Our priorities and principles

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There are some important principles that every NHS organisation works to uphold. You can find out more about each of them on this page.

Our vision and values

Our vision

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly will be a great place to be born, live and thrive and grow old.

• We have connected, healthy, caring communities for one and all
• Our young people have the best start in life
• We all live well
• As we get older we are able to live happy lives in a place we call home

Our core values

• Citizen first.
• Outcome focused.
• Respectful.
• Excellence in all we do.

The 6 pillars

1. Customer focused.
2. Clinically led.
3. Evidence based.
4. Deliver within financial envelope.
5. Drive place and community (delivery closer to home).
6. Reduce health inequalities.

Our priorities

We planned our health and care services for 2022/23 to meet 6 short term priorities and objectives which are:

• Get people home from hospital and reduce ambulance delays
• Trying to clear the backlog of elective care appointments.
• Creating a sustainable workforce across health and care services.
• Expanding support for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities, and autism.
• Increasing dementia diagnosis rates and improving support for people, their families and carers once a diagnosis is made.
• Reducing health inequality.

Our clinical priorities focus on:

• Flow
• Intermediate care
• Mental health, learning disabilities and autism
• Dementia

Our work is also supported by 3 enabler priorities

• Workforce
• Digital
• Estates

Our Joint Forward Plan priorities

We have agreed the principles of our five-year joint forward plan that aligns to our vision, and operating plans, which sets out how we plan to:

• Recover from the pandemic, reducing waiting times for urgent and planned care
• Improve the value of what we provide
• Transform support for people at different stages of life to match the changing needs of our population

Planning for the long term – our new ten-year strategy

We’re proud to have created our ten-year Integrated Care System strategy over this last year, which complements our Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

This sets out our long term priorities focusing on the three key life stages of:

• Start well – We want our young people to have the best start in life, specifically for the first 1001 days (2.5 years).
• Live well – We want adults to live good lives – where they have the tools and support to better improve and self manage their health and wellbeing.
• Age well – We want our older adults to live well and independently in a place they choose to call home.

You can read more about our new ICS strategy and how local people shaped our approach on our website.

Aligning to the NHS national priorities

Our strategic priorities have been designed to align with NHS England’s priorities which are:

• To recover our services following the Covid-19 pandemic
• To transform NHS services for the future
• To meet the ambitions set out in the NHS Long Term Plan 

The NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution sets out the principles and values of the NHS in England.

It explains:

• the responsibilities of the public, patients and staff
• the rights of the public and staff
• what the NHS has committed to achieve

NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Constitution

The NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Constitution is an important document that details how we will conduct our business as the statutory body for commissioning in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

You can find more information about our governance structures in our governance handbook.

If you have a question about the constitution, email our corporate governance team.

Nolan principles

The 7 principles of public life (also known as the Nolan principles) set out the ethical standards that people working in the public sector are expected to follow. They were identified by the Nolan Committee in their first report on standards in public life in May 1995.

We actively encourage and strive to follow the principles. All members of NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly have agreed to adhere to these principles by working within the terms of our constitution which promotes these principles.

Raising a concern (whistleblowing)

Whistleblowing is the term used when a worker contacts on organisation with a concern about the organisation and its services. The concern will typically, although not always, be regarding something they have witnessed at work.

Speaking up about any concern at work is important. In fact, it is vital because it will help us to keep improving services for people and the working environment for colleagues. Senior leaders and our Board are committed to an open and honest culture. Any colleague who wishes to raise a concern will be fully supported.

If you would like to raise a concern to NHS Cornwall and isles of Scilly, please contact our freedom to speak up guardians:

• Martin Sykes, freedom to speak up guardian Board champion, email Martin.
• Emma Goudge, head of people and organisational development, email Emma or call 07881 804925.
• Trudy Corsellis, interim director of corporate affairs, email Trudy or call 07881 804867.

Caldicott Guardian

A Caldicott Guardian is a senior person in an organisation. They make sure we keep people’s information safe and share it responsibly. They do this by looking at the ethical and legal reasons for sharing the data. Caldicott Guardian’s play a vital role in making sure we use information carefully to help us deliver better care.

Our Caldicott Guardian is Chris Reid, chief medical officer.