This week’s leadership message is from Kathy Scott, Deputy Chief Executive at Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network (AHSN).

Posted on: 29 July 2021

Hello, my name is Kathy

I'm Deputy Chief Executive at Yorkshire and the Humber Academic Health Science Network, an organisation that exists to transform health through innovation. Innovation, for me, is implementing new things or, just as importantly, applying existing tools, technologies, services, and pathways in new ways. We know the NHS is facing huge challenges now: addressing the impact of Covid-19, reducing waiting lists, going through structural change and all with an exhausted workforce that has responded incredibly to the demands of the pandemic.

We also know that doing the same things in the same ways is very unlikely to result in the level of change needed to meet the challenges. And this is where innovation comes in. New technologies and services can help to reduce waiting lists and keep people waiting well but locating and then delivering these innovative solutions is not that simple.

Innovation can be hard! There are plenty of insightful reports looking at why the NHS sometimes (or often, it could be argued) fails to adopt and encourage innovation. But, for a health system to make the most of the opportunities that innovation brings, the right conditions to support innovation need to be there. There needs to be an innovation-friendly culture.

It's this latter element that the refreshed Innovation and Improvement Programme Board (IIPB) at West Yorkshire & Harrogate (WYH) Health and Care Partnership has made one of its main aims. The IIPB membership is drawn from the Integrated Care System and its partners, such as the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN. The common theme uniting us all is our belief that innovation and improvement will help WYH organisations deliver healthcare in the most efficient and effective way possible, resulting in the optimal outcomes for our patients and their families as well as supporting local economic growth. But what does an innovation-friendly culture look like?

Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of research in this area. I don't pretend to have read it all but there are some common themes emerging, and none of them involve bean bags, table tennis and being able to write on walls! As always, where there is lots of research, there are lots and lots of views. The following are those areas that resonate with me and what I have seen when looking at organisations and systems that have been successful at innovating and adopting innovation:

There is no one ideal model of an innovation culture. Just as in spread and adoption of innovation, one size does not fit all. Instead, such a culture will need to fit with existing values and behaviours.
Psychological safety is critical if staff feel able to be creative, take risks, do things differently and speak up.
A willingness to learn from failure is also key. Innovation is often risky, and no organisation can be 100% successful when introducing change. But it's important to learn from the unsuccessful activity and apply that learning. It's also important that failure to succeed in something new is not confused with poor staff performance.
Clarity and transparency are really important elements of an innovation culture; clarity on what needs to be done (so that staff, and service users, understand what’s happening and why) and transparency around what is being achieved (so that everyone knows where we are up to).
New ways of doing things don't come from groups of people who think the same; diversity is crucial if we are to do things differently. The Yorkshire & Humber AHSN has reported on the value of diversity in generating new ideas and it's just as important in supporting the uptake of innovation.
Finally, and probably most importantly, all these factors require leaders that support innovation; without leaders, at all levels, that support the factors above, a culture that supports innovation won't thrive. None of this is easy; it all requires hard work, and lots of it. But, as Liz Mear, Managing Director of the Leeds Academic Health Partnership said in her April blog, now is the time for new ideas. The IIPB will be working across the ICS, its places, and partners to deepen the existing innovation culture and support and spread good practice; ensuring the ICS is well placed to generate new ideas and to implement them to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Have a good weekend
Kathy

Follow Kathy on Twitter @KathyScott_535 and the AHSN @YHAHSN

You can also read our Partnership blog from Pam Bhupal, from Calderdale Council and our core team. Sikh and you’ll find.

Pamela Bhupal.jpg Hello, my name is Pam and I’m a Sikh. I’m writing a blog from a slightly different angle with also a chance to educate and celebrate what South Asians bring to society in South Asian Heritage Month. Hopefully this blog will highlight other ways that our communities are being supported through the faith sector. Sikhism is one of the youngest and 5th largest religions in the world. Sikhs believe in one God and live by three principles:

remembering God’s name,
earn a living in an honest way and
to selflessly serve others.

Across West Yorkshire and Harrogate (WY&H) there are approximately 18,000 Sikhs living here.

