HEREFORDSHIRE Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) received  thousands of stories, ideas and comments from a survey to determine the future for health services in the county.

The CCG -  made up of local GP practices to  buy and design health and care services - releases the survey findings today (Tues)  after a series of events held in Hereford and the market towns over autumn.

Amongst the key findings are:

Patients  want to be able to cope better more of the time with their unexpected health issues -  is especially true of those caring for  someone with a long-term condition.

Patients  want the first person they reach to know them so they feel reassured and have confidence in the advice they get – many responders regarded their GP as an important first contact person.

Many patients reported still “feeling ill”  after their treatment and wanted services that offered more about how their could reduce their reliance on the NHS.

Patients wanted doctors and nurses to “listen to them more” and understand their anxieties over  unexpected or unfamiliar health issues.

The survey also highlighted a need for more support for frontline NHS staff.

Overall, 540 firsthand accounts and thousands of ideas and comments to emerge from the events were analysed by the CCG’s team. This work is now helping the CCG prioritise service provision from the point-of-view of the patient.

CCG chair Dr Andy Watts accepted that frontline evidence from patients and staff alike showed  urgent care services in the county need improving.

“Designing services in this new way makes sense because it starts by asking local people and communities about their experiences and what matters. We can then work out what outcomes we need hospitals and other services to deliver for people,” he said.

Building on the workshop findings, the CCG plans further public events over Spring to examine - in more detail -  what an improved future service could look like.