Posted on: 1 May 2020
Hello my name is Rob
Our partnership has three big priorities that remain intact in this Covid19 period. We are here to tackle health inequalities, reduce unwarranted variations in care and manage our collective resources to make the biggest difference we can to people’s lives.
My recent blogs have focused on the first two – which remain in our sights. With the Office of National Statistics figures showing double the death rates nationally in deprived areas; widespread reports of disproportionate deaths of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff; and the big push on making sure non-covid patients are seen by the NHS, we are as busy as ever.
At this time of year, we are also required to publish our NHS accounts to show we are managing our money. I am pleased to let you know that, in 2019/20, our Partnership (also known as an Integrated Care System) collectively delivered in full our NHS financial plans across both providers and commissioners for the first time in many years. This means a £36m surplus on a budget of £4.1bn, or about 1%. This really is positive news – it keeps control of our finances, makes sure we benefit from all of the provider sustainability funding available from NHS England and demonstrates how we are supporting each other. This is all down to the strength of our relationships and Partnership approach.
The 2019/20 financial year was challenging for the public sector, and whilst the NHS received funds at levels higher than inflation, the demand for healthcare services outstripped this. In May 2018, we were named as one of four new integrated care system in England to be given additional freedom and flexibility to manage the delivery of local services. This put us at the forefront of nationwide action to provide better co-ordinated and more joined up care for 2.7 million people living across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. Importantly it gave us more control and influence over spending and transformation closer to local people in our six places (Bradford district and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield).
As a Partnership, we were given the opportunity for the 2019/20 financial year to adopt the national Integrated Care System Financial Framework, and we did this in each of our organisations and collectively. This decision marked an important step towards effective financial partnership working. The key feature of the Framework was to place delivery of the collective NHS financial position in West Yorkshire and Harrogate at the front and centre of the way we monitored, risk-assessed and managed our financial position.
Delivery of our overall financial position allows us to retain funding which would otherwise have been lost (if any individual organisation was unable to delivers its financial targets). We have been operating to open-book principles within the Partnership, where challenge and peer review, combined with practical support, is becoming the normal way of working.
So why talk about this now? This same spirit of collaboration is helping us to manage the financial pressures brought about by Covid-19, making sure NHS resources are targeted in the right areas and national funding accessed. So far, significant NHS funds have flowed into West Yorkshire and Harrogate as part of the Government’s promises to match what we need. This is very welcome. We also, though, continue to point out to central government that the financial pressures on our councils are substantial because of coronavirus. Losing council income and increasing care and education costs puts pressure on the sector significantly. The short term boosts to our local authority finances from central government are welcome but widely recognised to be insufficient.
In the meantime, councils are doing a brilliant job supporting the daily management of the epidemic. Our Local Resilience Forum work closely with all partners and are ably lead by councils. Every week when we clap for carers and clap for keyworkers, I clap for them, their staff and the massive support they provide.
As a Partnership, because we have managed our money well, we are able to provide quick boosts to voluntary community organisations and charities. This week our Partnership launched our Health Inequalities Grant Fund on Tuesday to help reduce the gap in health equalities across Bradford district and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. £450,000 of funds has been made available to voluntary and community organisations to help tackle the impact on people’s health affected by COVID-19, as part of our improving population health management programme. As highlighted by ‘Health Equity in England: the Marmot review 10 years on’ report, health is affected by the environment and community in which we live. The more deprived the area, the shorter the life expectancy and the poorer the state of health within these shorter lives.
In particular, we are looking for innovative and sustainable community support for people who are worst affected by the impact of the pandemic. For example those who live alone and cannot access social activities, people whose mental health and financial circumstances have changed significantly due to the pandemic. The aim is to also share good practice across the area, which is one of the very reasons why our Partnership exists. This includes approaches that enable safer communities, to those that increase resilience and reduce health inequalities, whilst promoting healthier lives.
Voluntary and community organisations (VCS) are invited to apply for grant funding for up to £50,000. Six funds will be available for up to £25,000, with another six grants between £25,000 and £50,000 and we are looking for partnerships between the NHS, councils, community groups, charities, social enterprises or other charitable organisations from the third sector that can work across the sector and organisations boundaries. These latest funds come at a time when their work can help support people who were already subject to significant inequality, that Covid-19 will risk making worse. The fact we have such a strong partnership with the third sector helps get money out and delivery happening where it is needed most.
