A major milestone for an innovative health and social care scheme was reached this week with approval from the Department of Health to progress plans for an innovative single campus to bring together a variety of care and health services in a single building.
In a letter to Derek Thomas MP and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State of Health and Social Care, has confirmed that his department will take the project to the next stage as part of its investment in the health estate across Cornwall.
This followed a meeting between Sajid Javid MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Derek Thomas MP, Aisling Khan, Director of Adult Social Services for the Council of the Isles of Scilly and Phil Confue, Chief Executive of Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust (CPFT) to discuss funding mechanisms.
The scheme aims to co-locate primary care, community health, mental health, urgent care and adult social care in a single site based on an integrated service model to meet the needs of residents. The scheme has gained government traction as a means to pilot similar innovative models across Cornwall and nationally to ensure that people receive the right care and support as close to home as possible.
Work will now begin to further develop the business case for delivery of the new campus in late 2022.
The Chairman of the Council of the Isles of Scilly, Cllr Robert Francis, commented: ‘this is good news and a real credit to the whole team, including our colleagues in Cornwall and across the system. I have faith that this is a project that will get over the line in due course and that we can provide a blueprint to other rural communities about how to rethink health and social care services. Councillors will continue to pursue our efforts with central government in order to access the funding we need to support the community on the Isles of Scilly.’
Derek Thomas MP commented: ‘the plan to integrate services on Scilly makes complete sense and, after a considerable amount of work for some time now, it does seem that real progress is being made. The prize for residents on Scilly is significant, the integration promises to reduce medical trips to the mainland, increase the expertise of staff and ensure people continue to get a high level of care where they live. This is great for Scilly and the model of care we propose also offers a blueprint for the integration of health and social care right across Cornwall.’