My mum became Yorkshire’s first ever female president of a Gurdwara (place of worship). All Sikh gurdwaras operate a langar, which is the term used in the Sikh religion or in Punjab for general or common kitchen / canteen where food is served for free, without prejudice regardless of race, religion, and background. During my Mums time as president, we were the first gurdwara to start sending surplus food to foodbanks. It also hosted several wider community events and making the food offered more healthier as we know South Asians have higher rates of diabetes and CVD.

I’m one of the co-leads for health at Sikh Alliance Yorkshire. We wanted to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Sikh community and whether this could use this data to influence how communities are have been and are being supported. The report highlighted that older Sikhs were worried about going to places of worship and that, there was a high percentage of Sikhs who felt there was a lack of awareness of how the government was supporting communities and only 44% felt they were provided with adequate levels of personal protective equipment. Further findings of this report can be found here. Sikh Alliance Yorkshire then used this report to provide evidence for the Partnership’s ethnic minority review.

Bibi Kulwant Kaur.jpg When it came to encouraging family, friends, or community members to take up the jab my mum was willing to step forward to film her experience in Punjabi. It was heart-breaking for my mum to put the film together as her brother has just passed of Covid and the funeral was the day before filming.
As a family, we genuinely didn’t want anyone to go through what we had. People really appreciated the videos and thought if my mum, a trusted and respected voice within the West Yorkshire Sikh community, could convince just one person to take up the vaccine and show that it is safe, I’d be happy. It’s fair to say the video made a great impact and lots of her friends and others in the community who were unsure received the vaccine from either watching the videos or a chat with my mum.

As you know the Covid situation in India earlier this year was like watching your worst nightmare play out in front of you through various media outlets. The general lack of infrastructure, in particular a lack of ventilators, oxygen tanks and a slow vaccine rollout saw the ravaging effects of this deadly virus. Like many, I personally too lost extended family members to the virus out in India. That dread of the next phone call or text from relatives informing us of bad news was a challenging time. Me and other NHS colleagues got together to raise money for five charities. In total we are delighted to announce that so far, we have been able raise over £46,000 (inc. gift aid) for our India Covid Crisis appeal and with those donations, we were able to get vital life-saving equipment (oxygen, ventilators, PPE etc.) to those most impacted by the Covid pandemic. Throughout, we have worked closely with the Indian High Commission in Birmingham and have collaborated with both British and Indian clinicians to receive feedback and to share mutual learning. I and my fundraising colleagues have been truly humbled by the public response. Thank you to all who donated.

More recently, I’m working on encouraging young Sikhs to take part in the Principle trial as the Delta variant ravages through the younger population. We know people of colour are less likely to take part in trials but by using familiar faces and a trial backed by Oxford University will hopefully help people engage with the trial. More information can be found here.

This is just a few examples of how communities are supported and helped through the faith sector and help in reducing health inequalities. We achieve success for our communities through keeping them connected.

Have a safe weekend
Pam

What else has been happening this week?

Partnership’s Chairs and Leaders Group

Further to the publication of the Government’s White Paper (Integration and Innovation) on 11 February 2021 and subject to final Parliamentary approval, integrated care systems (ICS) are expected to become statutory partnerships on 1 April 2022. Our Partnership is an ICS. The House of Commons recently voted to give the Health and Care Bill a Second Reading. While we cannot pre-empt the decisions of Parliament, the Bill receiving a positive vote at Second Reading means there is a degree of confidence that the measures relating to ICSs will become law.