More information can be found at www.wyhpartnership.co.uk. The fund opened on 28 April 2020 and the deadline to apply is 5pm, 8th June. Funding will be awarded in June 2020. Please do let your VCS partners know.
Looking to the future, we will hasten the capital works that will boost the economy and help change care delivery. Since 2018 our Partnership has secured the largest share of NHS national capital investment; a total of just less than £1bn. This includes £197m to support the reconfiguration of the hospitals at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, £600m for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to build two new hospitals (one for children and one for adults) at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) which will benefit the wider region. £27m has also been allocated to create a brand new specialist hub laboratory for the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Pathology Network. We are also seeing investment in mental health services with £11m for rehabilitation and recovery; and £13m towards a much needed specialist regional mental health unit for children and young people. The foundations and work on the latter began last week.
We will continue to work together. Though finance may feel a dry topic to cover in this context, we will feel the impact of losing financial control very deeply indeed if we do not retain our partnership’s excellent work and management.
Have a safe and well weekend,
Rob
Comunity heroes
‘Hello, I’m Vicki Beere, CEO for Project 6, Keighley
We have spent the last few years talking about assets and communities, attempting to practice Asset Based Community Development, and often failing to really grasp what this means. Now we have a chance to change that and let our communities and people lead the way – there is a plan - and it will work best if we use this rich network of people and communities who are so keen to support each other.
Community mobilisation has been phenomenal. New partnerships and interdependencies have formed - cross sectors and cross faiths, people are now working in ways, delivering services, that they had no idea even existed two weeks ago. Behind them are a team of leaders moving the chess pieces around and unblocking things left, right and centre. Forming leadership teams across sectors, making things happen, quickly, strategically and in ways we never thought possible.
There have been some tricky bits and there are trickier times ahead. A plea; we need our voice amplified by colleagues across all sectors. For when this enormous change settles down the safety net we offer, will have shifted, and strengthened and be needed more than ever before.
Health, social and income inequalities are being exposed more than ever, the people living tentatively on the breadline are now in free fall. Referrals to our local foodbank are nearly doubling each week, our crisis service is staffed eight fold to handle the work, we are planning all the time but we don’t really know what for.
The new community heroes are emerging all the time, the restaurant owners who want to come and cook food for the street drinkers and homeless, the taxi drivers delivering baby milk to us this afternoon, the front line staff who are delivering new services with gusto and the ones at home developing new ways of working with vulnerable people, families and children and calming distressed people on the phone.
This is a story that is still being written, while there is exhaustion and fear, there is also hope and optimism and solidarity. There are some amazing things happening out here. Let’s make sure we take the very best of what’s happening and build around it’.
Coronavirus (covid-19) latest
Second phase of NHS response to Covid-19
- NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens notified system leaders that we are entering the second phase of the NHS’ response to COVID-19. We continue to be in a Level 4 National Incident. NHS organisations need to fully retain their EPRR incident coordination functions. With the current continuing weekly decrease of Covid-19-positive patients, all NHS local systems and organisations were asked to step up non-Covid19 urgent services as soon as possible. Provisional plans will need to factor-in the availability of associated medicines, personal protective equipment, blood, consumables, equipment and other needed supplies. It was also stated that the NHS should take this opportunity to ‘lock in’ beneficial changes that have occurred in recent weeks. The Letter to NHS chief executives also included the full summary of actions recommended for urgent clinical services. Further guidance on surgical prioritisation can be found here. Guidance on maintaining access to essential cancer surgery can be found here.
COVID-19 resources
- Latest information on coronavirus: https://
www. gov.uk/ coronavirus - NHS information on coronavirus: https://
www. nhs.uk/ conditions/ coronavirus-covid-19/ - Gov.UK Daily death reporting now includes all positive COVID-19 deaths
- Public Health England’s guidance about coronavirus (COVID-19) for health professionals and other organisations: https://
www. gov.uk/ government/ collections/ coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance - Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Twitter: https://
twitter.com/ mhclg - The West Yorkshire Prepared (LRF) website is now live with coronavirus info: www.westyorkshireprepared.org.uk. Virus testing
- Gov.UK: Coronavirus testing extended to all essential workers in England who have symptoms.
New NHS publications
- Info leaflet - Children and young people secure estate
- COVID-19: Increased Patient Information for health and care professionals letters.
