Posted on: 2 October 2020
This week’s leadership message is brought to you by Wasim Feroze, Policy Officer in Chief Executive’s Office at Leeds City Council and member of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff network, and Helen Hirst, Chief Officer of Bradford District and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group and Senior Responsible Officer for the System and Leadership Development Programme.
Hello our names are Wasim and Helen.
During what is National Inclusion Week (24 September to 4 October) we wanted to share with you some fantastic co-production work between West Yorkshire and Harrogate Black Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) Network and the Partnership’s System and Leadership Development Programme as we proudly launch our new and exciting BAME Fellowship Programme.
We are delighted to present this as a joint message as this important work has been all about co-production. It’s a great demonstration of how a partnership between one of our priority programmes and the BAME network delivers a much better product than either would have done alone.
We all know we need to improve existing processes across our organisations when it comes to diverse leadership and equal opportunity for BAME colleagues accessing training and development opportunities and subsequent career progression.
We want to share with you the powerful thinking behind the BAME Fellowship Programme and how it complements current BAME leadership programmes while being unique and innovative, designed around individual needs and not a one size fits all approach.
Work began in March this year when our Partnership Board approved some key recommendations to realise our ambition to increase diversity at a senior level across our Partnership.
Even the challenge of COVID-19 didn’t impact on the development work and in reality meant we could get people together more easily and certainly more quickly than we would have done had we used our traditional pre-COVID methods!
The Fellowship has three development streams and a system leadership focus which is open to our Partnership’s entire workforce. This includes colleagues from local authority, social care, voluntary sector and the NHS clinical and non-clinical from all job sectors that are looking to develop senior leaders. This leadership offer will bridge the gaps we see in current development opportunities and help our BAME colleagues develop their leadership journey.
We acknowledge that many BAME colleagues will perhaps be asking themselves what is different? Yet another career development programme, which has the best intentions but won’t make a real difference. We hear these views and recognise that we have been here before. The barriers facing BAME colleagues have been known for some time and there have been efforts to try to address this and some great successes over the years but the truth is that progress has not come about at the pace we would like or need it to. Too often we hear experiences of many talented BAME colleagues who want to make that next career move on the path to senior leadership, yet come across more barriers.
Our Partnership is full of talented BAME colleagues who work extremely hard to support the diverse communities we serve. The benefits of strengthening diverse representation in leadership roles are clear to see as they not only enable diverse voices and experiences to be part of driving the strategic direction of organisations but they also have a significant dual impact of strengthening the social contract with our workforce and communities.
We are also strong advocates that visible diverse leadership matters. You cannot be what you cannot see. It is vital that we work to cultivate, encourage and harness the talent in our organisations including across councils, health and social care, voluntary sector, so that at all levels, our organisations begin to truly reflect the very communities we work alongside to support.
Create the spaces and the opportunities for BAME staff to succeed and they will flourish. The Fellowship Programme seeks to do exactly this. It is an important example of the strong value of coproducing a development programme with the very people who will benefit from this offer.
As mentioned the West Yorkshire and Harrogate BAME Network developed this work with the System and Leadership Development programme with a clear focus from the beginning that the offer should match the ambition endorsed by Partnership leaders earlier in March.
We hope you can see the results of this dynamic collaboration, which has consistently sought to deliver a programme offer with real development opportunities and intense support to effectively prepare our next generation of BAME leaders.
We begin by launching the senior placement which is a 12 month development programme and will start during November 2020. This is aimed at experienced leaders who are looking to bridge practical experience gaps coupled with strategic board level, system leadership development that has proved a barrier to career progression in the past. Applications are open now until 16th October. Full details can be found on the System Leadership and Development page on the Partnership website.
To our BAME colleagues across our partner organisations, we encourage you to apply for this programme. We hope what you will see it a serious demonstration and with clear intent. It is the first step in our journey to achieve the transformational vision of having a truly diverse leadership representative of our communities.
Coming soon we will be opening up applications for our next Shadow Board programme where two thirds of the places are reserved for BAME leaders.
