Influencing better planned and emergency care

Response - 11 July 2023

When plans were drawn up to bring about the next stage of the development of Weston General Hospital, we were asked to facilitate the inclusion of local views and experiences to ensure any changes would benefit people of all ages and levels of need.
An ambulance outside the Accident & Emergency department of a hospital

As communities change, services must adapt to meet people’s needs. In North Somerset, the census shows an increase in the number of older adults – with many of those people living with multiple health conditions.

We set up and supported a patient and public reference group over three months, which met to look at the proposed improvements of the Healthy Weston 2 programme. A public engagement exercise was then held and over 5,000 members of the public took part.

The improvement programme focused on three key areas

  1. Becoming a centre of surgical excellence. Aims to provide thousands more planned operations for adults of all ages at the site in Weston-super-Mare.
  2. Becoming a centre of excellence for older people’s care. Aims for Weston Hospital to provide specialised older peoples care, and a range of services for people of all ages.
  3. Helping people who come to hospital in an emergency get an assessment and be treated more quickly. Pathways straight into wards for older people.

It’s essential for new services to be designed and shaped by taking both clinical expertise and personal experiences into account.

Annabel Plaister, Healthy Weston 2 Patient and Public Reference Group participant

What difference will this make?

  • Hospital and community teams will improve pre-discharge planning in the hospital through an 'integrated discharge team'. It is in the best interest of patients to be in hospital for as short a time as possible. Management therefore starts at admission.
  • Increase the amount and type of planned operations and procedures at Weston General Hospital.
  • Make Weston General Hospital a more dynamic and attractive place to work, help build a diverse workforce, provide training and career opportunities to help retain staff there.

The Healthy Weston 2 programme adopted a whole-system approach, and both clinical and non-clinical colleagues across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire helped design the model.

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