Public invited to have their say on health services in Sunderland and South Tyneside

Residents are being invited to take part in a public project to help solve the challenges facing hospitals and health services.
Sunderland Royal Hospital.Sunderland Royal Hospital.
Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Organisations or individuals are being invited to take part in a scheme to provide evidence or ideas on solving the challenges hospitals and NHS services are facing across South Tyneside and Sunderland.

NHS partners published the Path to Excellence phase two draft case for change in July 2018 which explains the pressures and challenges and why services must change.

South Tyneside District Hospital.South Tyneside District Hospital.
South Tyneside District Hospital.
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Over the summer and autumn this has been shared with local communities to gain feedback.

The Path to Excellence draft case for change is one of three main areas of work across the whole local health and care economy, which will also look at how to transform care outside of hospital and help support local communities to stay fit and well by focussing on prevention.

Clinical design teams working together across South Tyneside and Sunderland are currently thinking through potential emerging ideas in order to create the best possible hospital services for the future.

As part of that process, NHS leaders are asking people if they have key evidence or ideas that the NHS should consider as part of finding future solutions, and the opportunity to present them directly to NHS leaders at a specially arranged public listening panel in December.

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Dr Shaz Wahid, Medical Director for South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The NHS belongs to all of us, and through our case for change document we have set out the very real challenges and pressures the local NHS is facing, why we cannot keep going as we are and why we must think innovatively to maximise our resources and the funding we have available to provide first class hospital services which are fit for the future.

“Our NHS staff in both South Tyneside and Sunderland have been working hard over the past year to begin thinking about how we may be able to address some of the very difficult challenges facing us and our draft ‘case for change’ document includes the views of hundreds of colleagues, as well as local patients, who have taken part in our early engagement work.

“Now we have had a chance to share these issues over the last few months, we want to hear from individuals or organisations who have important information or ideas to share with us, so we can make sure they are considered and taken into account as we work towards developing tangible solutions that we can bring to a wider public consultation in the Summer 2019.”

The panel will be chaired by Nicholas Duffin, director of The Consultation Institute, an independent, not-for-profit best practice Institute, promoting high-quality public and stakeholder consultation in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

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Interested parties can book a 30 minute slot at an event to take place on Tuesday, December 11, 2018, between, 2pm to 5pm and will be asked to submit any written materials three working days in advance.

Dr Wahid, said: "We are hoping to hear from elected members, MPs, community and voluntary organisations and interest groups whom we know have valuable perspectives and intelligence to share with us."

To find out more visit www.pathtoexcellence.org.uk and to book a slot to give evidence at the event visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-listening-panel-tickets-52490493479.