What do people think about hospitals in Lancashire and South Cumbria?

The Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme team has heard from thousands of people across the region and are now able to share a number of their findings.

Here is a summary of the key themes from the feedback about the New Hospitals Programme

• There is widespread support in favour of funding for new hospital facilities. Local people, patients and staff all acknowledged the ageing population of the region and health inequalities as a driver for urgent improvements for hospital facilities
• Travel and accessibility considerations are the biggest talking point. The public, patients, staff, MPs and wider stakeholders all agreed that travel and accessibility would be a top priority in the development of proposals.
• People are open to the use of digital tools to enable care closer to home. Future potential for patient video or telephone consultations is generally supported.
• A single new hospital on a new central site is not acceptable to most audiences. In many discussions with patients, the public and under-represented communities and inclusion groups, people expressed fears and concerns around a single new hospital. The main concerns centred on services being located too far away and potential difficulties travelling to and around the hospital.
• New hospital facilities should be designed with sustainability in mind. Design, layout, and sustainability was the second most popular discussion point after travel and accessibility. People hoped for flexible spaces and green areas, recreational and wellness areas for staff and visitors, and were positive towards refurbishment of existing sites, perceived as a more sustainable solution.
• Hospital sites must be ‘future-proofed’ to meet the region’s long-term needs. Patients told us that they want hospital sites to be in accessible locations and to have improvements to meet future (not just current) healthcare needs.
• Patient-centred care was the most important topic for inclusion groups. People wanted the future of healthcare to be based on holistic care, collaboration, prevention and tackling health inequalities. Inclusion groups hope that there will be more emphasis on training hospital staff to raise their understanding of the needs of under-represented people.

The New Hospitals Programme will be publishing a full report later this year. You can keep up-to-date on all the latest news from the New Hospitals Programme by signing up for news by email, following the New Hospitals Programme on Twitter (opens in new window), and liking the New Hospitals Programme on Facebook (opens in new window).