Pilot sites launched for a healthier future

What Matters To Us

Health and social care professionals have joined forces for the first time working as one community team providing better health and wellbeing for the residents of Boroughbridge, Knaresborough and Green Hammerton.  The What Matters to Us pilot launched at the start of February will test out the new care models ready to go live across the rest of Harrogate district in the summer.

The What Matters to Us programme, is one of the ambitious national Vanguard programmes; led by NHS Harrogate and Rural District Commissioning Group, along with Harrogate and District  NHS Foundation Trust, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Yorkshire Health Network and Harrogate and Ripon Centres for Voluntary Service.

The Knaresborough, Green Hammerton and Boroughbridge team has community and mental health nurses, social workers, pharmacists, physiotherapists and care support workers working together alongside GPs to make sure patient care is as joined up as possible.  Key to this new community approach will be a very close link with voluntary services within each area, helping each individual have access to the right care and support when needed.

Bruce Willoughby, GP and clinical lead for the new care model ‘What Matters to Us’ said: “We firmly believe that people should have access to the right care as close to home as possible to keep them healthy, well and independent and only go to hospital if they really need to. This means changing the way we deliver services so that local people get the right care in the right place, first time, and experience the health and care services they deserve. We have listened to what local people have said through the consultation held in May last year and responded to those needs.  We will continue to listen to make sure that the services we provide fit the needs of the community”.

Gail Cooper, District Nurse and Team Leader for Knaresborough and Boroughbridge (in photo) said “We are all very excited about this new pilot service. By having the team working together as one in the same location and closer to the community it will make the care more joined up and responsive to the patient. Having close contact with GPs will also help us better understand patients individual needs, helping them stay healthier and in their own community as long as possible”.

The first batch of over a hundred health and social care jobs in the Harrogate area are now being advertised to help transform care locally. Health and care services are holding a New Care Models recruitment fair on Thursday 12 November at Harrogate District Hospital.

This event signals the progress being made by health and social care services in Harrogate and Rural District after being selected as a national Vanguard site earlier this year, leading the way nationally on better ways of delivering health and care services.

NHS, council and social care partners in Harrogate and Rural District are one of only 29 ‘Vanguards’ nationally to be at the forefront of improving care for local people, testing out new ways of delivering services, known as New Care Models, that will be rolled out nationally over time.

Community health and social care services in Harrogate and Rural District are changing and we are now recruiting a range of health and social care professionals who can work together across traditional boundaries to improve care services, by putting the person first.

Over the next couple of years, we will change the way we deliver health and care services across the Harrogate area, starting in Knaresborough and Boroughbridge to test out the model. These new roles will work in a team with GPs and other health and care staff and be supported to work together to provide a seamless service that is truly person-centred.

We firmly believe that people should have access to the right care as close to home as possible to keep them healthy, well and independent and only go to hospital if they really need to. This means changing the way we deliver services so that local people get the right care in the right place, first time, and experience the health and care services they deserve.

The recruitment fair takes place between 5-8pm at Trust Headquarters, third floor, Strayside Wing, Harrogate District Hospital. Interested individuals are asked to first apply for the role of their choice online at www.jobs.nhs.uk. Once the application is received, if the person meets the job specification they will be invited to interview at the Recruitment Event on 12 November.

Recruitment is taking place for the Knaresborough and Boroughbridge areas and anyone interested can also find out more and register their interest for future posts around Harrogate, Ripon and Pateley Bridge. If you are any of the following or have experience in support roles in health and social care, we want to hear from you:

  • Qualified nurse
  • Occupational therapist
  • Physiotherapist
  • Pharmacist
  • Pharmacy technician
  • Advance clinical practitioner
  • Communications
  • Business intelligence and finance

In addition to the New Care Models posts, there are also vacancies for registered nurses working in a number of clinical areas at Harrogate District Hospital.

If anyone would like to talk about any of the jobs mentioned above they can call Pam Blythe on 01423 553041, or email [email protected]

This is a fantastic opportunity to shape health and care services for the future in the Harrogate area.