Posted on: 23 May 2019
100% digital - shining a light on digital health and care in Leeds #LDF19
Each spring, the Leeds Digital Festival corrals the digital community to put on its Sunday best and parade our northern finery to the world. And this is what we did in April this year.
With a thriving digital health and care sector in Leeds, we are super proud at mHabitat to curate this theme of the festival on behalf of the NHS and local authority, in partnership with a whole range of local and national bodies.
With technology woven throughout the NHS Long Term Plan there has never been more of a focus on the role of digital in enabling transformation of health and care services. However, in stark contrast, barely a day goes by where we don't encounter the most basic barriers to uptake of technology, not only in services but in people’s everyday lives.
Whether it be community nurses whose laptops either take forever to boot up, or young people in excluded communities confused about how to navigate the web, we need to think critically about both infrastructure and human factors. If we fail to do this then we run the risk of exacerbating the inverse care law and worsening health inequalities. This theme was woven throughout our digital festival events and we endeavoured to put patients, citizens and health and care practitioners at the heart of our talks and discussions. This is after all what we are all about.
One way to understand how we balance the promise of digital technology with the realities of health and care services, and the lived experience of patients and citizens, is to bring people together from a wide range of disciplines to deliberate. Our events endeavour to blend a variety of perspectives and expertise - academics with clinicians, citizens with philosophers, ethicists with industry - and so on. Our 100% Digital Leeds programme brings together international, national, regional and local experts to move our thinking forward as a city and beyond.
The role of digital in Leeds as a city of sanctuary for refugees
Despite the fact that the majority of the population own a smartphone, we know there remain stubborn areas of digital exclusion with 6.5 million people who never use the internet. Building on the amazing digital inclusion work done by Leeds Libraries, our Can Digital Offer Sanctuary? event shone a light on what technology means to people seeking asylum and refuge in our city. We heard first-hand from people who have personal experience as refugees and those who offer support, alongside academic and practitioner points of view. We learnt how important smart devices are to people travelling from their own country but also the many barriers they experience.
Social media and vulnerable teens
A topic that is close to my heart is how practitioners can support vulnerable teens in their use of social media, digital and the internet (self-promotion klaxon - I even co-wrote a book about it last year). So I was particularly excited about this event which brought a range of experts, including international academic heavyweight Sonia Livingstone; a group of Mindmate Ambassadors; and the Leeds Playhouse youth theatre group, to approach this issue from a variety of points of view. Adult voices often drown out those of young people, so we provided plenty of space for young people to have their say.
Co>Space North
We were very proud to launch Co>Space North during the festival, a digital health collaboration space in the heart of Leeds. If you’d like to find out more about the space and how you can get involved and become a member, you can do so here.
Sharing and spreading good practice
The importance of bringing together all these people over the course of the event is the opportunity to share learning and good practice across not only Leeds but regionally too. This is where the work of West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership is important. Our Partnership gives us the ability to share good practice and spread the learning - an area I am particular keen on. Only by working together and breaking down organisational and geographically boundaries can we really make a positive difference to people’s lives. I hope that those colleagues who attended, regardless of where they work and live, take up the baton and spread the digital word and truly bring their learning into their day to day lives when doing what they do best – making a positive difference to people’s lives.
Finally…Here's a link to a podcast with me talking about the health and care themed festival programme.
Have a good bank holiday weekend,
Victoria
What else has been happening this week?
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Local Maternity System Board (LMS)
The role of the Local Maternity System (LMS) is to bring together maternity services across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. This includes working with a large number of stakeholders including neonatal services, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and primary care – such as GPs and district nurses.
The LMS Board met last Friday and was chaired by Anne-Marie Henshaw, Associate Director of Nursing and Head of Midwifery, Calderdale and Huddersfield, NHS Foundation Trust. Anne-Marie is one of two chairs for the Board – the other is Carol McKenna, Chief Officer for North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group and Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.
The Board discussed the refresh of the LMS plan and the spending plan for 2019/2020. Key to the refresh of the plan is the future sustainability of all projects. The main areas agreed for prioritisation this year will be the delivery of continuity of carer. Funding was agreed for extra resource, staffing and equipment to support this work. Prevention is at the heart of the programme and resource will be made available to the many prevention expert groups. Safety, personalisation, choice, workforce and digitalisation are also key areas for investment.
