Warwickshire News Mine

Warwickshire County Council, in collaboration with NHS Warwickshire, local health trusts and the district and borough councils, hosted the “Delivering Preventive Services in Warwickshire Conference” at Warwick University.

The key note speaker Dr David Colin Thomé from the Department of Health, outlined the necessity for close partnership working between health and social care. He stressed the value of prevention, not only to improve the quality of life for patients and customers but as a way of achieving more cost effective services.

The conference was organised as part of the county’s drive to develop effective integrated services across health and social care and to place prevention at the centre of the agenda. The event attracted more than 130 delegates from across health and social care including the private and voluntary sector.

Dr Graeme Betts, Strategic Director of Adult, Health and Community Services at Warwickshire County Council, shared the top table with Paul Jennings, Chief Executive NHS Warwickshire and Gareth Owen, Corporate Services Director, Nuneaton and Bedworth District Council. They spoke of the unprecedented economic climate which presented both a challenge and an opportunity to work in more flexible and innovative ways to improve the health and lives of people in Warwickshire.

Front line practitioners and senior managers shared their expertise on a wide range of issues including healthy living and the challenge of obesity; falls and fracture prevention; the value of early intervention in strokes; and better access to therapies to support people with stress and anxiety.

Delegates discussed how new technologies are being used innovatively to enable people to live independently at home and how housing plays a major role in improving well being. The event also focused on the importance of support for carers who play an integral role in keeping people out of hospital and living within their own homes and communities while also helping to alleviate pressure on health and care budgets

Speaking at the conference Dr Graeme Betts, Strategic Director of Adult, Health and Community Services at Warwickshire County Council, said: “We are working across housing and care to provide preventive and early intervention services across the county to improve quality of life for older people and adults with disabilities.

"By working together and integrating services, we are helping to reduce crisis treatment and costs to the public sector at a time of great financial pressure.”

The knowledge and feedback generated from the conference is being used to form the basis of a countywide prevention strategy which will be developed further by partners in the New Year.

Link to WCC