NHS South Yorkshire Five Year Plan launched

NHS South Yorkshire officially launched the ‘Five Year Joint Forward Plan’ at its Annual General Meeting on 28 September.

The plan is a response to the South Yorkshire Health and Care Strategy published in March this year and sets out the NHS contribution to improving population health. It is a forward look at what is most important for keeping people healthy and making sure everyone has equity of access to healthcare across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

NHS South Yorkshire engaged with local people and communities to create the plan, collaborated across the NHS in South Yorkshire, including with GP surgeries, dentists, pharmacists, community and mental health services, hospitals and ambulance trusts and worked in partnership with local councils, voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations for how they will improve the health and wellbeing of people in South Yorkshire over the next five years.

There are seven areas of focus:

• Improving access to primary care (GPs, pharmacists, optometrists and dentists)
• Improving maternity services and services for children and young people.

• Improving access and transforming mental health services
• Recovering and optimising cancer, elective and diagnostic pathways
• Transforming community services
• Improving access and redesigning specialist services for those with learning disabilities and autism
• Recovering urgent and emergency care including developing alternatives to A&E

Visit the NHS South Yorkshire website to watch an animation summarising what they set out to do in the plan and where you can also read the full report or summary version.