This year there will be a new focus on postnatal and perinatal care. A Perinatal Mental Health Event was held in May 2019, which was well received. A postnatal event is planned for June 2019. Action plans will be developed following the events to ensure delivery of the required improvements.
Engagement continues with women and their families. The local Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) Groups are developing a website this will be funded by the LMS. The Board also recognised the importance of involving people with learning disabilities in their work as experts through lived experience. This will be addressed this year as the LMS will also look at engaging with those who are seldom heard.
More detailed information on the work of the LMS is available on the Maternity Section of our Partnership website.
Urgent and Emergency Care Programme Board
The UEC programme board, chaired by Dr Adam Sheppard took place on Monday 20 May. The board heard from Janet Howden, Leeds City Digital Partnerships Team, about GP Connect and how it can be utilised to support direct booking from NHS 111 in to GP practices across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. There was a presentation from Kate Parker and Debra Taylor-Tate, from Leeds CCG, outlining the evaluation and next steps of the Leeds Local Clinical Advice Service pilot, which operated across a number of practices in Leeds between September 2018 and March 2019. The board also heard from Penny Kirk and Colin Sloane, NHS England and NHS Improvement, about the importance of Advanced Care Planning for patients with dementia. West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership are one of three national dementia pilot sites. These items were received positively by the board; and they look forward to receiving further updates to these important pieces of work in the future.
West Yorkshire & Harrogate Health and Care Partnership System Oversight and Assurance GroupThe System Oversight and Assurance Group (SOAG) met on Wednesday. This group has been established to take an overview of progress with our shared priority programmes, and to agree collective action to help tackle shared challenges. The group is made up of senior leaders from across the Partnership. This month SOAG heard about progress being made on the work of cancer, maternity, hospitals working together, carers and the digital programme.
The update on cancer included the recovery of the 62 day referral to treatment waiting times standard, where significant improvements have been made over the past months. Colleagues are also looking at a model to support people living with and beyond cancer.
The work of the maternity system is progressing well. The programme board is considering priority areas of work.
West Yorkshire Vascular Services were also on the agenda. You may recall from last week’s blog that NHS England will lead on a public consultation on vascular services over the coming weeks.
If you read Fatima Khan-Shah’s blog you will know that work is underway to adopt a working carers passport– beginning with mental health providers and the hospitals across the area. We have also utilised ‘Employers for Carers’ digital resources to use across our six local areas (Bradford District and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield). This will help NHS partners support our working carers and also provide carer awareness e-learning, where not already in place.
Colleagues from the digital programme are developing GP consultation online; and work on the local health care record exemplar (LHCRE) continues. Watch this film from Rob Webster, our CEO lead, to find out more.
Other items discussed included an update on Partnership financial and operational performace.
Improving planned care and reducing variation
Programme Board is evolving
Over the past 18 months, the Partnership’s Planned Care Programme and the Elective Surgery Programme of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) have worked closely together and developed increasingly collaborative ways of working on musculoskeletal (MSK) services and eye care. One good example of this exists in eye care where the Planned Care Programme has funded a post within WYAAT to support its work.
To become even more aligned in our approach to planning, decision-making and implementation, we propose joining up with WYAAT’s Elective Surgery Programme by reconfiguring the existing Planned Care Programme Board. Both programmes, and all relevant roles and functions across the region, will be represented on this new Programme Board. The intention is for this new arrangement to be in place ahead of the Programme Board meeting on 17 September 2019.
Flash glucose monitoring
Pharmacy Leadership Group gave an update to Programme Board on NHS England’s new guidance around the funding of flash glucose monitoring for people with Type 1 Diabetes. Flash glucose monitoring is a new way of checking glucose levels that requires two devices, a small sensor and the monitor itself. The sensor is inserted just under the skin on the upper arm where it remains for 14 days. It measures glucose levels in the interstitial fluid which is the thin layer of fluid that surrounds the body’s cells.
The patient can attach the monitor to the sensor at any time to take a reading. The glucose level in interstitial fluid is not quite the same as it is in blood but the flash glucose monitor allows for this difference to give a good indication of what the blood glucose level is likely to be at that point in time. This method of monitoring gives the person with diabetes a much clearer picture of their glucose levels throughout the day and overnight compared to the traditional ‘snap shot’ finger prick blood test. It gives the current glucose reading and indicates if glucose levels are stable, or if they are going up or down, enabling the user to make an informed decision about any action they need to take.
