Posted on: 17 June 2022
Hello everyone - my name is Mahmud, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to write this week’s leadership blog.
I’m a Non-Executive Director of The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHs Trust. I’m also an organ donation ambassador for NHS Blood & Transplant across Yorkshire, an Organ Donation Committee member for both Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and I have the honour of sitting on the Stakeholder Board for the Westfield Health British Transplant Games, which come to Leeds at the end of July 2022, which is what I wanted to talk about.
I am really proud to see such strong leadership from the likes of Tom Riordan (CEO for Leeds City Council), former mayor Asghar Khan, Esther Wakeman and so many others in welcoming the British Transplant Games to Leeds – and I am grateful for everyone at the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership for supporting this national event too. Whilst held in Leeds, this will be a Yorkshire Games, and will see well over 2000 registrants and nearly 1000 athletes from across the UK taking part making Leeds 2022 one of the biggest such events ever. You may start to see some amazing displays popping up around the area in the coming weeks – Leeds Bradford Airport has already gone live with some last week!
I have a very personal reason to be an advocate for organ donation and the British Transplant Games as a celebration of the gift of life.
In 2004, my wife Sharon suffered from a sudden brain haemorrhage at the age of 32. She was rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary, but she was pronounced dead, and I was asked about organ donation. Since the age of 16, she had carried a donor card and I knew her organ donation decision because we talked about it. So, when I was asked as her next of kin, I said yes, because I knew. She saved me - protected me - from having to decide myself in the midst of that grief and shock. As a result of her donation, four people were saved, including a little boy of one and a half who wouldn’t have made it to two years old without Sharon’s liver. I know she would have been so proud of that legacy, and I most certainly am.
I also experienced and witnessed amazing, compassionate care from the NHS, and that was the spark that led me to become an active advocate for organ donation and to give something back to our amazing NHS by becoming a non-executive director.
The British Transplant Games coming to Leeds is a fantastic chance for everyone across the Partnership to celebrate the excellence in organ donation across our system - from our specialist transplant teams in Leeds to all the provider acute trusts and specialist nurses for organ donation supporting donation conversations in hospitals. And also, the great work done across West Yorkshire to raise awareness of organ donation amongst our communities by all our partners at place, system, primary care, secondary care, local authorities, charities and volunteers. It is a real celebration of the gift of life.
Please do get involved in this amazing event, visit www.britishtransplantgames.co.uk where you can find out more, when the events are taking place should you wish to spectate (and cheer on our amazing Leeds Adult and Leeds Children Transplant Teams that are competing – but bring tissues, you’ll need them!). You will also find details of the Donor Run on the website which will take place on Saturday 30 July in Leeds, a celebration of organ donation for everyone to take part in - transplant recipients, donor families, NHS workers, organ donation supporters, everyone - with no sporting ability required at all.
Focusing on organ donation is really important as a public health initiative. Across the country we have 6,400 people (including children) waiting for an urgent transplant – 230 in West Yorkshire alone. It is really important to have the discussion with your family about your decision. Families will be consulted about organ donation, so make sure they know your choice. For me, knowing what she wanted was vital for me saying yes. Where families know the decision, consent rates are significantly higher than where no decision is known (90% to 60%). You can also record your decision on the Organ Donor Register (either via www.organdonation.nhs.uk or the NHS App “Your Health” tab).
Across West Yorkshire creating more advocacy for organ donation plays directly to our objective of tackling health inequalities too. For example, ethnic minority patients make up one third of the waiting list (twice as likely to need a transplant) yet we have more work to do to encourage organ donation conversations and consent across all communities to avoid ethnic minority patients waiting longer for a transplant (which they currently do). And I am really pleased to say that central to the aims of the Games in Leeds in July will be a mission to encourage this conversation across all our diverse communities to help tackle this health inequality.
So, I hope this has excited you about the upcoming games that are coming to our patch, and why we as a Partnership should get right behind this celebration of organ donation whilst recognising the brilliant work across all our places (Bradford District and Craven, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield District). And I hope it may have inspired you to have that conversation with your loved ones about your organ donation decision too!
To find out more about organ donation across West Yorkshire and the British Transplant Games, follow @BeAHeroYorks (Leeds/Yorkshire), @MidOrgan (Wakefield/Kirklees), @BradfordOrgDon (Bradford) or @WHBTG (Transplant Games) on Twitter, and thank you for reading.
If you do have any questions about organ donation or anything I’ve raised above, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on mahmud.
Have a great weekend,
Mahmud
What else has been happening this week?
Celebrating the diabetes community
This week (13 to 19 June) is Diabetes Week. This year’s theme is ‘celebrating you’ and is about celebrating the millions of people across the UK taking diabetes in their stride – and everyone supporting them along the way.
In preparation for the week we joined forces with Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group, Diabetes UK and Reed Wellbeing – one of the providers of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, in Halifax on Friday 10 June.
Our stall was very busy, helped by the sunshine. During the day, we talked to around 100 people about managing diabetes and reducing the risk of type 2. Many took the opportunity to get measured and weighed and assess their risk of type 2 diabetes using the Diabetes UK Know Your Risk tool and were signposted to our animation to find out more about recognising the signs.
There were lots of conversations too as well and literature around the support available, yummy healthy recipes and handy tips in abundance about the small changes you can make to boost overall health and wellbeing.
People across the country, including partnership colleagues, have been taking part in the first ever Big Diabetes Week Dog Walk. It doesn’t matter if you have two legs or four, anyone can join in.
During the week we’ve also been supporting digital promotion of the two online structured education offers in place for adults:
- My Type 1 Diabetes - a free digital resource that offers tailored advice and information created by NHS experts and people living with type 1 diabetes
- Healthy Living for people with type 2 diabetes - a free online structured education programme designed to help users learn more about type 2 diabetes. Healthy Living has been clinically proven and can help participants live well with type 2 diabetes.
