Accessibility controls
Wakefield District patients to benefit from new pilot
01.04.09
Wakefield Integrated Substance Misuse Services (WISMS) have been successful in their bid to run a new trial that will benefit patients across the district.
The NHS Wakefield District commissioned service supports those tackling alcohol and substance addiction. It beat off competition from 100 applicants to be one of just 16 chosen across the country to run a new Integrated Care Pilot (ICP). The aim of the pilot is to explore different ways in which health and social care services can join together and work to improve local health and well-being.
WISMS Clinical Director, Dr Linda Harris said: "This is great news for local patients. We have already worked really hard to get this far and those involved should be really proud of their achievements. As the only successful applicant in the Yorkshire and Humber region, and the only substance misuse service trialling a pilot, I am confident we can make a real difference to our patients.
"This pilot will allow us to take a fresh look at how we support those tackling alcohol and substance misuse to look beyond traditional boundaries. For example we want to make sure that our services not only provide the best possible outcomes for each individual service user's health and well-being, but also benefit the local community and economy. With this in mind we plan to work with our partners, service users and the public to develop a set of outcomes that will help us achieve this. These outcomes will unite us in our work and bring about changes to the way we work that benefit us all."
In their feedback about the bid the Department of Health noted that WISMS already had a strong partnership approach to working, including direct involvement of service users in planning services. They commented that this would provide a strong platform on which to build on.
Gary Belfield, Director of Commissioning, Department of Health, said: "We're delighted to welcome WISMS to the programme of Integrated Care Pilots. The programme is about giving those in health and social care the opportunity to trial new ways of working to improve the quality, convenience and effectiveness of services for patients. WISMS clearly demonstrated they were looking to try something new that had the potential to really make a difference."
The WISMS ICP pilot will run for two years and will be evaluated over three years against a set of national and local measures. The criteria involved include impact on health outcomes, improved quality of care, service user satisfaction, and effective relationships and systems. There will be a £250,000 investment to support the project.