Strategic objective: In Partnership

Work together with health and social care partners by delivering care and support that puts our population, families and carers experience at its heart.

What you said

“GP services must be priority where other services are lacking as the GP is where the population first contacts.”
Female, aged 45–60, Lochaber

“The patient should be at the centre so ensuring that they are able to have as seamless a journey with clean links between all aspects of health and social care.”
Male, aged 25–45, Inverness-shire

“Invest in frontline, hands-on staff.”
Female, aged 45-60, Inverness-shire

What we will do

Support primary care to be resilient and sustainable to deliver the ambition of providing a range of local services, ensuring we work together across all parts of health and care.

Embed a place approach to Home-based Care and Support and care homes so that proactive care is provided tailored to the needs of the individual.

Develop fully integrated front line community health and social care teams across all areas of Highland.

What can you do?

See more information about care support and rights at:

• NHS inform
• Connecting Carers

Ensure that both physical and mental health are on an equal footing and reduce stigma by improving access and enabling staff in all services to speak about mental health and wellbeing.

What you said

“Join up services. Integrated services which work collaboratively and are more easily accessible for healthcare providers and patients.”
Anonymous, aged 60–70, Sutherland

“Mental health prevention and treatment. Right person, delivering the right treatment at the right time, having stability in order to evaluate and identify most important aspects of care delivery.”
Female, aged 45-60, Inverness-shire

“[Prioritise] data sharing as appropriate... Expand digital services.”
Female, aged 45-60, Inverness-shire

What we will do

Deliver consistently excellent care that is quality focused, follows best practice, is data driven, efficient, consistent and supported by the latest digital technologies.

We will develop integrated local services by working together with local partners to enable people to stay well for longer, help meet growing demand and to coordinate care and prevention.

We will improve the quality of care delivered to patients receiving enhanced care to support their mental health and develop individualised care planning and the right level of care to those in crisis.

What can you do?

Find out more about how to look after your mental health and wellbeing at NHS inform.

Ensure that our services are responsive to our population's needs by adopting a home is best approach.

What you said

“[We should prioritise] resource to enable people to be safely discharged from hospital in a timely manner to their own home/most appropriate environment.”
Female, aged 45-60, Lochaber

“[We need] more urgent care interfaces like AEC so patients can be seen quickly and investigated.”
Female, aged 45-60, Black Isle and Cromarty

“We need accessible bases - where people in crisis can access as required... people often need [care] outwith 9-5 and end up pressurising emergency services as they have nobody else to access.”
Female, aged 45-60, Caithness

What we will do

Respond to our population needs when they have an urgent health problem by treating them with the right care, in the right place at the right time.

Ensure that those people with serious or life-threatening emergency needs are treated quickly.

Work to minimise the length of time that hospital-based care is required. We will work with you, your family, and carers to adopt a home is best approach.

What can you do?

Visit NHS inform to help make informed decisions about your health needs.

Give our population the best possible experience by providing person-centred, planned care in a timely way, as close to home as possible.

What you said

“Safe and effective care with timely appointments and follow ups.”
Anonymous

“We need rapid diagnosis and test results.”
Male, aged 60-70, Moray

“Further integration of services, working across acute and community boundaries better.”
Female, aged 45–60, East Ross

What we will do

Ensure our population have timely access to planned care through transforming the way we deliver this and making sure they have the best experience possible.

Deliver a hospital without walls system that transforms the way we deliver outpatient services which will rethink the boundaries between patient and clinician to make the most of our valuable resources.

Optimise diagnostic and support services capacity and improve efficiency with new service delivery models.

What can you do?

Visit NHS inform to help make informed decisions about your health needs.

Support our population on their journey with, and beyond, cancer by having equitable and timely access to the most effective evidence-based referral, diagnosis, treatment and personal support.

What you said

“[Prioritise] cancer services and diagnostic services to get patients through the system to get the best outcome.”
Female, aged 45-60, Inverness-shire

“[We need] sustainable and responsive cancer care.”
Female, 45-60yrs, Mid Ross, Workforce

“Having an approach that recognises overlap, improves communication between teams and offers early detection and intervention is key.”
Female, aged 45-60, Inverness-shire

What we will do

We will work together to raise population awareness of the symptoms of cancer to facilitate earlier and faster diagnosis.

We will further develop multi-professional teams to provide the most effective care during the active stages of treatment.

We will improve the experience of our population living with and beyond cancer.

What can you do?

See more information about NHS Highland cancer services.

Ensure people are supported as they age by promoting independence, choice, self-fulfilment and dignity with personalised care planning at its heart.

What you said

“Empowering people to take responsibility for their own health.”
Female, aged 45-60, Inverness-shire

“The ageing population is a key area, initiatives which support healthy ageing and continued engagement such as men’s sheds, community orchards, working with planning to ensure older and disabled people are able to remain living independently in their own communities are essential in preventing hospitalisation and the use of acute services.”
Female, aged 60-70, Black Isle

“Create preventative and frailty services.”
Female, aged 45-60, Argyll and Bute

What we will do

We will support people to promote independence by targeting prevention and developing appropriate choices.

We will take a person-centred and flexible approach to providing support at all stages of the care journey for anyone who has dementia or depression.

We will develop a coordinated service model for long-term conditions that is proactive, holistic, preventive and patient-centred, that enables patients and clinicians to work together.

What can you do?

See more information about falls prevention and frailty:

• at NHS Highland
• at NHS inform
• at Age UK

Support and empower our population and families at the end of life by giving appropriate care and choice at this time and beyond.

What you said

“As part of palliative and end of life care in the community, it is important to have the resilience to act on patients' wishes... Facilitating this efficiently and effectively with the right resources 24/7.”
Female, aged 60-70, Inverness-shire

“Whatever the dying person requires to make them pain-free, comfortable and supported at the end of their life, they should get without barriers.”
Female, aged 25-45, not known

“NHS Highland should be looking at palliative and end of life care. With an aging population it is really important that this is carefully considered to ensure that the individual, family and friends are supported and have the best quality of life.”
Female, aged 25-45, Nairnshire

What we will do

In partnership, ensure our population has access to palliative and end of life services and support at all times, enabling people to live and die in the setting of their choice.

Proactively recognise people who may be in their last year of life, being respectful of what matters to them by co-developing anticipatory care plans with them and for them.

Ensure we deliver timely, culturally sensitive and dignified care for our population in their last year of life and their families have a choice to access bereavement support.

What can you do?

See more information on palliative care, death and bereavement at NHS inform.

Improve experience by valuing the role that carers, partners in the third sector and volunteers bring, harnessing their individual skills and expertise.

What you said

“Carers should be recognised for the role they provide.”
Female, aged 25-45, Caithness

“Education, local authority, community groups, voluntary organisations, business, third sector all have roles to play.”
Male, aged 45-60, Inverness-shire

“Volunteers and carers should be given a higher priority.”
Anonymous, aged 60-70, Inverness-shire

What we will do

Value the role of carers, acknowledging them as experts by experience, and ensure they are informed, supported and valued.

We will work in true partnership with the third sector creating collaborative opportunities to value the expertise they bring for our population.

We will enhance the experiences of patients and colleagues by recognising and valuing the role of volunteers in their unique contributions to our system.

What can you do?

See more information on care, support, rights and allowances at:

• NHS inform
• Gov.uk