Over the last few months, various work streams across our Partnership have been focusing on the new statutory arrangements to strengthen our well-established approach to working together. The framework sets out the features of every integrated care system (ICS), while emphasising the need for local flexibility and determination. It outlines the core features of an ICS and the expectations NHS England / Improvement (NHS E/I) has in terms of:

The ICS Partnership
The ICS NHS body
People and culture
Governance and management arrangements
The role of providers
Clinical and professional leadership
Working with people and communities
Accountability and oversight
Financial allocations and funding flows
Data and digital standards and requirements
Managing the transition to statutory ICS’. Our Chairs and Leaders have been discussing our approach ahead of any approval of legislation. Today, Friday 30 July, they will be discussing recruitment to the Chair of the Board, local place-based leadership as well the independent review into public involvement. Recruitment for Chair of our NHS Integrated Care Board

Our Partnership is looking to appoint a partnership-focused, insightful, and values-based chair to help lead transition into a new NHS ICS statutory body and beyond. Values and behaviours will be fundamental to the role, and the chair must be a respected, compassionate, and an inclusive leader with the ability to build and sustain successful partnerships. Most of all the candidate should be passionate about addressing inequalities and achieving the best possible health and care for all people.

We are committed to improving the diversity of our leadership as demonstrated in our West Yorkshire and Harrogate review report to tackle health inequalities for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and colleagues: We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. For a confidential discussion regarding the role, please contact rob.webster1@nhs.net

You can apply online here or read more about the work of our Partnership on our website at www.wyhpartnership.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter @wyhpartnership

Ready to launch the anti-racism movement

Our Partnership and the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) are preparing to launch our anti-racism movement on the 23 August. With the support of over 400 organisations and community allies the movement has the backing of councils, the NHS, doctor surgeries, housing associations, community groups, universities, and faith leaders, to name a few. The movement has the backing of Kirklees Council Leader, Cllr Shabir Pandor, WY&H HCP lead for the movement; Tracy Brabin, West Yorkshire Mayor; Alison Lowe the Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime at West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The movement will encourage everyone to reflect on what it must feel like to walk in the shoes of people from ethnic minority groups who continue to be impacted by racism and to importantly do something about it by rooting it out and standing together.

Cllr Shabir Pandor, Leader for Kirklees Council and Movement Ambassador said:
"Rooting out racism is incredibly important for Kirklees and WY&H HCP. I’m delighted that over 420 organisations and community allies including the West Yorkshire Mayor and Deputy Mayor are getting behind our movement to root out racism. We really are stronger together and only by working side by side with colleagues and communities locally and across West Yorkshire and Harrogate can we proactively change society for the better for everyone."

West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin said:
"Racism is a stain on our society. I’m proud that Alison Lowe, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and I are able to stand together with those who want to make a positive change in our region and throw our support behind this movement. West Yorkshire’s diversity is a strength that should be celebrated. Around 20 per cent of our community coming from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. Yet far too many still suffer racism day in day out, as well as growing health inequalities which have been made even more apparent during the pandemic.

Everyone, no matter what their background, deserves the same opportunities in work and equal access to health and care. As Mayor of West Yorkshire, I’ve made it a key commitment to ensure we tackle structural and institutional racism by ensuring inclusivity and diversity are at the very heart of everything we do. We all saw the appalling abuse aimed at England players after the Euro finals just a few weeks ago which was yet another reminder that racism is still very much an issue that needs to be rooted out in our society. There is still a long way to go, but the more people see campaigns like this, the more I hope we are able to spread the word that racism has no place in West Yorkshire, and I encourage every organisation across the region to support this campaign."

Alison Lowe, West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and the joint national APCC Lead for Race Disparity said:
"The support generated across West Yorkshire for this anti-racism movement represents yet another step toward meaningful and real change. As a Black woman, I can tell you that I have been on the receiving end of racism over the years, which has left me feeling scared and disengaged from society. This unified approach to rejecting such behaviours and practices, however, means that we are pushing open the door yet another notch, confronting the negative stereotypes and perceptions that exist."

Looking out for our neighbours: Phase 4

Looking out for our neighbours (LOFN) is an award-winning social movement that aims to prevent loneliness and its associated health issues throughout West Yorkshire and Harrogate. It succeeds by encouraging people to do simple things to help their neighbours.
We're almost ready to launch phase four of the campaign and this time the focus will be young people. In recent months we have been co-creating a campaign with young people and whilst building upon the highly successful three previous phases this campaign will include some exciting new elements.

