the first aid? – you should have that in a tournament’’ “ Many elderly women have never learnt to drive and when their husband dies are unable to get to hospital appointments ”

The Rural Challenges ……..  Getting the right services to the right person in the right place in the right time  Engagement of local people, organisations and professionals working in partnership.  The provision of a broad, effective and affordable range of health and social care services which focus on supporting health, well being and promoting independence

Three consistent key themes emerged: Access – people to services or services to people -improving access to services across the spectrum from emergency to routine services; Integration – Integrated service models, integrated workforce, integrated planning and systems and integrated services to ensure effective use of all resources and skills Community cohesion and engagement –is an important resource and potential particularly in rural communities. Community cohesion, engagement and ownership needs to be a key element of service planning.

A Rural Health Model Village Shop Major Retail Centre Telephone and Internet Shopping GP/Nurse/Pharmacist/ Community Hospital Specialist / Tertiary Centre Telehealth Long Term Care, Chronic Conditions, Management Specialist Care, Minor Rehabilitation, Triage. According to Local Need, Minor Injuries, Specialist Services, Triage. Self-Awareness and Responsibility Home Grown Food Telemedicine, Telecare, and Telephone,Prescriptions and Appointments, Triage. Specialised Services Healthy Lifestyle Services, Self-Care Information and Advice. Supermarket Town Centre District General Hospital Surgery and A & E

Rural Health Implementation Implementation Group established under the chairmanship of Professor Marc Clement. Implementation Plan – Phase I taking account of work underway e.g community transport, ICT and integrated centres, innovation development and further work Implementation Plan - Phase II updated in light of developments and learning to date and service integration etc identifying short, medium and long term deliverables.

Rural Health Innovation Fund - Stimulate and support innovative and sustainable solutions supporting the key themes outlined in the Rural Health Plan. Develop and test models of integrated, sustainable working across health and social care addressing integrated systems, service delivery, planning and workforce development. Strengthen local ownership, engagement and rural networks supporting health and well being in rural communities. Support joint workforce training and developments supporting plans for new skills, roles and responsibilities. Identify and share examples of good practice to inform service delivery.

Rural Health Innovation Fund Local Innovation – testing new approaches to service delivery Local Models for Rural Health Planning – 2 Development Sites National coordination and evaluation

Rural Health Innovation Projects

Rural Health Telemedicine

Making a difference feeling the difference - - A journey of discovery Better outcomes for people living in rural areas Evaluating impact and measuring success Working together for added value and synergy

Thank you for listening/ Diolch i chi am wrando Rural Health website/Gwefan Iechyd Gwledig healthstrategy/ruralhealth/?lang=en Rural Health mailbox/Blwch post Iechyd Gwledig