Alston residents urged to feedback on proposals by Friday 1st December

[R]esidents of Alston Moor are urged to give feedback on the current proposals for the future of their health and care.

The proposals, developed by the Alston Alliance, outline how health and care services can be delivered to the residents of Alston Moor in a different way, following the decision to close in-patient beds at the hospital.

Malcolm Forster from the Alston League of Friends, and a member of the Alston Alliance said:

“We believe that these proposals present a good framework to provide and develop further effective care on Alston Moor.

They show how a greater number of services can be delivered to more people by the current hospital team being in the community and developing their skills whilst working more closely with social services.

They also show that more of the care can be delivered in people’s homes and on the Moor rather than residents having to travel long distances.”

Alice Bondi, a resident of Alston Moor and also on the Alliance added:

“We really need to hear from local people what they think of the plans. We have a short time until the proposals go for approval, so now is when we need comments. I’m sure that there are ideas about the services that we could deliver and perhaps some concerns that we maybe haven’t addressed fully.

“The Alliance has to submit the plans to the CCG in December so I urge as many people from Alston Moor to read them now and give their feedback.”

Alix Martin resident and member of the Parish Council said:

“The hospital ward had to close earlier this year because the Trust couldn’t recruit the staff to run it. Now the same nursing team are delivering care in the community and, I must say I am surprised to say it, the changes seem to be working so far.”

“These plans build on the enthusiasm that the nursing team are showing for this new model. It also brings more services to the hospital developing the minor injuries unit and the day hospital, which were not affected by the ward closure.”

One of the main concerns of residents is how palliative care and the needs of those who require a nursing bed are delivered. The proposals state:

“Care in these circumstances will be provided from beds in the residential care home in Alston. The beds will be supported by the residential care team for social care needs; nursing and therapy support will come from the community team. The care home team will work as part of the wider integrated operational model the Alston Health and Social Care team.

The beds would be free at the point of use for patients, with a clear protocol for admission; they would be for short-term use to support health care. Where a patient was unable to return home and needed longer term residential care, they would transfer to a long term bed and the funding would transition from health at that point.”

You can view a summary of the proposals and the full proposals on the North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group’s website.

Residents are asked to give their feedback by 1st December so that the Alliance can consider any changes, amendments or additions to the current proposals.