News Health shake-up set for local area
Health chiefs are planning sweeping changes to the health service in Goole and surrounding areas.
The East Riding of Yorkshire Primary Care Trust announced a raft of new proposals this week designed to bring care closer to people's homes.
The planned changes include the introduction of specialist teams of nurses providing palliative and diagnostic care in people's homes.
These 'neighbourhood teams' would be headed by an old-fashioned matron and provide treatments such as injections and bandaging wounds after falls, so fewer people would need to go to hospital.
There would be one neighbourhood team - made up of highly-trained specialist nurses - for each PCT ward, including the Goole South ward.
The trust is also planning to localise in-patient and out-patient services which were once centralised, so people don't have to travel so far for treatment to minor injuries.
It's understood this could include new diagnostic and elective care work at Goole Hospital to save people having to travel to Hull or Scunthorpe.
The plans were revealed by PCT chairman Karen Knapton this week when she addressed a meeting of Snaith and Cowick Town Council on Tuesday.
During her address, Miss Knapton said the trust would be looking at extending opening hours at GP practices in the Goole area in line with national policy, whose aim is to have 50 per cent of GP practices operating extended hours by March next year.
She added that one of the aims of the £5 million community health drive was to bring down mortality and teenage pregnancy rates in the Goole area, which were above the national average.
The latest figures on record, for 2006/07, show that Goole was a hotspot for various health indicators such as pregnancy rates among the under-18s.
Mental health will also be targeted in the Goole South ward to drive down higher-than-average rates of mental illness.
Ms Knapton said there was "quite a big difference" in the level of mortality rates in places such as Goole, Withernsea and Bridlington, and added that there was a "big problem" with teenage pregnancies in the Goole area.
"We'll be putting a lot of money into services - including mental health - across the patch," said Ms Knapton. "Alcohol misue is also quite a big issue."
Ms Knapton talked of a "drive to bring services closer to patients" through better community services.
She said there would be six-to-eight neighbourhood teams across the region forming 'virtual wards' and supervised by a community matron, who would have a specified caseload, including a remit to work with social services.
She added that the teams - which would provide care seven days a week - would come into operation within the next two years.
"They won't just be there from Monday to Friday; they will be there on Saturdays and Sundays as well," said Ms Knapton.
She added that on their ward there would be a "slimmed-down number of staff but more than there is now".
The PCT chief said there would be a dedicated team working with the GP in each district such as Snaith.
GP practices and pharmacies would also be integral to the new multi-pronged approach.
Ms Knapton said the PCT had still not worked out which doctor's surgeries would be able to operate extra hours.
"In places where there's two practices, one might do it and the other might not," she said.
Snaith town mayor Councillor Frank Townshend said he hoped the new health drive wasn't just "pie in the sky".
He added: "I can't see why there'd have to be more than one practice in a given area to implement out-of-hours GP practices."
Cllr Townshend said he liked the idea of the community-nurse teams but added: "They make out this is some fantastic initiative, but it's what we all used to have in the old days. The only difference is that we'll be having specialist nurses coming to our homes instead of doctors."
Councillor John Barrett said the shake-up could "put more pressure" on doctors.
Published on 1st May 2008 in News.
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