See the Diabetes UK webpage for more information. It’s never too late to get involved.
Primary and Community Care Programme
The Primary and Community Care Programme Board met on Tuesday. The meeting was chaired by Carol Mckenna, Senior Responsible Officer for the Programme. Carol is also the Chief Officer for Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group. The Board received an update on the outcome of the Winter Access Funding (WAF) in West Yorkshire which included lessons learned and the plans for investment should future WAF be received again.
The West Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce Steering Group shared their refreshed strategy and objectives, setting out the strategic direction of primary care, aligned to the ambitions of the Partnership and of the People Plan. The three broad objectives remain: recruit, train, retain.
The Board discussed the headlines from the recently published National Fuller Stocktake. This sets out a vision for integrated primary care, and includes recommendations for integrated care systems like ours as well as national organisations. It includes same day access for urgent care, continuity of care, personalised care, as well as workforce, digital and estates.
The Board also received a briefing on the refresh of the overarching West Yorkshire Five Year Strategy that will be coproduced for the end of the year. Board members also discussed the response to the tackling health inequalities for minority ethnic communities and colleagues action plan.
An update from the Primary Care Clinical Director reference group was received by Dr Steve Ollerton, the West Yorkshire Primary Care Lead. Recent discussions include plans for the new enhanced access model of care arrangements that come into place in October 2022 and a presentation from the Partnerships Digital Team on General Practice Online Consultation Procurement Workshop which took place recently.
The group were also joined by the Clinical Lead for the Ageing Well Programme within the Partnership to talk about the current arrangements across the West Yorkshire locality for virtual wards.
Board members received an update on the primary care design work. This has focused on the safe transfer of primary medical care as the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board assumes responsibility from 1 July 2022. The next board meeting takes place on the 9 August 2022.
Hospital discharge
Our aim is to develop care that supports people leaving hospital to the right place, at the right time, and with the right support that helps them regain their independence and leads to the best possible health outcomes and experience. Colleagues continue to reinforce areas of work for a West Yorkshire wide approach where good practice is shared.
There have been a helpful set of World Café conversations in which each of our five places (Bradford District and Craven; Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield) shared good practice and learning. During June we are supporting places with completion of a maturity matrix which will look at workforce capacity and people’s needs now and in the future.
West Yorkshire Anti-Racism Movement
Given the recent reports in the media, and workforce reports around racism, we wanted to give a helpful reminder that all the Anti-racism Movement resources are on our website and free to use, including social media assets and training. People can still make a pledge and receive a pin badge. Please do feel free to use these important movement materials.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) features in the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives’ (AACE) spotlight on series this June, themed around anti-racism
As part of AACE’s work in valuing difference and celebrating diversity Chief Executives, Chairs and leadership teams across UK ambulance services have pledged to play a fundamental role in the achievement of positive and lasting change in stamping out racism – acting at both national and local levels.
YAS support the AACE’s 5 Rs promise, which is also supported by the National Ambulance BME Forum, as well as the Root out Racism initiative by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.
As part of the ‘spotlight on’ series, YAS have showcased their ‘Say Yes to Respect’ initiative and how they are promoting a positive, respectful and inclusive culture across the Service.
You can view our full video on the AACE website.
Local Place Committee Chairs
Central to the way our Partnership operates is the work of the local place partnerships covering Bradford District and Craven, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield District, with most decisions made locally, in support of local Health and Wellbeing Board priorities and multi-agency partnerships working in communities.
From the 1 July, each place will have a local integrated care committee which will agree an annual plan to deliver the health and wellbeing strategy across their area as part of our new NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board organisation. The committees, made up of local health and care leaders, include independent people who do not work for health and care organisations. The committees will align priorities to the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and the existing West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Board.
Local appointments include:
- Calderdale Cares Partnership Place-based Committee Independent Chair – John Mallalieu
- Kirklees Health and Care Partnership Place-based Committee Independent Chair – Dr Liz Mear
- Leeds Place-based Committee Independent Chair – Rebecca Charlwood
- Wakefield District Health and Care Partnership Place-based Committee Independent Chair – Dr Ann Carroll
We will share details of the new Bradford District and Craven Committee once the recruitment process has completed.
The Heath and Care Champions
The latest report (April-May 2022) from the Health and Care Champions (people with learning disabilities) project is now available to read and download.
The report covers the Champions’ work on 'living with dying, personalised care and a new piece of work for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Spotlight on Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust – part one
In this latest case study from the Leeds Academic Health Partnership, they shine the Spotlight on Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, one of their founding partners. In part one they hear about a novel approach to integrating community and primary care research.
Calling all voluntary, community social enterprise sector organisations in West Yorkshire
We need your support to complete this year’s Third Sector Trends Survey. The survey, which is coordinated by Durham University is the longest running study of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in the UK and aims to map ‘trends’ within the sector including key topics such as employment, volunteering, sector finance and assets.
Why it’s so important to complete the survey…
Findings from the survey are widely used by local authorities, combined authorities, NHS partnerships and VCSE infrastructure organisations in their strategic work and in local decision making. So, it’s crucial VCSE organisations are represented in the survey results so we can evidence, at a local level:
- The extent to which the pandemic has reshaped and refocused VCSE sector activity
- The positive role the VCSE sector can play in ‘levelling up’, ‘localism’ and ‘community wealth building’ agendas
- The contribution the VCSE sector can make to public health and, specifically, healthy life expectancy
- How the VCSE sector helps to secure economic and social wellbeing in localities.
Complete the online survey - https://