Reydon & Southwold Healthy Living Centre

A Patient Says

A patient recently contacted a member of the Healthy Living Centre Team and said:

"There are good reasons to support the Healthy Living Centre.

The most cogent of these is because the increasingly aging population means that there is likely to be more long-term illness and disability for General Practitioners to deal with. The existing facilities of the Southwold Surgery are already under a strain to cope with the present workload, and this strain can only become more acute as time goes by. The existing Southwold Hospital is in a similar situation. Apart from the fact that it only has 15 beds, which makes it uneconomic to run, its configuration means that it is difficult to adapt in order to improve its facilities to respond to the needs of this aging population.

As well as these practical difficulties there is also a need for a higher standard of Care in the Community to support those people who are only able to stay living in their homes with a good deal of help from the Medical Profession and the Social Services.

The vision is to solve these problems by providing a Healthy Living Centre comprising the services listed in the leaflet in an up-to-date and co-ordinated way.

The proposed method of funding this venture is by a partnership between the NHS, the private sector, and capital raised locally. This last fact is important, as the larger the local investment is, then the bigger the say locals can have in what sort of facilities are covered. The Centre will be owned and run by a Community Interest Company, which means that since the assets will belong to the community, it cannot be closed-down by the government (unlike the position prevailing with the present Southwold Hospital). This arrangement means that, nevertheless, the Centre will be able to receive grants from the NHS.

It is important that we all support the project for two reasons.

Firstly to demonstrate the local keenness for it; this will make it more likely to happen. Secondly to have a strong say in what services we consider should be provided - these might range from a 'Medicine for the Elderly Clinic' to such things as a 'Dialysis Service' or a 'Stroke Clinic'. At this stage it will be of the greatest help to fill in the form with your own suggestions.

This is in no way seen as a step towards privatising the health service, but rather to involve the community in its own care."


Home About The Centre Healthy Living News The Community Role A Patient Says F.A.Q. Funding Support Us Contact Us Southwold Surgery	A Patient Says A patient recently contacted a member of the Healthy Living Centre Team and said: "There are good reasons to support the Healthy Living Centre. The most cogent of these is because the increasingly aging population means that there is likely to be more long-term illness and disability for General Practitioners to deal with. The existing facilities of the Southwold Surgery are already under a strain to cope with the present workload, and this strain can only become more acute as time goes by. The existing Southwold Hospital is in a similar situation. Apart from the fact that it only has 15 beds, which makes it uneconomic to run, its configuration means that it is difficult to adapt in order to improve its facilities to respond to the needs of this aging population. As well as these practical difficulties there is also a need for a higher standard of Care in the Community to support those people who are only able to stay living in their homes with a good deal of help from the Medical Profession and the Social Services. The vision is to solve these problems by providing a Healthy Living Centre comprising the services listed in the leaflet in an up-to-date and co-ordinated way. The proposed method of funding this venture is by a partnership between the NHS, the private sector, and capital raised locally. This last fact is important, as the larger the local investment is, then the bigger the say locals can have in what sort of facilities are covered. The Centre will be owned and run by a Community Interest Company, which means that since the assets will belong to the community, it cannot be closed-down by the government (unlike the position prevailing with the present Southwold Hospital). This arrangement means that, nevertheless, the Centre will be able to receive grants from the NHS. It is important that we all support the project for two reasons. Firstly to demonstrate the local keenness for it; this will make it more likely to happen. Secondly to have a strong say in what services we consider should be provided - these might range from a 'Medicine for the Elderly Clinic' to such things as a 'Dialysis Service' or a 'Stroke Clinic'. At this stage it will be of the greatest help to fill in the form with your own suggestions. This is in no way seen as a step towards privatising the health service, but rather to involve the community in its own care."
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