Celebrating community services in Lancashire and South Cumbria
Date posted: 7th October 2024
The ICB will be supporting the annual ‘Celebrating Community Services Week’ which shines a light on the importance of community health services.
Hosted by the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, the week exists primarily on social media using #CelebratingCommunityServices to bring services to life, celebrate the sector’s successes and the impact this has on people’s lives.
It is taking place this week (7-11 October 2024) and this year, with a new government in place and a 10-year plan in development, the theme will be 'creating a sustainable NHS for the future'.
Community health services play a key role in our health and care system. They keep people safe and well at home and in community settings close to home, and support people to live independently.
An example of this working well in Lancashire and South Cumbria is virtual wards, often known as ‘hospital at home’ which has now seen more than 25,000 patients. The service provides hospital-level care and remote monitoring for people who would otherwise be in hospital or have been able to return home sooner to continue their treatment at home.
Our vision
The vision in Lancashire and South Cumbria is to have a high quality, community-centred health and care system by 2035. To bring that vision to life, the ICB is undertaking an extensive programme of work to transform community services so more people can be treated outside of a hospital setting.
Tony McDonald, the ICB’s director of community transformation, said: “It’s so important we shine a light on the fantastic work of our community health services which aim to improve the health and wellbeing of people of all ages, including from birth.
“Community services can be delivered in various settings, including in people’s own homes, community clinics, community centres, schools, and care homes, as well as hospitals. This includes district nursing for older people, health visiting for children under the age of five, podiatry for older people, intermediate care for people recovering from illness or treatment, and speech and language therapy, mostly for children.
“It’s also important to note many community health services are provided by voluntary sector services. One example is end-of-life care. Some areas have specialist palliative care services, run by independent hospices, whereas other areas are more reliant on end-of-life care from community nursing teams and GPs, with more limited access to specialist services at home.”
In support of the week, the ICB will run a week-long celebration of community services across our social media channels, with a particular focus on the work of our hospices to also coincide with Hospice Care Week (7-13 October).
Get involved in the conversation by following all our channels and the hashtags #CelebratingCommunityServices and #CelebratingCommunityServicesLSC.
Visit ww.lancashireandsouthcumbria.icb.nhs.uk/our-work/transforming-community-care for more information about the ICB’s work in this area.