The current health and social care system needs reform and we must seize the moment. Preventing ill health and more care at home are at the heart of health and care plans for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. In November 2016, all the major public sector health and care organisations published an outline plan to improve services based on the NHS England Five Year Forward View and Devolution Deal for Cornwall. This programme of work is known as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Health and Care Partnership and is the number one priority for everyone working in health and social care.

The Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Health and Care Partnership has three aims:

1. Improve the health and wellbeing of the local population.
2. Improve the quality of local health and care services.
3. Deliver financial stability in the local health and care system.

Next steps

Based on the views of local clinicians, practitioners and people we now want to define in more detail our options for each local area to improve health and care services. We will do this in partnership with local communities and consult further on any big changes.

People told us that preventing ill health, more joined up care in the community and better access to GPs and urgent care services in the evenings and at weekends are the top priorities. Further investment in mental health services, more alignment with children and young people’s services and better use of information technology were other areas identified as needing improvement by local citizens. Savings were expected to made by reducing bureaucracy and management burden.

These areas will be our focus in developing detailed plans, taking action where there is support to do so and consulting further where there are big changes proposed.