National Inclusion Week is a time where we celebrate everyday inclusion in all its forms by sharing, promoting and inspiring inclusion practices and culture. We want this to be part of our everyday thinking which makes the very best of these opportunities and one that continues to put equality and diversity at the heart of all we do.
We look forward to recruiting our first cohort to the Fellowship and will be bringing a podcast to you later in the year so you can follow the journey of some of our successful candidates.
Thank you for reading and have a safe, healthy and happy weekend.
Wasim and Helen
Celebrating Black History Month
To celebrate Black History Month and importantly recognise the work and talent of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff, our Partnership will continue to raise the profile of its diverse workforce during October. As part of our ongoing commitment to diversify the leadership of partner organisations, we have given BAME staff a platform to raise their profile during Black History Month. This includes celebrating the work of BAME staff through weekly blogs, podcasts, with contributors from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership and Twitter takeover days.
This week’s Black History Month blog comes from Pam Bhupal from Calderdale Council
Hey everyone
I’m Pam Bhupal, born and bred in Leeds and a proud Yorkshire lass. I started working for Calderdale Council, May 2018 working in the Chief Executive’s office. I work in health supporting Robin Tuddenham and Cllr Swift in the regional space.
I want to share how I used my heritage and experiences to help set up the Calderdale BAME Network and how this also contributed to the work I do across Calderdale health and care system and West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.
During Black History Month, members of the Partnership’s BAME Network are writing their own personal reflections to celebrate how our diverse stories contribute to the richness of our work.
I’m not the first in my family to contribute to the success of our country or indeed our region. My folks came to Yorkshire in the 1960s and my parents worked as an engineer and home help for many years until recently retiring.
My siblings and I grew up in a predominantly white area and we were the 5% ethnic minority in both primary and secondary schools and it really didn’t bother us one bit that we were a minority. I was the only brown girl at Brownies; the irony of it isn’t lost on me now!
It is the stories that we don’t always hear or learn about that remind us that many of us have family members and ancestors who have shaped our collective history. Only recently on my mum’s side, my family has come to learn about my great grandfather’s involvement in WWI (see attached picture), where 1.3million Indian soldiers fought as part of the British Empire. My great grandfather Subedar Major Bawa Singh who was stationed out in the Aden, Saudi Arabia in WWI. Where the British Army were keen to take hold and fight the Ottoman Empire. This wasn’t the only historical event that was shaped by Britain’s past.
My mum’s side also crossed the India/Pakistan border during the 1947 partition – the largest forced migration in the 20th century. I encourage you to learn more about this bloody, deadly and traumatic journey many endured. I guess these stories and history shape who I am today.
Five years ago, my mum became president of the local Sikh temple (the 1st woman in Yorkshire to take up this role, go Mum!). It wasn’t easy for her managing a large budget, jealously from other women and operating in a man’s world but I’m super proud. She introduced surplus food to be sent to the local food bank, connecting with the wider community around the Gurdwara and healthier servings of food.
So what does that mean for me now? My folks came here with nothing but worked hard, this is instilled in me, in appreciating what I have and working hard to achieve. My faith also adds to that, as the three pillars of Sikhism are to earn an honest living, share with those less fortunate and connect with God. Education was really important for my folks and me and my siblings all have degrees, all working and contributing to society.
I hope my story shows that Black History Month isn’t just about recognising the work of figures from history but our own colleagues and their families, many have fascinating stories to tell. Stories shaped by pockets of tragedy, traumatic experiences and of immense triumphs over adversity. These shape our view of the world allowing us to bring fresh perspectives and ideas to decision making.
Have a good weekend,
Pam
BAME Fellowship Programme
As set out in this week's leadership blog, our Partnership is proud to launch its BAME Fellowship Programme today during National Inclusion Week (28 September – 4 October) and also in Black History Month.
The BAME Fellowship Programme is all about recognising talent and enabling the development of careers, as well as developing future systems leaders working across health and care across the area’s six local places (Bradford district and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield).
