Board to consider future healthcare Case for Change on Monday 2 November

The Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group Board will meet in public on Monday 2 November to consider a Clinical Strategy and Case for Change exploring the opportunities and challenges facing healthcare services across Norfolk and Waveney.

The Case for Change has been developed with consultants, senior doctors, nurses and midwives from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn and James Paget University Hospitals, drawing on evidence and expertise from across health and care services.

It examines how changing population needs, advances in medical care and technology, workforce pressures and significant investment in healthcare infrastructure may shape healthcare services over the coming decades.

This includes £2.8 billion of investment through the New Hospital Programme to replace The QEH in King’s Lynn and JPUH in Gorleston, creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity to design services around future needs.

It considers how people could receive more support before health problems escalate, more care closer to home where appropriate, and faster access to specialist expertise when it is needed. It also explores how hospitals, community services and neighbourhood teams could work more closely together to improve outcomes and make services more sustainable for the future.

Professor Lesley Dwyer, Group Chief Executive of Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group, said: “We have a simple ambition: to provide better care for the people of Norfolk and Waveney, now and in the future.

“There is much to build on, but we also know that people’s needs are changing, demand for care is growing and some services are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain in their current form.

“This Case for Change looks at the evidence, the challenges ahead and the opportunities available to us, including significant investment in our hospitals and advances in treatment and technology.

“It is not a decision about the future of individual services and it is not a consultation on a preferred future model of care. It is the beginning of a conversation about how we can continue improving care for the people we serve.”

No decisions about individual hospital services will be made at Monday’s meeting.

Following consideration by the Board, the Case for Change paper and supporting documents will be published on the Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group website.

Any future proposals for significant service change would require further development, engagement and, where required, formal public consultation before decisions could be made.

• The Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group Board will meet in public on Monday 2 November. The agenda and meeting information are available at: Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group
• Members of the public and media wishing to attend or observe the meeting can find attendance information at: Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group
• The Case for Change paper and supporting documents will be published following the conclusion of the meeting.