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19/12/2016

NHS Fife’s today (19/12) publishes its Clinical Strategy - it is our plan for the future of healthcare services in Fife. The Strategy responds to the changing needs of the population and will shape the delivery of healthcare in Fife over the next five years and beyond.

People are now living longer and with more complex healthcare needs. With a rise in chronic conditions and an expected increase in Fife’s population of 32,000 in the next 20 years, the Clinical Strategy provides a clear blueprint for service redesign, ensuring the continued provision of high quality patient care.

The approved Strategy, which has now been published, was developed by clinicians with the involvement of staff, partners and members of the public. Its recommendations include delivering more care and treatment closer to home, increased emphasis on prevention and helping people live healthier lives, particularly from a young age, reducing health inequalities across Fife, and greater use of new and emerging technologies.

These recommendations reflect the key principles at the very heart of the Clinical Strategy, which are to:

  • Treat patients as individuals and involve them in decisions about their care. Ensure services are safe, sustainable, efficient and adaptable over time
  • Ensure care is provided closer to home wherever possible
  • Ensure services are joined up between primary and secondary care eg between GPs, community services and hospitals
  • Provide best value by making the best use of available funding

Work is now underway looking at how we take the Strategy’s recommendations and develop our programme of service transformation and change.

Areas we will look at include

  • Community Service Redesign
  • Cancer and Palliative Care
  • Chronic Conditions and Frailty
  • Future use of buildings and facilities
  • Mental Health
  • Unscheduled Care/Out of Hours
  • Scheduled Care
  • Workforce Planning
  • Women and Children’s Services

Work has already begun on some of these projects which are actively looking at how we develop ideas further and put them into practice. Staff, partners and members of the public will continue to play an important role as we progress and develop these projects further.

NHS Fife Clinical Strategy