What is the aim of your project?
The aim of my project is to review and redesign women’s and family healthcare services to meet the needs of the young, expanding and highly mobile population of Newham. These services include maternity, gynaecology, neo-natal, HIV/sexual health and children’s liaison services
As project director of a new £17m Women’s and Family Health Centre, to be opened in 2007/8, I will be carrying out a thorough consultation with the public and other stakeholders on the choices that are available for service delivery.
What are the challenges you face?
Newham is in the centre of the Thames Gateway regeneration project, which means that there will be around 100,000 extra people living in the area in 10 years time. It is quite difficult to plan healthcare services, ensuring that demand doesn’t outweigh capacity, when you don’t know what the make-up of that new population will be!
We have a very young population, with a large proportion of those aged 19-25. Incidence of STIs, HIV, CHD, diabetes and infant mortality is high. Around 60 per cent of people living here come from minority ethnic groups and a total of 38 languages are spoken. High levels of deprivation and health inequalities exist at the heart of the community.
Finding ways to meet the varied and growing demands of this young, culturally diverse population is a significant challenge. Health provision has to be highly targeted and we need to think about new ways of modernising and delivering services and addressing issues of access and advocacy.
What did receiving the award mean to you?
Receiving the award has meant a tremendous amount to me in several different ways. When you’re a manager, you’re expected to succeed and don’t always get a lot of feedback on your performance. Simply going through the process of applying and being selected for the award has made me feel more valued.
The personal training allowance that comes with the award means that I can access the help and support I need in what is a new area of work for me. I am attending the change agents skills programme at Lancaster University Management School which is equipping me with new skills and knowledge in managing change.
What have you achieved to date?
I held the first public partnership event at the end of January and it attracted a huge amount of interest. We had four people describing their experiences of maternity care in Newham – two good, two bad. This exercise wasn’t about defending our services – it was a “warts-and-all” approach and genuinely about listening and learning for the future. The next step is to set out a roadshow to create more opportunities for public consultation.
What do you hope to achieve ultimately?
By the end of the award, I aim to have a convincing, fully supported business case for exciting new healthcare provision in Newham. And then who knows what could happen from there!