MP praises ECCH staff for ‘breaking down silos’

Waveney MP Peter Aldous praised teams from East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH), when he visited the social enterprise to help celebrate its 10th year of providing community-based NHS and social care in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Peter met with staff from the Waveney Primary Care Home (PCH) team; one of four multidisciplinary teams including nurses, therapists and social care staff who support GP practices in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area. He was particularly impressed with the way the teams work in partnership with primary care, acute trusts, social care and the voluntary sector, remarking that ECCH is “breaking down the silos in healthcare” to deliver high quality patient care for our communities.

Peter also reflected on the challenges and successes faced by healthcare staff throughout the coronavirus pandemic and discussed the future of healthcare in our local community.

The ward has six palliative care beds with specialist consultant support from St Elizabeth Hospice, forming part of a wider joint initiative between ECCH and the charity which has seen over 1,950 people with life-limiting illnesses in Great Yarmouth and Waveney receive free specialist palliative care since April 2019.

ECCH’s chief executive Ian Hutchison, said: “It was great to have the opportunity to show Peter how much we have done to ensure our teams are fully integrated with our colleagues across the healthcare system in order that patients only have to tell their story once and can receive joined up care in their own homes as much as possible. It was also a great morale boost for our teams, as we mark 10 years of providing care, to have him visit and show such an interest in the work we are doing to build healthier communities.”