Cornwall’s residents are being invited to play a part in creating a new plan for the county that covers both adults and children as part of Cornwall’s Devolution Deal which is due to go to the Government later in the year.
The objective of the new strategy for health and adults and children’s social care is to improve the health and wellbeing of Cornwall’s residents and provide seamless services.
NHS Kernow, Cornwall Council and Cornwall’s key health providers are seeking the health and social care priorities of residents as well as their ideas on how potential savings could be made to help under pressure budgets go further.
.jpeg?width=209&height=140&crop=209:145,smart&quality=75)
To achieve this, a series of community events have been arranged from Bude to the Isles of Scilly to survey local communities.
The events will take place over nine days in March and take the form of drop-in sessions and question and answer public meetings. The Truro public meeting will be webcast.
Cornwall Councillor Jim McKenna, cabinet member for adult care, said: “It would be great to see as many people as possible attending all the community events. It is really important that the future shape of health and care services in Cornwall takes into account the needs and aspirations of those who use them and this is an opportunity for residents to help achieve just that.
“We are working with health partners on a fully costed, fully attributable and clinically safe plan that will go to the Government later in the year.
Dr Iain Chorlton, chairman of NHS Kernow, said: “Health partners and Cornwall Council are continuing to work together to integrate health and social care in Cornwall.
“It is essential to talk to as many members of the public and stakeholders as possible to ensure our plans fully reflect the needs of Cornish residents.”
The plan will take into consideration social and economic factors that affect the long term health and wellbeing of people in Cornwall, such as access to transport and fuel poverty.
A community event will be held at the Parkhouse Centre in Bude next Wednesday (March 9), with the drop-in section taking place from noon to 6pm and the question and answer public meeting from 6.30pm to 8pm.
As part of the listening exercise, a public survey was launched in January which will run until March 25. This will also feed into the new plan for health and adult and children’s social care.
More than 1,200 local people have already given their feedback through the health and social care survey online and through paper surveys that can be found in libraries, Cornwall Council One Stop Shops and GP surgeries.
The survey can be taken online at www.cornwall.gov.uk/shapethefuture