North Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group (NN CCG), the organisation that buys health services for North Norfolk has, in conjunction with, Norfolk County Council,  launched the ‘Integrated Care Programme’ a new approach designed to support and care for people closer to their homes this winter and in the future.  This is a joint health and social care venture and a core part of the programme is the appointment of three ‘Integrated Care Co-ordinators’ whose roles are jointly funded by the NN CCG, North Norfolk County Council, and Norfolk Community Health & Care.

Integrated-care-coordinators

Photo: From left to right Lesley Rose (NCC), Alison Campling-Brown (NCH&C) and Paula Horner (NCC)

The co-ordinators will be working closely with doctors in local GP surgeries. They will be the main point of contact for a range of community based health and social care services, making sure that those who need help are sign-posted to the nearest care and support as quickly as possible. The majority of  patients set to benefit from this approach are those diagnosed with Long Term Conditions (LTCs) – this is a term used for illnesses that cannot be cured and that people live with for a long time such as diabetes, heart disease, dementia and asthma.

Lesley Rose one of the newly appointed co-ordinators commented:  “Many people are not aware of all the local services and support available to them, usually because they don’t know where the services are based or how to access them.  We aim to ensure that people who need particular care are pointed to the right services so they can be cared for closer to home.

“By working as part of multi-disciplinary team within a GP practice we can identify what support individual patients will benefit from and find the right advice, care and equipment they need. One patient required financial advice and we helped by re-directing to an  organisation called Money Matters, while another patient required a wheel chair and we worked with the  British Red Cross to deliver the chair to their home. There are so many ways to help people and one small introduction to the right support group or the delivery of a piece of equipment can really help people.”

Dr James Gair, a GP in North Walsham and clinical lead for the Integrated Care Programme said:  “Integrated care is very important for the people living in the area and our co-ordinators aim to deliver a seamless approach to health and social care.”

North Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group (NN CCG) is the organisation responsible for planning and paying for healthcare services for about 167,800 people living in the area. Our aim is to provide top quality healthcare in North Norfolk.  To find out more and become involved in decisions made about developing healthcare visit www.northnorfolkccg.nhs.uk

 

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