- COVID-19 Grab and Go guidance and form. The Grab and Go guide has been designed in partnership with people with learning disabilities, families and nurses. It gives the information that doctors and nurses will need if you go to hospital because of COVID-19 and, for example, are struggling to breathe.
Guidance
- Shielding advice: The Government is currently advising people to shield until at least the 30 June (irrespective of when the letter from the NHS was received) and is regularly monitoring this position. Further information about shielding will be published in due course by Government and individuals currently shielding notified. Guidance on shielding is available here.
- The Department of Health and Social Care has published guidance for care workers and personal assistants who support adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults.
- New testing groups and criteria, including non-symptomatic staff.
- NHS Employers have issued guidance for employers on how to carry out risk assessments for vulnerable groups, to understand the specific risks staff members face from exposure to COVID-19 and actions which employers can take to keep staff safe.
Training
- Covid-19 Heath Education England: North East guide to available training. For an overview of coronavirus-related modules and newly developed modules and guidance, click here. In response to the recent outbreak of Covid-19 and the need to monitor and manage front-line colleagues who may be experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Health Education England have also arranged and funded training to be available online. You can find out more about the webinars here.
- This free COVID-19 resource is delivered via Skills for Health, who delivers online learning for healthcare, including statutory/mandatory training such as infection prevention and control. You can find out more here.
- Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH): Domestic violence and abuse programme.
- New from HEE is a Physical Health Competency Framework for Mental Health and Learning Disability colleagues. A confidential staff support line, operated by the Samaritans, is now available for NHS staff from 7.00am – 11.00pm, 7 days a week. There are also a number of wellbeing apps that have been made available for free including Headspace, Silvercloud and Unmind.
- Good Things Foundation: A free online toolkit to build skills during the coronavirus outbreak and beyond has been launched by the Government, featuring our free Learn My Way and Make it Click resources.
- #Caring4NHSPeople Virtual Weekly Wellbeing Webinars – NHS Horizons: These virtual sessions are open to everyone with a role in supporting the wellbeing of our health and care staff during and following the Covid-19 response. http://horizonsnhs.com/caring4nhspeople
Pharmacy films
- Worried about how you’ll get your prescription during lockdown?
- Avoid over ordering medicines
- Advice on picking up your prescription and if you can’t get out, support is available
COVID-19 specific funding
- UKRI open call for research and innovation ideas to address COVID-19. For more information click here. There is no closing date.
- National Institute for Health Research: Travel and subsistence funding to support LMIC engagement during the COVID-19 outbreak. For more information click here. Deadline 31 December 2020.
- Innovate UK Smart Grants: January 2020. Deadline: 27 May 2020. Opportunity to apply for a share of up to £25 million to deliver ambitious or disruptive R&D innovations that can make a significant impact on the UK economy. For more information click here.
- West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner launches extra ordinary £150,000 grant round to help support communities with the impact of COVID-19. Closing date: 1 May. #OurNHSPeople Bereavement and Trauma Resources There is a now a dedicated team of fully qualified and trained professionals ready to help NHS colleagues at NHS England’s NHS Bereavement and Trauma Line, a recent addition to #OurNHSPeople Wellbeing Support. There is also a comprehensive range of new resources online for individuals, leaders and teams at people.nhs.uk.
What else has been happening this week?
Partnership Clinical Forum Steering Group
The Clinical Forum Steering Group met on Tuesday. The group meets weekly at the moment to discuss key areas of work regarding COVID-19. There was an update on managing a suspected or confirmed TIA (mini stroke) during the COVID-19 outbreak and the monitoring of people needing support. There was also an update on developing a West Yorkshire and Harrogate Ethical Framework. As a Partnership we need to consider how we can support our staff across social care, community and hospital care to act with confidence and integrity during this time and into the future; ensuring that all of us act in accordance with a single set of ethical principles. At the heart of this work is everyone who receives care and support. The Clinical Forum will discuss this next Tuesday.
Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism Programme Board
Keeping people connected
BTM, who coordinate the Partnership’s Health and Care Champions with people with learning disabilities, has raised £28,990. The money is being used to purchase IPads and smart phones to support people with learning disabilities in Bradford district and beyond in lockdown who are feeling socially isolated. Soo Nevison CEO of Community Action Bradford and District has been instrumental in pulling together volunteers with technical experience to help.
