National organisations like National health service (NHS) that provide health care fit for the 21st century, is designed around the service user, so that they get the individual care they need. It is divided into ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ services, Primary services are usually the first place people contact for health advice or treatment, the service is provided locally to the particular person’s home by GPs, nurses or therapists and secondary health services are based in hospitals which provide medical or surgical care.
They are provided and supported by the NHS national organisations called primary care trusts (PTCS). PCTS research areas from national websites such as statistics finding the census population numbers, and find out what the people of a particular area are lacking regarding health care, they deal with providing primary and community services, and commission secondary services. They do this in order to determine what the area needs to make sure that it can provide the people with adequate services to improve the health of the local people within the area.
The national PCT received back over 140,000 of completed questionnaires, surveys and listening events form where they got some opinions, feedback and statistics. Local PCTS, working with the national PCTS, the NHS, and the council work together, to discover the needs of the local area. Local PCT work to identify the needs of that particular area. Social care and health care services will take the lead for certain aspects of the plan, through joint partnership. I am going to be looking at my local PCT, which is The Wokingham Primary Care trust (WPCT).
Set up in 2001which serves 150,000 population, with a budget around i?? 133m per annum to provide commission and services for Wokingham. Wokingham is a three start PCT. I will be looking into how the organisation is run and successful, what its plans are for Wokingham area, how it meets the local and individual needs, how WFPCT go about improving and providing evaluating and reviewing health care for Wokingham. WPCT has fourteen general practices, sixteen pharmacies covering both rural and urban areas, twenty dental practices.
The WPCT looks after the health care of the population of all parts of the Wokingham area; it works in partnership with the Wokingham district council which is also part of the Thames valley strategic health authority, other Local PCTS and NHS Trusts, Voluntary Organisations and the Bracknell Forest Borough Council. They work in partnership with these organisations to ensure all aspects of health, social and other of the best possible care is available for people within Wokingham.
Agreements between organisations will need to be set out, how services must be provided, what their standards will be and how monitoring will take place. It is responsible for assessing local people needs and improving the health care within there area, commissioning services on behalf of the people within Wokingham, developing primary and community care and running community services. The WPCT are responsible for ensuring there are enough of the following services within Wokingham, these services are; * GPs * Dentists * Pharmacists * Opticians * NHS Direct * NHS walk-in centres
Along with providing services WPCT’s make sure that quality of services are good enough for the service users in Wokingham, enabling that they get the treatment that they need. I am going to look at one of the demographic influences set by WPCT; the health needs that the WPCT focus on in Wokingham. Health needs within Wokingham have influenced the WPCT to accommodate Wokingham with the necessary health care centres. The WPCT’s meets around every two months in public where any member of the public is welcomed to join where they can get involved and have their say.
Along with WPCT workers and people working within the NHS they have produced Health Improvement and Modernisation Plan (HIMP) and they have also set national priorities set by the government with some aspects of the HIMP. These priorities include; * Coronary heart disease and cancers- the WPCT will encourage people within Wokingham to take on physical exercise to improve fitness and ones health, they will promote healthy eating, and stop smoking campaigns. The WPCT will need to consider what age group they are targeting within Wokingham.
So that coronary heart disease and cancers are reduced in numbers. * Mental Health- The WPCT’s will have to research into Wokingham and find out what are the needs and what services need to be improved or are needed, to provide Wokingham with the right care and practice. * Teenage health- The WPCT’s will need to research into what are the needs for teenage health, what are common illnesses or concerns within that age group, and work to provide that there is the right amount of health services available for the teenage health. I. e. high teenage pregnancy.
Health of children- again the WPCT’s will have to research into what are if any are there needs for children in Wokingham, enabling that they are provided for. I. e. develop and implement a childhood obesity strategy. * Health of the elderly- WPCT’s will research in Wokingham using statistics and find what they need to do in order to provide for the elderly, to make sure they receive good quality care. * Tackling inequalities- researching the inequalities if any within Wokingham, making sure they are tackled for an improved health care service.
E. g. drop in clinic for refugees and older people. One of the most successful health strategies that the WPCT has been involved with is the non-smoking campaign, which helped people within Wokingham by providing clinics that could support and help smokers try and reduced there daily intake and then by totally giving up. The WPCT has set fines in place for or any one selling cigarettes to children under the age of 16. In 2004 Wokingham reached a 98% of their target with 574 quitters, which is a 33% increase since the year before.
