Joe Teape: What matters to you when it comes to healthcare?

Over the past year, we’ve been asking a simple but important question: What matters most to you when it comes to health and care?

Hundreds of local people have shared their thoughts—what helps them feel supported, what makes life harder and what they want from their NHS. That feedback is shaping the work we’re doing now to refresh our organisational strategy.

This isn’t just a paper exercise. It’s about creating a future where health and care reflect the priorities of the people we serve. We’ve listened to what you’ve told us: the importance of care that is easier to access, closer to home, and joined-up across services. We’ve heard how much people value prevention, early support, and the dignity of being treated as an individual, not a number.

Our refreshed strategy will align with the national 10-year health plan, which identifies three key shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention (wellness). But our focus is local—building on what works well here and improving where we can. We want to make sure that the changes we make are rooted in the voices of our communities. 

For too long, care has been something people go to—a hospital, a clinic, an appointment. But life doesn’t happen in neat boxes, and neither should care. Our ambition is to bring support closer to where people live, so that staying well becomes part of everyday life, not a struggle through complex systems. 

From these conversations, our emerging vision is taking shape: “To support every person, family and community we serve to live well.”

One way we’re planning to make this vision real is through integrated neighbourhood teams. Integrated care is something we’ve believed in for a long time. We know that when health, social care and voluntary partners work together, people experience better outcomes and a better quality of life. Our goal now is to build on what works well and be honest about what we can do better.

A great example of this approach is our new frailty service based at Newton Abbot Hospital. We’re aiming to have the service up and running later this month, subject to recruitment, to ensure we can better support older people living with frailty this winter.

This new model will bring together GPs, advanced clinical practitioners, frailty coordinators, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Under one roof, people will receive specialist care, urgent diagnostics and holistic assessments.

They will also be supported by our frailty virtual ward, providing care closer to home and offering a safe, effective alternative to a hospital admission. It’s not just about treatment—it’s about prevention, recovery and dignity – supporting people to live well at home. Families tell us how much this matters—it feels human and it makes a real difference. 

Imagine an older person who’s starting to struggle with mobility and confidence. In the past, they might have faced a maze of appointments and delays. With neighbourhood teams and hubs like The Harbour, support is simpler and closer. A physiotherapist, a social worker and a volunteer might all be part of the same conversation, focused on what matters most to that person—staying independent and connected.

This approach isn’t just about frailty. It’s about prevention and early help for everyone. Whether it’s managing a long-term condition, supporting rehabilitation after an injury or tackling loneliness, integrated teams can act sooner and more effectively. That means fewer crises, less time in hospital and more time living life.

Technology will play a key role in making this possible. Next year, we will go live with our Electronic Patient Record (EPR)—a single, secure system that will allow professionals to share information quickly and safely.

Importantly, the EPR will also give patients more control through the MYCARE app and webpage, enabling people to view their health information, manage appointments and take an active role in their care. This is about making care not only more seamless for staff, but more empowering for patients.

Our refreshed strategy will set out how we make this happen—together. It will build on the ideas and priorities local people have shared and it will focus on creating health, not just treating illness.

Because when we work as one—health, care, voluntary organisations and communities—we can achieve something extraordinary: a future where every person, every family and every community in Torbay and South Devon has the support they need not just to get by, but to truly live well.