The needs of the populations we serve are changing
Cambridge has seen an increase in population of 18% over the past decade (compared to 6% nationally), and this will continue: our local population is set to grow by between 60% and 97% by 2040. We see a continued rise in the number of people who are attending our emergency department. In addition, people are living longer with more complex needs, increasing the demand for highly specialised and personalised care as well as local urgent and emergency care. Across the East of England, over 75s are projected to be the fastest growing group, which will further increase demand for specialised care at CUH.
A strong drive by the Government to modernise healthcare
The 10 Year Health Plan for England describes three shifts: from hospital to community; analogue to digital; and sickness to prevention. We are committed to these changes. This means working with others across health, social care and other sectors. It means better use of data, digital and AI, and it means delivering our next generation programmes to achieve meaningful change. It also means that over time we will see proportionally fewer patients on our main site, and more people will be able to access care locally. Our strategy will help us to deliver the ambitions set out by the Government.
We must keep building on our strengths to go further
We are proud of our hospitals, the care we provide and the many colleagues who make it all possible. Yet despite a big increase in our workforce since 2020, we are not treating substantially more patients. We know we need to reduce variation in care between and within services, and within a constrained budget. Over this next phase we will build on our strengths to bring down waiting times and deliver more effectively with the resources we have, by systematically adopting and scaling best practice and innovation across the Trust. Where we don’t meet the expectations of our patients, we will be purposeful and determined in putting it right. Where change is making a positive impact, we will be quick to share and replicate the things that work. High performance is essential to providing patients with safe, timely, and effective care, and to transforming care to meet the needs of our population in the future.
We have access to unique assets and resources which we must harness. Our position on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, our academic and industry partnerships and our mature digital infrastructure make so much possible. We have an obligation to ensure innovations impact clinical care much more quickly. We have benefitted from recent infrastructure investment, but there is more for us to do, with partners, to maximise the impact of these assets on behalf of the people we serve – both in Cambridge, across the East of England and nationally