Going Local; working together and transforming health delivery in Adur and Worthing.
Adur & Worthing Councils, the Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group and West Sussex County Council have launched a new health delivery programme to explore ways of improving community based health solutions.
In a new approach, Going Local aims to break down the current boundaries between primary care and communities and to encourage more focus on the needs and capabilities of individuals. GPs will refer patients, needing non medical support and advice, to a Community Referrer who will explore with the individual their underlying issues and if appropriate, will refer them to a range of services and support in the community.
It is understood that there are practical health care solutions; in combating loneliness, debt anxiety and stress about finance for example, to be found in the heart of communities, rather than through prescriptive medicine, with many GPs often stretched, without the time to fully explore the many complex underlying social needs of their patient.
Going Local will launch with six GP Practices in Nortbrook (Worthing) and Eastbrook (Adur) this month, along with three Community Referrers, recently employed by Adur & Worthing Councils. All will work closely with services in the voluntary and community sectors in their areas to help residents source the right help and support to meet their own individual needs.
