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Creating an NHS Fit for the Future

As demand for health and social care services continues to grow local health services need to change. The local NHS in the south east coast needs to make sure is providing the best and most appropriate care and that it is providing value for money.

The Fit for the Future programme considers why change is needed and sets out some ideas for discussion on future provision of health and social care services.

Our role is to ensure the consistency and integration of services across the area, and to support and quality assure the planning and engagement processes.

Overview

Fit for the Future was developed from previous work undertaken in Surrey and Sussex entitled “Sustainable Services for Surrey and Sussex” and was subsequently rolled out to Kent and Medway.

The programme centres on the four local health communities (East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton and Hove, Surrey and Kent and Medway) against the following objectives:

Clinical sustainability, defined as:

• Ensuring that services meet current or evolving clinical guidance and advice and deliver best outcomes for patients
• Ensuring local services provision take account of changes to medical workforce
• Ensuring that services are able to make the best use of latest advances in the delivery of clinical care, for example, the latest techniques and equipment.

Improving access, defined as:

• Reducing inequalities of access to care
• Ensuring achievement of waiting time targets
• Improving journey times for the population served

Financial sustainability, defined as:

• Ensuring providers achieve a recurring financial balance and move to surplus in line with Foundation Trust targets
• Ensuring the PCT achieves recurring balance or a surplus in line with recent guidance.

In all areas PCTs developed plans to ensure that care is delivered from the best location. This has included finding ways to deliver some forms of care that are currently provided from district general hospitals in more convenient locations such as local GPs surgeries.

PCTs have also been developing their community services so that more people can be supported in their own homes which will lead to better quality of life and reduced hospital admissions.