There is also a West Yorkshire and Harrogate wide project called ‘keeping people connected’. Taking the learning from the work of Inclusion North in the North East we have developed a plan to connect with people with autism/neurodiversity or mild learning disability who might not be known to health and social care services. Inclusion North will work with self-advocacy groups and other local forums to identify people who might be particularly vulnerable during Covid 19.
Kirklees Autism Show
The seventh annual Kirklees Autism Show took place online on Thursday 29 April. It was decided to turn the event virtual and offer support to people online whilst they were safe and well at home.
The event has been developed in partnership with South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SWYPFT) and was aimed at people who have autism or know someone in the family who is autistic. It also targeted at professionals who work with autistic people, such as social workers and teachers in specialist schools. The event connected people with organisations that can help them, as well as create a better understanding of the autism spectrum.
The show included a welcome message from Professor Marios Adamou, Consultant Psychiatrist in Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry at SWYPFT. Other guest speakers delivered webinars on a range of issues and shared information about organisations who offer advice on employment opportunities, education, housing, leisure activities and how autism is actually diagnosed.You can find out more on the show website here. A survey of people’s experience of accessing and receiving urgent and crisis care was also launched at the show with a supporting video. It is hosted on the Autism page of the WY&H website. Please share through your channels and platforms when live.
Foundations for West Yorkshire CAMHS Unit started
Foundations for the new £14.5 million West Yorkshire CAMHS (West Yorkshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) unit are underway in Leeds. Site preparations began in January, and a start has now been made on the building itself. The 22 bed unit, which is being built in Armley, will provide care and support for children and young people across West Yorkshire with specialist mental health needs. The unit is due to be open in the autumn of 2021. You can read more here.
Funding
We are pleased to confirm the continuation of transformation funding for:
- Postvention/Bereavement sites (2020/21) West Yorkshire and Harrogate allocation will be £173,000.
- Suicide Prevention Transformation Funding (2020/21) West Yorkshire and Harrogate allocation will be £520,000. More details to follow on a work programme that will include the operationalisation of ‘real time surveillance system’ in partnership with West Yorkshire Police, place based project work and a focus on self-harm.
Improving Population Health Management Programme (IPHP)
Housing and health
During this unprecedented time, having a good home has never been more important. This period of lockdown highlights the inequalities in housing and the repercussions for health. For those in poor quality housing more time will be spent in hazardous conditions having consequences for both physical and mental health. For those without a home at all the challenge is even greater.
The housing sector are responding to the Covid-19 Pandemic in various ways, including, providing services on the front line to support vulnerable and older people in Sheltered Housing and Extra Care, finding emergency accommodation for rough sleepers, supporting homeless people who are living in hotels and hostels and helping to facilitate urgent moves to safe houses for people who are experiencing domestic violence. We are working with the Leeds City Region Housing Association partnership to shape the support and offer from Housing Associations. Adaptable and flexible provision from the housing sector in this difficult time is important. We are also exploring opportunities for ensuring housing is available for our critical key workers should they need it.
Reducing violent crime
The first meeting on the joint IPHP and West Yorkshire Reducing Violent Crime and COVID-19 Response Network, took place last week. The Network brings together partners and services across West Yorkshire to understand and respond to the changing needs in relation to violent crime. The network will share learning and practice, identify the challenging issues that are common among all partners and will pull together a repository of emerging evidence and develop a data dashboard incorporating data from Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, councils, voluntary and community sector, and health.
Carers Programme
The vast majority of the time, care is provided behind closed doors, in people’s homes and is largely invisible to the general public.
Now in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, Carers UK have carried out an online survey and heard from over 5,000 carers or former carers. Forgotten families in the coronavirus outbreak, April 2020 reports on the experience of Carers during COVID-19.
The report highlights the fact that many carers are now providing more care than they have done ever before and that the need of self-isolation or shielding with the addition of the closure of local services and reduced support have had a particularly powerful knock on effect for our carers. You can read our Partnership response here.
Happy 100th birthday Captain Tom!
A plaque to honour Captain Tom Moore was unveiled at Airedale Hospital on Thursday to mark Tom's 100th birthday and as a testament to his extraordinary achievement in raising over £30m for the NHS.
The plaque was unveiled by Brendan Brown, Chief Executive at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, and the event was covered by ITV Calendar so watch out for it on tonight’s news at 6pm.