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LADIES AND Gentlemen, Good evening and on behalf of our lead sponsor Stephens and Scown with the support of the RDA, First Group and Cornwall Enterprise welcome to the Cornwall Lecture.
An Appreciation
Health is the most valuable asset we possess and the people who work in the health service are it’s most important asset.
As a Gallup Poll has shown- healthiness is directly linked with happiness! Without it we cannot make a good living for ourselves and our families, neither can we enjoy the quality of life to be found in Cornwall.
This evening we want to take you on a short journey. We want to recognize the commitment and inventiveness of those who work in our health service. The sector employs many people, employment which many benefits the local economy, as well as providing quality patient care.
We all know that our health service is facing a period of great change and turbulence; but in spite of this, staff are developing services ensuring a better future for patients.
Let us start our journey and look at a few examples of this work.
The Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust is well known for its work on cancer and rheumatology, though perhaps less well known for its award winning initiative in providing food for patients using local produce. The acclaimed Cornwall Food Programme is currently using over 30% of local produce in food preparation (with more produce sourced locally) and is now moving towards it’s next phase; the development of a £3.6 million central food production unit that is set to transform the way in which meals are provided for hospitals across Cornwall.
The project will contribute to regeneration and economic sustainability within the county and by reducing food miles it will also help to reduce the health community’s carbon footprint.
The Trust is also pioneering new ways of bringing specialist services closer to home. An example is the mobile eye screening units used across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to fight eye disease caused by diabetes. In partnership with the Primary Care Trust the Royal Cornwall Hospital they visit GP surgeries and community hospitals with the aim of reducing the risk of sight loss.
In another example, the Hospital is leading the way in salvaging blood during knee and hip operations. Blood is taken from patients during and immediately after surgery, cleaned and then transfused back into the patient reducing the risk of infection and potentially their length of stay in hospital. This procedure is also used in caesarean operations with happy results for mother and father.
A recent £5 million investment has enabled hospitals across Cornwall to become the first in the South West to go live with a completely film-less, digital x-ray system. With the number of sites covered it is one of the biggest installations in Europe. This service illustrates how computing technology is helping doctors to provide better and more reliable services to patients.
Initiative is being encouraged at the Cornwall Partnership Trust through their support of Kathryn Smith and Angie Turner, occupational therapists working at Long Reach House at Camborne-Redruth Community Hospital. An apparently simple piece of furniture designed by Kathryn is attracting national attention. On the outside it simply looks like a cupboard but to patients opening it up it must appear like a magic box!
People suffering from a range of diseases and particularly dementia in older age begin to see their senses diminish; senses like touch and hearing. This can lead to disorientation making matters worse. The newly designed inter-active piece of furniture can be personalized for the patient, using music, colour and tactile materials to assist recovery and helping them to enjoy better lives.
In the past, people disadvantaged by physical disability, were greatly restricted by what they could do at home, sometimes threatening their ability to live in their own homes altogether. New services provided by Tremorvah Industries on behalf of Cornwall County Council are giving people a better quality of life and enabling them to continue living at home or go to work. Modern electronic equipment provides them with the ability to carry on doing the sort of things that most of us take for granted; closing the curtains, turning on the light or mobility itself. A ‘half way house’ will be opened next year where patients can visit a real home, fully equipped with the latest aids where they can be trained on the use of equipment most suitable to their needs.
Older people are quietly given the confidence they need to continue to live in their own surroundings. Unobtrusive care can be provided by monitoring what people are doing- living normal lives most of the time- but alerting health professionals when things go wrong. With the onset of winter an exciting new service, pioneered in Cornwall in association with the Met Office will ensure that those suffering from COPD can be alerted to weather changes affecting their health- forewarned is forearmed - and action can be taken by the patient or their doctor or community nurse in time. Technology in these and other situations is really being used in the service of people, enriching their lives on a daily basis.
The Primary Care Trust is also developing services to care for patients in their own homes when they need urgent medical attention. Supportive, innovative care, where and when it matters most, Community Matrons based in GP surgeries and teams of nurses working as Rapid Response Teams help patients stay in the comfort of their home for longer; indeed keep them out of hospital altogether supported by medical and social care needed at difficult times.