In 2019 West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership launched its ‘Five Year Plan’ setting out its ambitions which includes strengthening local economic growth by reducing health inequalities and having a leadership which accurately represents the area’s communities. The work has gained national recognition and West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership has been highlighted as good practice in the NHS people plan.
Sayma Mirza, Deputy Chair Airedale NHSFT BAME Network & Member of West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership BAME Network said: ‘This programme offers a new way of working to address the imbalance through collaboration between partnership organisations, the BAME network and the development programme. We anticipate the programme will support measurable growth in diverse representation at leadership levels across West Yorkshire and Harrogate – what a great legacy to leave for others’.
Jo Farn, Programme Director-System and Leadership Development at West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership said: ‘It’s been brilliant working together with colleagues from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to design this programme. Our aim is to break ‘glass ceilings’ of career progression to achieve leadership that reflects the community we serve, so that we can ensure our priorities are designed to meet diverse needs. We hope this will also inspire other colleagues to pursue senior positions creating a pipeline of talent for the future. We know that having role models to aspire is important in ensuring colleagues feel that they belong - which is also key to wellbeing’.
Full details can be found on the BAME fellowship page of our website. Please help us to promote this opportunity and please encourage BAME colleagues to apply for this programme. Closing date is 23 October.
What else has been happening this week?
West Yorkshire and Harrogate System Oversight and Assurance Group
The Partnership’s System Oversight and Assurance Group met on the 21 September. 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.
At this meeting the group reviewed the current situation on the pandemic and the publication of the Adult Social Care: Covid19 Winter Plan 2020/21. Leaders also reviewed the revised phase 3 plans which have been submitted to NHS England / Improvement. There was also an update on finance and the Partnership’s summarised response to the NHS People Plan was outlined along with the four key strategic areas relating to workforce. The plan had been developed by the People Board and the West Yorkshire and Harrogate BAME Network. The plan covers the wider partnership workforce, not just the NHS. The People Board had ensured that full recognition was given within the report to the social and economic value of voluntary and community services. A fuller Partnership People Plan will be developed later in the year and published in the New Year.
Improving Population Health Programme
The Improving Population Health Programme Board met on Tuesday. The Board includes colleagues from public health, councils and the voluntary and community sector. It is co-chaired by Robin Tuddenham, CEO for Calderdale Council and Dr James Thomas, Clinical Chair for Bradford District and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group.
Colleagues received an update on work programmes including health inequalities, preventing ill health, reducing violent crime, climate change, health and housing and diabetes. Colleagues are currently looking at potential funding streams to support the work to address health inequalities as part of the NHS England phase three letter. The violence reduction work has launched a nighttime economy plan, in response to COVID-19 and wider. This is a partnership approach led by the Police and the Violence Reduction Unit. Preventing complex childhood trauma work is also underway as well as supporting young people who are on the brink of violent crime.
There was an update on climate change and potential grant schemes with an update on the insight engagement work due to start soon. Work is also taking place to embed a physical activity approach across West Yorkshire and Harrogate as part of our big ambitions and programme work as set out in our Five Year Plan. This includes long term health conditions, rehabilitation and active travel. Learning across the area will be shared with the support of the Yorkshire Sports Foundation.
COVID-19 has exposed the extent of poor quality housing and the impact on people’s physical and mental health. Sarah Roxby, our housing and health lead, gave an update on the cost of poor housing both financially and most importantly on people’s lives. The move to virtual appointments for crisis intervention has been difficult for many people who are digitally excluded. Work is underway to look at peer led research for homeless people and those with mental health concerns. Colleagues are also working with the West Yorkshire Housing Association to look at a partnership piece to support people with learning disabilities, and also people with complex needs. A housing and health report will be published soon. The report includes good practice case studies, learning tips and the importance of partners working together.
The programme will be producing an annual report, which will launch in the coming months.
News from the Local Maternity System
Our maternity community action project is moving forward with phase one complete. Next steps are to recruit people into our Maternity Services Community Action Network. The role is not remunerated, but is incentivised. You can read the details in this briefing note.
