NHS Grampian Charity has awarded an ambitious £3.1million funding package to NHS Grampian to support the development of three innovative projects that will transform patient care.
The funding award has been made possible thanks to the generous donations given by the people of Grampian.
The projects aim to drive forward new approaches to healthcare which are more responsive, inclusive and effective.
Dennis Robertson, chair of NHS Grampian Charity, says: “We are incredibly proud to fund these transformative projects that put people and communities at the centre of their care.
“By working closely with NHS Grampian teams and listening to patients and members of the public, we’re supporting change that will make a lasting difference to people’s lives.
“These projects are about reimagining what’s possible in healthcare, and responding to real needs with meaningful, innovative solutions.”
More than £1.5million has been awarded to develop and deliver a pathway of care for people living with functional disorder symptoms. Functional disorder is a term used to describe health conditions with persistent physical symptoms and impairments which cannot be wholly explained, at this time, by any known disease or physical cause. The new pathway will support between 1,300 and 1,500 patients every year through trialling a more holistic approach, tailoring to individual needs, and co-creating self-management resources with people who have lived experience of functional disorders.
Lisa Duthie, NHS Grampian Charity Lead, and Dennis Robertson, Chair of NHS Grampian Charity.
Around £1.1million has been awarded to implement the Putting People First approach to connect NHS Grampian with its communities, and to place patients and communities at the centre of decision making. This pioneering project will create closer links between the health board and its patients through approaches like Community Appointment Days and lived experience panels which will help design more preventative models of care. The funding will also create a system for patients to provide real-time feedback which will be used to improve care. This approach is expected to impact the care and treatment delivered to around 250 patients every single day.
Almost £500,000 has been awarded to develop an innovative whole-system pathway to provide early identification, assessment, and tailored support for children with neuro-developmental differences in Grampian. This programme will introduce a single point of contact for families from referral all the way through to post-diagnosis, and will create a new multidisciplinary approach which will provide children and their families with tailored support. An estimated 1,000 children and their families will be supported by this new process in the first year alone.
NHS Grampian Charity, which is the official charity partner of NHS Grampian, works to enhance health and care across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray by funding projects which go above and beyond core NHS services. This £3.1 million commitment reflects the charity’s mission to support innovation, and to ensure people across the region receive the best possible care.
Lisa Duthie, NHS Grampian Charity lead, says: “These unique projects will empower NHS teams to deliver even better patient care, and they simply would not have been possible without the incredibly generous donations that have been made by the people of Grampian.
“As the official charity partner of NHS Grampian, we exist to enhance the health and wellbeing of the people in our area, over and above the core services provided by the NHS, and we give our heartfelt thanks to all our supporters for sharing our goal of creating a healthier, happier Grampian.
“Their generosity is directly helping thousands of people across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray to have a better healthcare experience, in hospital and in our communities, and to enjoy better physical and mental health through these exciting projects.”
The new projects will begin over the coming months, with work being led by NHS Grampian teams in partnership with the people and communities they serve.