Stories from the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority (NEYNL)

Working as a team and including patients as part of that team can actually reduce the cost of care, and help patients to retain independence.

Bill and his wife were struggling with his long term conditions. Since being invited to participate more fully in the management of his heart and chest problems, he and his wife have regained their confidence and are able to live a more normal life.

Kath is having difficulty managing at home, particularly with respect to the bewildering collection of pills she has to take. With the help of the Intermediate Care Team, Kath gains the confidence she needs to remain at home – pills and all!

Even when clinical care for patients is excellent, patients – and their families – can be left feeling that there is a lack of consideration for the needs of the whole person.

A bad fall leaves Shirley Gage lonely, despondent and lacking in confidence. Joining the Healthy Communities Collaborative helps her to regain her confidence through helping others.

12 years ago, community healthcare was based on a hierarchal system which certainly did not acknowledge that patients had anything useful to say. Recent initiatives have made it possible for staff – and patients – to develop as individuals and as teams.

An apparently routine operation becomes anything but routine when the bleeding doesn't stop…

The Clinical Microsystems approach to quality improvement is spreading rapidly around the world, because it really does make a huge difference, to patients, staff – and service improvement managers!