A recent report from MBRRACE, Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care Rapid Report: Learning from SARS-CoV-2-related and associated maternal deaths in the UK covers the lessons learned from rapid reviews of the care of women who died with SARS-CoV-2 infection or from mental health-related causes or domestic violence between March and May 2020. You can read more about the report findings in this briefing note.
Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Programme
The National Autistic Society has a new service funded by NHS England offering advice and support to autistic people and the families of autistic people in England who have been detained in a mental health hospital, or are at imminent risk of detention or re-detention.
Time to Talk is an exciting new programme for young people with Special Education Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) developed by the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. Trained staff will provide 50 young people in England with person-centered planning sessions to enable young people to develop their aspirations, motivation, and plans for the future so they feel heard and valued. Funding for the project is for six months and owing to the COVID-19 restrictions all support will be delivered online. Young people can make a Request for Support from Time to Talk themselves or others can make a Request for Support on behalf of a young person here on the NDTi website.
Supporting unpaid carers
The Partnership’s web-based resource has been developed to help unpaid carers who work, look after the person they care for, and themselves. The Partnership Unpaid Carers Programme has been developing a variety of resources to help support carers during the coronavirus pandemic, including with their mental health and a number of other areas of concern. The Children’s Society has also developed resources, advice and information for young carers and professionals during Covid-19.
People who are new to looking after a loved one can find additional information or advice on our website. You can also view the programme's response to the Carers UK report 'Caring behind closed doors during COVID-19. The programme has developed My Coronavirus/Covid-19 'Plan B' which will help you to think about the different ways and people that can help you in an emergency if you look after someone who couldn’t manage without your support. West Yorkshire and Harrogate carers’ resources are being shared nationally. This includes the working carers passport via NHS England and NHS Improvement and e-learning Resources developed specifically for carers developed by Health Education England.
West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee Meeting
The Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday. The JHOSC is chaired by Cllr Helen Hayden. You can read the papers here. We had two items on the agenda. This included an update on our COVID-19 response and the work of our Cancer Alliance.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to provide the focus for our work across the Partnership. Ian Holmes, our Partnership Director updated the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the priorities of our Partnership work over the past three months, as well as plans for the remainder of this financial year in the context of both COVID-19 and our Five Year Plan. In the past month there has been a significant increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. This picture is mirrored across the majority of the country. It is now estimated that the rate of infection is doubling every 7 or 8 days. In the main there have been local rather than national responses to these increases, although nationally the ‘rule of six’ was introduced on the 14 September. There was a discussion on local restrictions in Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees and Leeds. The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the West Yorkshire region remains higher than the national average. There is also continued evidence of infection being higher in lower income families and among Black Asian and minority ethnic communities.
We are currently operating in a phase where we are looking to restore essential services in the context of COVID-19 present in the population. We continue to provide critical and urgent care for COVID-19 patients, their recovery and rehabilitation.
Carol Ferguson, Programme Director for our Cancer Alliance gave an update on the work underway. Cancer services have been significantly affected by the pandemic although urgent and essential cancer treatment has been maintained throughout the first months of the pandemic. All partners in West Yorkshire and Harrogate are committed to cancer as a priority for restoration and maintenance of care and this is already seen through the rapid reduction of COVID-19 affected backlog. Clinical priority is guiding restoration of services based on national guidance, and the safety and wellbeing of people remains the overriding concern at all times. JHOSC members thanked colleagues for their updates.
Working closely with West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee members is an essential part of our work and we want to ensure they are fully sighted on Partnership developments as they progress so they have the opportunity to ask questions.
Children and Young People Programme
We are establishing a West Yorkshire and Harrogate young people’s voice platform for engagement and co-production. We are doing this on an application basis and have asked for short applications (written, voice note or video) by 7 October. Applications have been sent out via the Youth Voice Network and CVS partners. Programme colleagues are working with the Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Programme to look at how the two programmes work together on the whole pathway for mental health for children and young people.