The WPCT used there year to help smokers by giving leaflets in some area of Wokingham in depravation with the use of drop in cards to create awareness. The WPCT provided help to 921 smokers in Wokingham the percentage of smokers was reduced; this therefore showed that WPCT smoking campaign was a success. The WPCT prompted their campaign by printed half million-bus tickets with details of the service on the back so that more people within Wokingham l could be aware of the service that WPCT were providing.
These HIMP priorities the WPCT are responsible for making sure that Wokingham has the right care services they need. They would identify problem areas by using statistics or census for most of the information to identify the population in terms of numbers and age ranges. They also need local partnership agreements by the government, the WPCT main priority is to find groups that may be overlooked or unseen and make sure that group is targeted and provided with the adequate health care.
I am now going to look at anther demographic influence that the WPCT work on which is age of populations within Wokingham. The WPCT will look to see if there are any health inequalities i. e. gaps in health status, and in access to health services, between different social classes and ethnic groups and between populations in different geographical areas These age populations in Wokingham will help influence the WPCT to recognise where there of any there are gaps in health care for a specific age group.
The WPCT would get there age populations from a census of statistics within Wokingham the data will then be reviewed with discussions with employees from the WPCT as well as people working within the NHS, the council and also local people from Wokingham, to come to any quires that need to be dealt with regards to health care in Wokingham and how they can be improving it. Looking at neighbourhood statistics by typing in my postal code I was able to access a census for Wokingham in 2006 when the last census was taken the total population within Wokingham is.
Wokingham is predicted have a increase in population in the 0-4 age group (19% increase) and over 65 year olds with a 54% increase, this may mean that the WPCT will need to look at weather they need to provide more housing, GPS, day care centres, Nursing homes to support the increase in population in Wokingham. Along with increase in older age group the over 75’s age group will be expected to increase by more than 80% and over 85’s by 120%. With this population increase in mind WPCT have decided to build over 8000 new homes.
The WPCT would look at some if this census and to see whether there is particular cause for concern regarding health care. As there seem to be lower population for the older generation maybe the WPCT could consider putting more care homes n place, increase the number of nurses or health care visitors that care for the elderly, make transport more easier for the elderly so that they can get to health centres or GP’s. The WPCT could also look back there HIMP and see what age group are More at Risk of those Common illnesses or problems that Wokingham faces, and sees that by Comparing age populations if there seems to be any trends r understandings as to Why the population of a particular age group Seem to be lower the other and if they Can produce reasoning.
One of the major ways the WPCT makes sure that it is progressing and meeting the needs of the people within Wokingham is to carry out a survey. The WPCT last survey was in 2004 where The WPCT received 340 responses with an overall general satisfaction. Although the WPCT were very pleased to be receiving such great surveys back they were also quite please with complaints as they were keen to investigate the weaker areas so that they could improve.
The WPCT not only felt that complaints not only resolved concerns with individuals but could make broader improvements to health care. Last year the WPCT received14 complaints overall. As well as surveys the WPCT had its own forum available to people, whilst it seemed that they were getting good feedback it was becoming as issue that not everyone was easily accessible to the forum. The forum also contributes to setting priorities for health care with the partnership board and getting involved with health projects. The WPCT also makes sure that they continue to monitor and evaluate the forum.
The whole purpose the forum was so that the WPCT could gather feedback from the local communities within Wokingham; the aim is to encourage people to ask any questions or queries the have. It monitors the work of each NHS Trust and Primary Care Trust; and PCT’s, and report on the quality of patient services of each Trust. Last year the WPCT was in the top national band under all three headings selected by health care commission, and was also one of the 28 PCTS across the country to join national primary care contracting collaborative.
The WPCT need to make sure that they promote quality assurance and that the services they provide and set up in Wokingham have high-quality service, not only so that it keep to the standards of the WPCT And the government, but also so that the people of Wokingham feel comfortable and able to use the service when and how they need to. The Community Team for People with Learning Difficulties (CTPLD) that works with the WPCT or any other PCT, they also work with community teams, and mental health services.
For my case study I will be looking at Ravens Wood, a community that helps and supports those with learning difficulties there are 149 adult residents and 22 children all with learning disabilities. Ravens wood works with the CTPLD and the service users at Ravens wood. Any member of the CTPLD could be a social worker, occupational therapist, community nurse, or even and community support worker, every member of the CTPLD works together as a team also known as ‘The Team Link’. The CTPLD tries to make sure that services users with learning disabilities gets the same rights and choices as any other service user.