A new campaign is aiming to be “the biggest change to healthcare for the city in a generation”.
That’s according to the NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which has started its two-month campaign this week, Healthy Liverpool.
Healthy Liverpool will involve a series of open events across the city, gathering views of locals on the changes needed to improve on local health and social care system, focussing on three specific themes: Urgent and Emergency Care, Hospital, and Community Services.
Doctor Nadim Fazlani, a GP at Edge Hill Health Centre and Chair of NHS Liverpool CCG, said: “Healthy Liverpool is helping all of us to feel the benefit of living healthier lives, making sure that services provided in the city are of the highest standard and meet the needs of patients.
“We are looking at a wide range of issues, from getting people active, to care being available closer to home, as well as hospital services, urgent and emergency care.”
Around 14,000 people took part in an earlier public conversation during last summer. This has seen a new service in Liverpool for people with diabetes, the service brings together different elements of care to help people manage their condition. This year the campaign will run until Sunday March 20th.
Dr Fazlani said: “We need feedback from those who use and rely on the local NHS and social care to continue. This dialogue is crucial for helping us develop a system which really meet the needs of our patients and protects services for the future.”
The ‘Living Well’ project is another area being focused on by the local campaign. The active lifestyle project is aimed at making Liverpool people more aware of physical activity, helping to prevent illness and improving the quality of life for people with long-term health conditions.
Doctor Maurice Smith, a GP at Mather Avenue Surgery in Allerton and Clinical Director for Healthy Liverpool’s Living Well project, told JMU Journalism: “The potential health benefits if we can get everyone in the city doing just a bit of physical activity are enormous.
“Physical activity can help prevent Type 2 Diabetes and heart-related illness as well as improving mental health overall. For people with breathing issues, just walking every day can significantly improve symptoms, and dramatically lower the risk of them being admitted to hospital as an emergency.”