All CCGs in West Yorkshire and Harrogate had agreed policies for the use of flash glucose monitoring in place before the new guidance came into effect on 1 April. These policies are similar, but not identical, to the new guidance so we are working with local diabetes specialists to agree a single policy for West Yorkshire and Harrogate that will include all the national criteria.
We estimate that around 750 people in West Yorkshire and Harrogate with Type 1 Diabetes are currently using NHS funded flash glucose monitoring. We anticipate that implementation of the NHS England guidance, and the subsequent implementation of a single policy, will result in an increase in the number of people with Type 1 Diabetes using flash glucose monitoring in the region.
Proposal for a single Area Prescribing Committee for West Yorkshire and Harrogate
Pharmacy Leadership Group has supported moving towards a single Area Prescribing Committee (APC) for West Yorkshire and Harrogate by the end of 2019. Currently, seven of the nine CCGs in our region are part of the South West Yorkshire Area Prescribing Committee (SWYAPC). NHS Airedale Wharfedale Craven CCG and NHS Harrogate CCG have separate APCs. This move towards a single APC will support a consistent approach to safe, evidence-based and cost-effective prescribing for West Yorkshire and Harrogate as a whole.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership involve more VCS partners
More than 80 voluntary and community sector (VCS) representatives from West Yorkshire and Harrogate, including Age UK, Bradford VCS Alliance, Touchstone and Community First Yorkshire attended a health and care partnership event in Bradford on Tuesday (May 21).
The West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership event, held at Kala Sangam, raised awareness of the NHS Long Term Plan (published in January 2019), its implementation and how the voluntary community sector could get involved as equal partners across the area.
Attendees received an update on the Partnership’s progress to date, including the development of the VCS plan and its focus on the Partnership’s priority areas, including preventing ill health, cancer, mental health, urgent emergency care, supporting unpaid carers and tackling health inequalities.
VCS organisations play an important role in the health care of the 2.6million people living across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. There are many examples of great work taking place in the six local areas (Bradford District and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield) from preventing ill health to cancer support. You can read more here. The presentations are also available here. Add pic.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate local planners
Local place planners from Bradford District and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield met on Tuesday.
Kirklees colleagues are refreshing their operational plan in line with the NHS Long Term Plan and follow up engagement work around digital and personalisation will take place in June – this will build on the Healthwatch involvement work which ended on 3 May. The strategic outline case for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust reconfiguration has been submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement. A business case will be developed once this has been agreed.
Wakefield is working on the development of their primary care networks. Social prescribing is key to this. Wakefield has a new Chair for their Health and Wellbeing Board, Cllr Faith Helpinstall. Sarah Roxby from WDH; Jo Webster, Chief Officer for Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group and Jacqui Gedman, CEO for Kirklees Council (who is also the Partnership’s housing and health CEO Lead) are attending a national housing conference in June to share the good work taking place.
Bradford colleagues are reviewing their programmes and have started a large piece of work on early help and intervention and joined up care across the area Public Health are launching their Living Well partnership project in June. There was also an update on A&E work and breast screening.
NHS Long Term Plan
Communication and engagement colleagues met on Wednesday for an update on the engagement work across the area, which focused on personalised care and digitalisation. Healthwatch will share the report of findings at the end of June. Work continues to develop the Partnership’s five year plan which will be discussed at the first meeting of the Partnership Board next Tuesday. The aim is to have a plan to share with NHS England in October with publication towards the end of the year / January. You can find out more about the work we are doing on our website here.
Refreshing our existing West Yorkshire and Harrogate work programmes
We are currently in the process of refreshing our priority work programmes through their Programme Board arrangements. The Programme Boards bring together relevant place and sector leads, and will help ensure that there is a strong place and sector voice in the development of new ambitions. A key part of this work is the alignment to the NHS Long Term Plan (where it doesn’t already exist). The check and confirm sessions with programme leads for mental health; personalised care; improving planned care and reducing variations in policies; organisational development and WYAAT (hospitals working together).