This week’s leadership messages come from Pam Bhupal, Programme Support Manager for the ICB Workforce Strategy and Planning team and Mahmud Nawaz, Non-Executive Director for Mid Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals Trust.

This week’s blog comes from Haris Sultan, non-executive development placement within the Integrated Care Board

After 20 months of serving as the NeXt Director for Citizens and Future Generations on the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, my time in this role is drawing to a close. It seems like just yesterday that I stepped into this position. Being my inaugural NHS Board role, I entered with uncertainty about what lay ahead. However, the gracious and inviting atmosphere of my colleagues, coupled with their unwavering dedication to delivering the best for patients and their families, epitomises what I would call the "West Yorkshire Way." As I prepare to depart, I wanted to share my key reflections and learnings from these transformative 20 months.

From the early stages of my journey, I grasped a fundamental lesson that underscores the profound nature of an integrated care system (ICS), transcending mere NHS restructuring. Initial perceptions, likening it to just another version of a clinical commissioning group (CCG) with an additional board, were swiftly dispelled through hands-on experience. An effective ICS, far from conforming to stereotypes, emerges as a symbol of genuine collaboration. It goes beyond the realms of secondary and primary care, actively involving the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, the community, and notably, the served population. The key to an ICS's success lies in the harmonious collaboration and synergy among these diverse entities. What sets the West Yorkshire integrated care board (ICB) apart is its proficiency in strategic alignment, ensuring optimal placement of each component for maximum collective impact. This strategic positioning allows for the synchronisation of resources, expertise, and services, creating a well-coordinated system that adeptly responds to the dynamic needs of the population. The ICB not only recognises the significance of having everyone in the right place but actively pursues the optimisation of resources, talents, and initiatives. As I bid farewell, I'm left with a profound appreciation for the transformative nature of the ICS and the strategic brilliance of the ICB in orchestrating a collaborative and impactful healthcare system.

Another significant insight I gained pertains to the expansive realm of population health, an area where integrated care partnerships wield substantial influence, and West Yorkshire has been exemplary in this regard. Throughout my tenure on the ICB, my collaboration with the Directors of Population Health and the Improving Population Health Programme has been immensely rewarding. Valuable lessons have been gleaned, including the vital role of the suicide prevention champion campaign in addressing suicide prevention, the importance of community engagement in mitigating health inequalities, and the profound impact of the cost of living on people’s ability to attend hospital appointments or afford prescriptions. Moreover, delving into the intricacies of population health has underscored the interconnectedness of social determinants and health outcomes. It has illuminated the significance of upstream interventions, focusing on preventive measures rather than reactive healthcare. This holistic understanding of health dynamics has reshaped my perspective on the role of integrated care in not only treating illnesses but also proactively promoting the well-being of the entire population.

An additional valuable lesson has been the power of community engagement and open dialogue in uncovering issues and generating innovative solutions. Within the ICB, we have instituted a dedicated citizen engagement session preceding each board meeting, fostering conversations with both professionals and citizens to identify and explore pertinent issues. One memorable instance was our in-depth exploration of challenges faced by children and young people, where firsthand stories illuminated instances where the system fell short, particularly in neurodiversity waiting times. However, through collaborative efforts, decision-makers came together, leading to the inception of the West Yorkshire Neurodiversity Summit. Noteworthy site visits have also been an enriching aspect of my experience, with a personal highlight being a visit to a community centre in Wakefield. Engaging in discussions in the back rooms with the staff, I gained insights into the remarkable initiatives aimed at keeping young people with mental health challenges away from medical settings. The emphasis on destigmatising mental health and collaborating with individuals and their support networks was particularly inspiring, showcasing the impactful work happening at the grassroots level to address mental health concerns.

The culminating factor that rendered my placement truly remarkable was the incredible individuals—be it the executives, non-executives, partner members, or staff. Among the many notable figures, I had the pleasure of collaborating with some outstanding professionals. Within my Future Generations role, I had the privilege of working alongside Sarah Smith, the Associate Director of the Improving Population Health Programme, ensuring alignment of population health risks with our risk register. Frank Swinton, Climate Change Lead, and I collaborated on positioning ourselves as leaders in addressing climate change—an area of significant importance to the board. Partnering with Kate Simms, the Chief People Officer, proved fruitful as we focused on enhancing future workforce dynamics, emphasising job spec equality, and eliminating the English and Maths grade C requirement for 999 and 111 call handlers. The collaborative efforts with Sayma Mirza, the Associate Director of the Children, Young People and Families programme, centred on placing children and young people at the heart of our initiatives. Rob Webster's exemplary leadership demonstrated the essence of compassion in leadership and provided invaluable insights into organisational management—lessons I aim to carry throughout my career. Lastly, my mentor and boss, Cathy Elliott, the ICB Chair, guided me meticulously, enabling me to pose insightful board questions, voice my opinions, and evolve into the professional I am today. While these are just a few of the remarkable people I've had the privilege of working with, it's the collective efforts of such individuals that define the essence of our organisation.

I attribute the essence of this role to what I affectionately term the "West Yorkshire Way." It encapsulates the spirit of the people, the spirit of collaboration, our approach to challenges, and our collective effort to tackle and overcome them. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone I've had the privilege to engage with, collaborate with, and visit during these transformative 20 months. Your contributions have rendered this period unforgettable for me. Although I bid farewell to the role, I'll be observing the remarkable work unfolding from a distance.

Signing off for the final time, Haris

West Yorkshire Communication and Engagement Network

Over 80 colleagues from across the West Yorkshire health and care sector joined the quarterly network meeting on Tuesday. There was a great line up of speakers covering topics such as AI and communications, the difference between involvement and consultation, West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s campaign, ‘Just don’t’, and an overview of the engagement work of UK the Health Security Agency. Huge thank you to all our guest speakers.

Urgent and emergency care programme board update

The Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) Programme Board met on 9 January and was chaired by Clare Smith, Chief Operating Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the programme.

Updates were provided on each of the UEC service transformation priorities. The Board were updated on the development of the service development and improvement plan (SDIP) as part of the West Yorkshire urgent care service review. The same day emergency care (SDEC) principles and exclusion criteria proposed by the SDEC Task and Finish Group have been supported by the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) UEC Recovery Group. The Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) Transformation workstream have begun working with UEC Place Leads to understand the volume of rejections and reasoning behind rejected referrals into falls services.

Jo Wood, Associate Director of Operations, Corporate Operations Team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, will be the new SRO for the SDEC workstream.

Further updates were presented to the Board on the development of the UEC priorities for 2024/25, the review of the governance arrangements for the Yorkshire and Humber Integrated Commissioning Forum, and the newly developed YAS five-year strategy and push model. An evaluation report from the ‘Together We Can’ winter communications campaign 2023 – 2024 will be shared in spring.