Press release
Pledges made to improve health and wellbeing
Health and social care agencies in Bury are joining forces to improve the health and wellbeing of local people.
Through a joint (draft) Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Bury, the NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group and Bury Council’s shadow Health and Wellbeing Board have set out a number of pledges and have committed to work together to achieve the best possible outcomes and support local people to live well and stay healthy.
Local people will be asked about their thoughts on the draft joint Strategy, which focuses on ensuring that services are tailored to the needs of local people to improve their health and wellbeing and ensuring that every pound is spent wisely.
The joint draft Strategy will give communities a greater say in understanding and addressing their local health and social care needs. It will be published for consultation in order to gather the views of local people, staff and stakeholders via the following link in the coming days: www.bury.gov.uk/healthandwellbeing
To kick off this process, representatives from the NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group and the shadow Health and Wellbeing Board will be out and about across the borough next week to share their vision for improving health and wellbeing and asking people for their views.
Local people are encouraged to come along to one of the following events to find about more:
- Tuesday 16th October, 12 – 2pm, Ramsbottom Library
- Wednesday 17th October, 12 – 2pm, Radcliffe Primary Care Centre
- Thursday 18th October, 12 – 2pm, Prestwich Library
- Friday 19th October, 12 – 2pm, Moorgate Primary Care Centre, Bury
- Saturday 20th October, 6 – 8pm, at the Bury Light Night event in the Millgate Shopping Centre, Bury
Dr. Audrey Gibson, Chair of the shadow Bury Health and Wellbeing Board said: “Together we want to improve health and wellbeing in Bury. This isn’t just about health and social care agencies making decisions, this is about patients being equal partners in this process and having their voices heard so that together we can secure a healthy Bury.”
Dr. Kiran Patel, Chairman and Clinical Lead for the NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) added: “Working together is the key to improving health and wellbeing. We are working towards offering fully integrated services to offer patients care that is co-ordinated, avoiding duplication of effort and delivering services in the most appropriate settings. In some cases this will be close to or even in a patient’s own home. Our joint strategy will give us a springboard to make this happen, but first, we need the views of local people to assure us that we are heading in the right direction.”
Mike Kelly, Chief Executive of Bury Council added: “The message is a simple one; the good health of our residents is and always will be a top priority. To do this we need work closely with our health partners and the launch of this new strategy for consultation is a crucial step to making sure all our residents are able to make their views known and ultimately this will lead to improved access to and an improved experience from more patient friendly services”.
Ends
Date: 10th October 2012
FOR PRESS & MEDIA ENQUIRIES: contact Caroline Dearden, Corporate Communications Manager on 0161 762 3106 or email bur-pct.communications@nhs.net
Notes to Editor:
The Health and Wellbeing Board is a forum where key leaders from health and social care together with elected members and patient networks work together to improve the health and wellbeing of local people and reduce health inequalities. As a result patients and the public should experience more co-ordinated services in the future.
The NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), is the new organisation led by local doctors, nurses and other health professionals that will be taking over the leadership of the local NHS. Its role will be to buy and develop high quality services in partnership with patients to meet the health and wellbeing needs of the people of Bury within the available resources.