Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt visits the Symphony Programme
On Wednesday 27 July, we welcomed The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt to Yeovil Hospital to find out what progress was being made in our south Somerset Vanguard. Mr Hunt was joined on the visit by local MP Marcus Fysh, who met key staff within the Symphony Programme team including hospital and GP representatives.
During the visit, we introduced Mr Hunt to the Complex Care Hub team, led by GPs Dr Jo Cummings and Dr Sarah Ormandy. The team explained the new systems and methods that are being used to care for patients with the most complex health needs, by providing a more individualised and specialist approach to care.
Mr Hunt commented on his visit “It has been very encouraging to see the Symphony Programme providing more personalised care for the most vulnerable patients – this model should be an inspiration to the NHS.”
“It has also been really impressive to see the motivation of the GPs and Care Coordinators in the Complex Care Hub. Although the Hub is at the start of its journey, with 230 patients, the standard of care that patients receive is outstanding. I would also like to commend the practices who have come together to work with the hospital to design and deliver a new, innovative approach to healthcare.”
After visiting the Complex Care Hub, Mr Hunt met with medical staff and patients within the Frail and Older Persons Assessment Service (FOPAS), a unit that works closely with patients from the Complex Care Hub.
The visit was a great opportunity to explain how the Symphony programme has been working towards creating sustainable healthcare teams and services to support primary care and to meet the key challenges in south Somerset of increasing patient numbers and those who have a number of complex, long-term health conditions needing frequent and specialist care. It was also really positive to reflect on what has been achieved since the start of the programme and the steps that have already been taken towards helping to change the way that patients access and use local health and care services.
By introducing new roles, such as Health Coaches in GP practices that concentrate on prevention, care coordination and patient support this can now enable GPs to spend more of their time on the clinical work that only they can do. Through personalised support and care, we are empowering patients to better manage existing health conditions and improve their quality of life at home, as well as reducing unnecessary admission to hospital.
Hear what The Secretary of State for Health said about The Symphony Programme;