Across BSW: News in brief
The BSW Together Integrated Care System covers a large and varied geographical area (1,511 miles squared) that includes the densely populated and growing town of Swindon to the north, the historic city of Bath, Salisbury Plains to the south and the rolling Mendip Hills to the west.
Health and care partners in each area are working collectively to improve the health outcomes of local people, reduce variation in care and standardise best practice across the area, so that everyone in the region receives high quality treatment, regardless of where they live.
Here’s some highlights about what’s been happening in each area recently.
Bath and North East Somerset
Eleven neighbourhood projects in Bath and North East Somerset will share more than £420,000 in community funding following a public consultation to help choose the recipients.
The twelfth round of the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for Bath will support projects including a new food pantry, parks improvements and better community facilities for carers.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has announced the winning projects which were chosen following feedback from the public consultation held in July this year. Projects include £20,000 for Mercy in Action to set up a new food pantry community facility in Twerton, £47,596 for Bath Mind towards community allotment facilities at Monksdale Road in Moorlands and £25,000 for BANES Carers Centre in Bath to improve community facilities for carers in Twerton.
Dyson Cancer Centre on track to open at the RUH Bath in late 2023
The Royal United Hospitals Bath (RUH) NHS Foundation Trust is marking a successful year of construction at its Combe Park site. The new Dyson Cancer Centre is progressing well and remains on schedule to open to patients in autumn 2023. Read more here: Dyson Cancer Centre
Swindon
GWH awarded £31.8million for urgent and emergency care expansion
Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has secured £26.3million of Government funding to progress an exciting urgent and emergency care expansion.
This is in addition to £5.5million of internal funds that the organisation has available.
This funding was initially ring-fenced in 2018, when the Trust launched its Way Forward Programme which looked to develop the hospital site over the coming years.
The urgent and emergency care expansion will be the biggest ever investment to the hospital site and follows the opening of the new Urgent Treatment Centre and Radiotherapy Centre last year, which already represent a huge investment in Swindon’s healthcare infrastructure.
Watch GWH Chief Executive Kevin McNamara explain more about what the investment will mean for services in Swindon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmzL_LibbzE&t=27s
Wiltshire
Wiltshire Council Early Years Team achieves national recognition for SEND work
Wiltshire Council is one of the first local authorities in the country to gain special recognition for its commitment to inclusion for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in early years.
At the heart of the programme is a desire to ensure under 5s with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities are given equal opportunities. Read more here: https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/news/early-years-team-achieves-national-recognition-for-send-work