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Chief Executive Mark Hackett said: “We welcome the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, published today. We would like to thank all those people – our staff, volunteers, patients, carers and the public – who engaged with us around the shaping of the national plan. We worked with partners across Devon and heard many moving, personal experiences, interesting insights, people’s hopes and fears for the NHS and we gathered and fed all these in to help form this national plan. We are also using that insight to help us shape local plans for the future.
“Today we welcome the plan, its 3 shifts - from hospital to community; from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention - and the move to more neighbourhood health services. At University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, we are ahead of the game in working with other healthcare providers to move services from our main specialist hospital to the community and in our work as an anchor institution to support people in leading healthy lives, from having meaningful jobs to supporting our staff, students and volunteers to work with communities to improve health and education.
“This plan signals the future direction for the NHS and we will review more of the detail contained in it over the coming days. But we are hopeful because of the great work our staff are already doing to shape services for the future in line with this. Our staff are highly skilled and innovative and they are already creating services that meet the needs of people today. For example, working with colleagues in the community to support people who are living longer but with long term conditions such as heart disease, or undertaking research to help people lead healthier lives.
“It is also important to stress that as a major trauma centre and centre for specialist care, we will always be here for people who are very unwell and need specialist treatment.”
We have gathered together some of the great case studies from Plymouth that illustrate the NHS 10 Year Health Plan in practice below:
Award-winning X-ray car service which provides diagnostics for people who have fallen in their own home. The car comes complete with a full X-Ray kit and is staffed by specialist Radiographers and Imaging Healthcare Assistants. They cover Plymouth and the surrounding areas, offering support to patients who have fallen at home or in other community settings. The service was introduced after last year’s data found that over 2,000 patients aged 55 and older, who attended the Emergency Department did not have fractures - and most had arrived by ambulance. Our Mobile X-Ray Service has now supported over 200 patients across Plymouth, West Devon and East Cornwall, by taking an x-ray machine to patients in their own residence, preventing them from needing to attend the Emergency Department and providing a full wrap-around service to support these elderly patients with an injury after a fall. This also keeps ambulances on the road for other patients, and contributes towards less crowding and shorter waiting times in our Emergency Department. We are the most improved hospital trust in the country for emergency waiting times.
More than £25m investment in a Community Diagnostic Centre in the heart of Plymouth that will see 135,000 patients per year. The Plymouth Community Diagnostic Centre is situated is one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Plymouth and will provide easier access to over 14 types of tests, including CT, MRI, Ultrasound and X-ray as well as ECHO, ECG, EEG and more.
We are leading research in the south west and we are taking research out into our communities through our Mobile Research Units and this year, using them, we have delivered a paediatric vaccine study for RSV and a study around vaping and quitting vaping (detail below). The RSV study was called Harmony and by utilising the mobile research units, we were the highest recruiting site in the UK. Our UHP Mobile Research Units are designed to bring health research directly into communities, improving accessibility and engagement in clinical trials. These units align with national healthcare priorities by reducing health inequalities, enhancing preventative care, and shifting research into community settings.
Bringing specialist cardiology advice to GP surgeries: We’re proud to share a significant improvement in how our Cardiology team supports GP surgeries through Advice and Guidance (A&G). Recognising the growing demand for cardiology and the need for timely specialist input, our consultant cardiologists dedicate time to provide this for doctors in the community so that they can, where appropriate, manage patients without them needing to be referred for hospital care All new A&G referrals received from GPs between Sunday and Thursday are reviewed within 24 hours. This rapid turnaround is designed to empower community colleagues with timely, specialist advice; helping teams manage patients more effectively without the need for formal referral to a hospital. This marks the beginning of our renewed commitment to working closely with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to enhance care for cardiology patients across the region.
A single electronic patient record for all hospitals in Devon – in an ambitious programme to transform care for patients and staff across Devon’s acute hospitals and community sites, we are implementing a single electronic patient record. By investing in a system from the same supplier, Epic, the three acute NHS trusts in Devon will be making the most of digital advances. Epic uses cutting edge technology to create an EPR where staff can access patients’ health and care information quickly and securely. For patients, this will mean they don’t have to remember their medical history or repeat the same information to different members of staff, making their care journey more joined-up. Having a single electronic patient record will also open up even greater research opportunities.
Virtual wards – working with our community partner, Livewell Southwest, we have 2 virtual wards (acute and community) with more than 200 beds when fully operating. These allow patients to get hospital-level care at home safely and in familiar surroundings, helping speed up their recovery or preventing a hospital inpatient stay as we can bring the hospital care to the. This support people to maintain their independence, have care in a familiar setting around their loved ones whilst freeing up hospital beds for patients that need them most. Just as in hospital, people on a virtual ward are cared for by a multidisciplinary team who can provide a range of ongoing treatment, care and supports with home monitoring to provide hospital care at home.
We are working to transform Mount Gould Hospital into a Centre of Excellence for Rehabilitation and Ageing Well. This is designed to address the growing demand for rehabilitation and mental health services, aligning with national healthcare goals and the evolving needs of our local population. As our community grows older, there is an increasing need for specialised care models that support patients in community or home settings, rather than in acute hospitals. The new vision for Mount Gould integrates existing services to create a more efficient, patient-centred care model, while helping to alleviate system pressures on the main Derriford Hospital site. This will ensure patients receive the right care and can return home as soon as appropriate.
We are leading on research, including into ways to help people live healthier lives, like this research into helping vapers quit
Our clinicians, for example, go into schools to train young people on CPR through the CIPR in Schools Project, an invaluable skill that could one day save someone’s life.
We are working as an anchor institution with others to address the root causes of inequality and drive inclusive, city-wide transformation in Plymouth.