In the heart of rural Cornwall a health centre is pioneering a range of services not seen in general practise for over fifty years. In the village of Probus a group of GP’s, who have undergone special surgical training, is offering day surgery for patients suffering from hernia, carpel tunnel disorder, lipoma and skin cancer. Patients feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings, away from hospital, with easier access and reduced waiting times. The Primary Care Trust is able to offer cost effective services that patients need. Everyone’s a winner!
Those suffering from cancer and their rs w take advantage of a new award winning multi-disciplinary clinic which has been established at the community hospital in Falmouth. The concept of a ‘one stop shop’ offers patients and their carers, support in a relaxed and friendly environment. Here they meet others with similar problems and receive appropriate health care and encouragement, from a professional team which includes a doctor and specialist nurse in palliative care, a physiotherapist and a complimentary therapist. Volunteers are on hand to offer a listening ear as well as tea and coffee. Following its success in Falmouth similar clinics are being introduced in Helston and Liskeard.
An investment made through the generosity of the people of Cornwall in the 1980’s has led to a unique charity providing support to a range of new projects and services to help improve the health and well being of local people. The Duchy Health Charity was created in 1990 from the investment proceeds of the original Duchy Hospital. The charity sponsors conferences on issues of general interest to Cornwall; last year the focus was on the elderly and this year young people and two of the many practical projects they have supported are the building of the Knowledge Spa and the installation of specialist baths in Cornwall Care homes of particular benefit to physically disabled residents.
The Peninsular Medical School situated in Truro was established in 2002 to provide training and education facilities for the doctors of the future- dentists being added in 2007. With its focus on community medicine and an innovative approach to learning, the School is of major significance to Cornwall. Teaching methodology is different with life and clinical skills, taught using sophisticated models rather than real people; live patients play their part in the learning process when they meet students in local hospitals and health centres across the county. This holistic and exciting approach to teaching medicine, where creativity and enthusiasm play an important part, is illustrated by the creation of a new Chair in Medicine and Music – the first such appointment in the country.
An association between the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust and the University of Plymouth has led to the establishment of an innovation centre run by Cornwall Medi-Park Ltd. The company will nurture new businesses in the health sector- a growth area for Cornwall and a key part of what is called the knowledge based economy. The next phase of the Medi-Park on the Treliske site is eagerly anticipated within the next two years.
With the support of this Centre and the research and development facilities at the Medical School and the Combined Universities in Cornwall, together with the improved road, rail and air links, the county is putting in place the sort of infrastructure that will attract significant new investment into the county. Much of this work has been encouraged and supported through the Objective One Programme and the Regional Development Agency and Cornwall Enterprise, the economic development arm of Cornwall County Council.
Two companies illustrate what it is hoped to achieve in the future. Designer Michael Mailling finds the infrastructure introduced to Cornwall extremely valuable as he develops his business world wide. “Broadband puts us on a level playing field with everyone else”, he says. The company based in Falmouth offers the NHS outreach facilities using its experience of 3D image capture to introduce or improve quality bespoke medical appliances. They are currently looking at oncology applications where their work will provide cost effective services and minimal intrusion for the patient.
Another Falmouth based company, Research Instruments Ltd, is a world leader in micro-manipulation techniques. Using many local suppliers such as Hard Metal Engineering of Redruth the company designs, develops and assembles high quality precision products for use in the fields of IVF procedures, stem cell research and microelectronics. The multi-disciplinary design team at Falmouth utilize mechanical, electrical, optical, firmware and software skills working with leaders in the IVF field world wide and export their products to over 65 countries including China, Saudi Arabia, India and the USA. As David Lansdowne Technical Director said, “broadband has had more impact on us than electricity; the infrastructure in Cornwall is now up with the best”
And so we come to the end of our brief journey. We are often told ‘bad’ news stories but less frequently the ‘good’ ones. At a time of uncertainty and change we need to look forward with confidence; at a time of turbulence we need to believe that we can be confident in the future. We need to be better informed, to have a better understanding of what is actually being achieved in our health service. Let us ask the media to highlight the good things that staff of the health service are doing on our behalf and let the health community tell us more consistently of the organizational and technological developments that will make our lives better.
But, to-night let us salute the work of those dedicated health professionals who are truly making Cornwall a good place where we can, with confidence, live, work and play.
The help support and encouragement given by the staff of the Cornwall Partnership Trust, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust, Cornwall County Council (Tremorvah Industries), Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust is acknowledged with thanks.
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