The Isle of Man’s approach to providing wrap-around, person-centred health and social care to meet an individual’s needs at the right time and in the right place, will be showcased at a unique event this week.
The inaugural Small Islands Learning Exchange Programme (SmILE) is being hosted by the Department of Health and Social Care and Hospice Isle of Man with the support of the Scottish hub of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC).
The event follows the IFIC conference in San Sebastian, Spain in the spring, where the Isle of Man played a leading role in the launch of a new Special Interest Group on integrated care in small island systems. Delegates from Malta, the Seychelles, Scotland and Guernsey will join their Manx hosts for a three day gathering spread across a number of venues from 25 to 27 September 2019.
SmILE has been styled an interactive ‘all teach, all learn’ networking event for senior health and social care professionals to share insights and experience of delivering integrated care in small communities. It gives an opportunity for the Isle of Man integrated care team to outline its pilot project in Peel and the west, now established as the Western Wellbeing Partnership, which has brought together a host of local services in a single hub.
Department of Health and Social Care Minister David Ashford said:
‘The Department is delighted to host this event which promises to be a valuable learning exchange for people who share the challenges and opportunities of integrating care in small islands. I’m sure we will gain interesting insights from each other, and over the course of three days, forge useful contacts with partners from small island systems in other parts of the world.’
The programme begins with a world café show-and-share event in Legislative Building, where delegates will meet informally during a stint of virtual island hopping. This will be followed by a welcome reception at Government House hosted by the Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Gozney.
The second day will begin at Mylchreest Court in Peel where presentations will cover a range of integrated services operating successfully in the Isle of Man, including the mental health response in police custody project, and integrated palliative and end of life care. The afternoon session, themed Older and Better Island Communities, will be held at Ramsey Cottage Hospital, where preventing falls, managing dementia and a tele-mentoring project are on the agenda. A keynote talk will be given by Senior Associate at IFIC Professor Anne Hendry on Healthy Ageing.
The final day will be hosted at Isle of Man Hospice whose CEO Anne Mills will introduce talks on the theme Community Wellbeing and Resilience. These will showcase third sector initiatives and alliances and a project to foster compassionate communities. Later, delegates will visit a supported employment initiative run by the Mental Health Service Next Step team at Brunswick Gardens in Douglas.
During the three days delegates will taste Manx hospitality and culture with a number of escorted visits, networking events and hosted meals.
