A partnership approach is in place to turn NHS Lanarkshire’s healthcare strategy Achieving Excellence into reality.

NHS Lanarkshire is working jointly with Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership to implement the plans.

The health strategy is both aligned to and dependent upon the strategic commissioning plans of the two health and social care partnerships.

Achieving Excellence has been updated to reflect the comments of stakeholders following last year’s extensive public consultation.

The revised strategy will now form the basis of an extensive programme of healthcare redesign across primary, community, hospital and social care.

A series of short-life working groups will lead the implementation of this programme of change, which will extend over 10 years.

The groups are Building Community Capacity, Long-term Conditions, Acute Planned Care, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, Maternity and Early Years, Fraility, Workforce, Infrastructure, Finance, and Engagement and Communications.

The goal through Achieving Excellence is to shift the balance away from treatment in hospitals. Where required, hospital care will be organised into centres of excellence to provide specialised clinical services for patients.

Detailed planning carried out by the short-life working groups will inform the outline business case for the redevelopment of Monklands Hospital.

The successful implementation of Achieving Excellence depends on effective communications and engagement. This will include regular updates on progress and opportunities to be involved in planning and delivering service changes for staff, patients and other stakeholders.

For more information visit: www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk/Involved/consultation/healthcare-strategy.