Friday 24th June 2011

People living across Derbyshire - and beyond - are being urged to get more involved in their local health services at the start of a major consultation by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.

Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust launches it's consultation about becoming an NHS Foundation Trust on 1st July 2011 and will spend three months, until 30th September, canvassing interest in local communities across the county.

Under the slogan of "Make a Difference, Together", a roadshow is planned to attend fairs, open days and many other community events over the summer, to share information and invite people to sign up as members of the Trust. People will also be able to have their say via the Trust's website at www.dchs.nhs.uk from 1st July.

Derbyshire Community Health Services' Chief Executive Tracy Allen said: "We are passionate about the quality of care we provide and we believe that becoming a Foundation Trust will enable us to enhance our services even further. We see it as an opportunity for everyone to feel a stronger sense of ownership of the services they value." 

Derbyshire Community Health Services, which employs more than 4,500 dedicated staff, provides a whole range of NHS services at more than 50 different sites across Derbyshire & Leicestershire, including in community hospitals, health centres, clinics and in people's own homes.

Derbyshire Community Health Services aims to become a Foundation Trust by October 2012 and the consultation is a chance for local communities to help influence plans for local services.

Tracy added: "We see significant benefits in becoming a Foundation Trust. We firmly believe that it will increase our accountability to the public and strengthen our ties in local communities. It will also enable local people and our staff to be more directly involved in decisions about the way services are planned, delivered and run at local level.

"In our opinion becoming an NHS Foundation Trust will also ensure that Derbyshire retains a specialist community service provider, at a time when community services have never been more important, with the shift towards more care provided locally and not so much in hospitals."

People who sign up as members of the Trust will:

• Be consulted about proposed major changes to health services
• Receive the same discounts as NHS staff to high street brands
• Be invited to local health events and open days
• Be eligible to stand for election, or vote for others, to join the Foundation Trust’s Council of Governors
• Have the chance to shape future health plans and attend meetings
• Receive regular information and twice-yearly members' magazines.

Under the proposals, membership is free and open to everyone over 12 years old, with rights to vote for Governors extended to everyone over 16 years old.

The Government has said that in the near future all NHS Trusts will either become NHS Foundation Trusts in their own right or will become part of an existing Foundation Trust.

Tracy added: "Reaching NHS Foundation Trust status is not an end in itself, but would provide us with greater freedom to transform services, working in partnerships with other health and social care providers to respond to local health needs.

"We strongly believe that as our population continues to live longer, albeit with more complex health needs and conditions, that having community health services led by a specialist NHS Foundation Trust provider is of critical importance."

The Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS community health service providers in the country, with an annual income of approximately £180 million.

It provides community health services in people's homes, in health centres, community hospitals, from GP premises, schools and community facilities. On an average day it cares for:

• 1,960 people supported by district nurses
• 1,050 families supported by health visitors
• 150 people in diagnostic and treatment centres
• 500 patients seen by podiatry teams
• 400 patients seen within the therapy services
• Nearly 300 patients in community hospitals.

Last year:

• It's stop smoking service helped nearly 5,000 people to quit smoking
• It's physiotherapy department treated around 30,000 new patients
• Around 500 referrals were received by its Derbyshire Wheelchair Service
• It's speech and language therapy teams received over 2,000 referrals.

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