A complex childhood trauma group in place with wide representation from across the area including people with lived experience. The group has agreed five sub -groups to take the work forward and are receiving expressions of interest for membership of these. A family resilience and early help group first meeting takes place in October. Requests for representatives for this group have gone out through Directors of Children’s Services. Colleagues are also working in partnership with the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Prevention Network to take a life course approach to children and young people healthy weight.
CEO of Calderdale Council, Robin Tuddenham, has been appointed as the Accountable Officer for NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group
The Chief Executive of Calderdale Council, Robin Tuddenham has been appointed as the Accountable Officer for NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), uniting health and care services within the borough. Robin, who has been the Chief Executive of Calderdale Council since May 2017, will take up the additional role in the Autumn, ensuring that commissioning and the leadership of primary care services, such as GP practices, continues within Calderdale.
Closer partnerships between the Council, NHS Calderdale CCG, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) and the community and voluntary sector, which have developed over the past three years, have already had a significant impact on people’s lives in the borough.
Health and care services have been brought closer to home, so people can access the services they need in the place where they live through the locality-based Calderdale Cares programme, which launched in 2018. Calderdale’s Wellbeing Strategy: Living a Larger Life has been updated and was published in Autumn 2019. This sets out an ambitious programme to ensure that people of Calderdale enjoy more years of healthy life; that the gaps in healthy life expectancy between different communities are reduced; and that everyone whatever their health or disability is supported and enabled to lead the fullest life possible.
The NHS COVID-19 app - launched 24 September
The new NHS COVID-19 app is available to download for free now in England and Wales. It is the fastest way to see if you're at risk from coronavirus. The faster you know, the quicker you can alert and protect your loved ones and community. The app has a number of tools to protect you, including contact tracing, local area alerts and venue check-in. It uses proven technology from Apple and Google, designed to protect every user’s privacy. Read more about the app here. More than 10m people have downloaded the NHS COVID-19 app since last week’s launch (accurate 28 September).
Guidance for health and care workers using the NHS Covid-19 App can be found the NHS's dedicated Covid-19 website.
NHS Northern Gambling Service reaches one year anniversary – and over 400 patients
The NHS Northern Gambling Service, one of only two dedicated NHS resources for those harmed by gambling, and the only one outside London, is marking its first year of operation on 18 September 2020. In a tumultuous year in which Covid-19 lockdown restrictions led to a significant increase in online gambling with new data (1) showing that nearly 5 million British people have experienced harm linked to gambling, the Northern Gambling Service has provided free, confidential and effective treatment for over 400 people harmed by gambling and those struggling with gambling addiction across the North.
From its initial clinic in Leeds, and two subsequent clinics in Manchester and Sunderland established in 2020, the service led by the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has reached over 400 clients, with 50 completing treatment so far.
Clients using the service have described the treatment and clinicians delivering the therapies as ‘life-changing’ and ‘giving back control’ to other existing gambling services that they have previously accessed support from (2). In the most recent Friends and Family survey, 93% of respondents said they would be extremely likely to recommend the service, 7% likely and no respondents said they would not recommend the NHS Northern Gambling Service.
Cancer Alliance launches digital champions programme with Stoptober and Breast Cancer Awareness Month
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance has officially launched its Digital Champions programme, on the back of two established, high profile campaigns which start this week – Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Stoptober.
Digital Champions are volunteers who regularly use social media and have strong networks of online friends and followers. The network is being set up by the Alliance and YCC to support the sharing of important health messages to a wider range of people, to encourage more everyday conversations about the disease and ways of staying healthy.
Recruitment of Digital Champions is the first phase of the CancerSmart initiative, which supports one of West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership's ambitions to improve cancer survival through earlier diagnosis. As part of the Cancer Alliance Healthy Communities programme, it will support improving uptake of cervical, bowel and breast cancer screening, and promoting the prevention of cancer through smoking cessation, healthy weight, physical activity and reduced alcohol consumption. Around 20 volunteers have already come forward to become Digital Champions. Please feel free to spread the word through your personal and professional networks.
Read the full media release here For further information, contact Tracy Holmes, tracy.holmes@nhs.net.