Through this campaign we hope to encourage young people to look out for each other and inspire a sense of kindness. By launching #SpreadTheKindness and asking young people to step up by performing random acts of kindness or simply writing a kind message to a friend we will be helping those young people who are feeling lonely or isolated know they are not alone.
We are in the process of seeking to mobilise and work alongside our voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector allies. Support from all corners of our communities is vital to bring the campaign to life and make it a very real reality for young people in each of our places. Please look out for us sharing teaser information ahead of the campaign launch @WYHpartnership.

Housing for health

Elderly lady living in poor housing Our Housing for Health Network meets next week. This month we have a focused session on fuel poverty, winter warmth and good quality homes. Guest speakers include Repair and Care Leeds who are an independent home improvement agency with charitable status. They will be sharing the work they do to improve people’s living conditions, promote independence through enhancing health and quality of life, and enable people to remain living in their own home or return to their home following discharge from hospital.

We are also joined by Groundwork Green Doctors who are energy efficiency experts who visit people in their homes across the UK, helping vulnerable households to save money and stay warm and well. With 1 in 10 households in the UK experiencing fuel poverty, it is a crucial lifeline for many residents. A study showed that reducing cold homes would save the NHS in the region of £848m, with 1 in 5 excess winter deaths in association with cold homes.

We will soon be launching our campaign to raise awareness of the impact cold homes have on health and highlight where support for home improvements and fuel poverty can be accessed.

Suicide prevention

Suicide Prevention Image.png Our colleagues in the Suicide Prevention Team have been finalising content for our new West Yorkshire Suicide Prevention website, which has been coproduced by a group of organisations including voluntary, NHS and local authorities who are all working to reduce death by suicide in the region. The website, due to go live at the beginning of August, is an information portal which will help colleagues and carers navigate the help available.

Key content includes, training available for staff and citizens, resources produced by partners across the region, details of support organisations in each of our places, as well as information about the suicide bereavement service which offers 1 to 1 and group peer support. A growing network of people and organisations meets quarterly to share information, updates, and good practice – the Suicide Prevention Advisory Network. If you are interested in joining the network or contributing to the website, please get in touch with the Communications, Engagement and Partnerships officer Kat Trinder Katherine.Trinder@swyt.nhs.uk

Since the launch of our Check-In suicide prevention campaign in February, there have been over 4400 visits to the website with over 9800 total page views since the site was launched in February. Over 600 people have took the suicide prevention training and 185 organisations have got behind the campaign. Latest statistics report for the check-in campaign (19 July 2021) are available here. You can also read the quarter two review report.

Demand pressures for Yorkshire Ambulance Service

During the last few weeks Yorkshire Ambulance Service has seen some of the highest demand ever for its services and, with the easing of lockdown measures, the service is asking the public to only use 999 when there is a serious or life-threatening emergency so that ambulance resources are available for patients who need them most. The Trust has seen demand for its services increasing month by month since January 2021 and July is shaping up to be one of the busiest months ever. During the weekend of 17/18 July Yorkshire Ambulance Service was forecast to receive 3,085 emergency calls on Saturday and 3,034 calls on Sunday. The number of calls received was 4,449 on Saturday and 4,194 on Sunday, an increase of over 40%.

The hot weather also appears to have exacerbated the situation, responding to a significant number of serious incidents and calls from people suffering from heat stroke for example, and who they advise to use self-care or a community pharmacy rather than calling for an emergency response. They are asking people not to make duplicate 999 calls unless a patient’s condition has deteriorated significantly as these extra calls can overburden the system. If someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, they should call 999 immediately. For anyone with less serious illnesses and injuries, they should consider self-care, their local pharmacy, their GP surgery, urgent care centre or make their own way to the emergency department. NHS 111 service is also available online at 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111. Read article here.

The Integrated Stroke Delivery Network

The Integrated Stroke Delivery Network are keen to contact any voluntary or community organisations within West Yorkshire and Harrogate, who have regular contact with or provide services for stroke survivors, their families, or carers. The Network are keen to develop a directory of services that acts as a signposting resource for clinicians, but we are also keen to work collaboratively on a range of stroke initiatives. Please contact Nikki Hall nicola.hall43@nhs.net

Amanda Pritchard appointed NHS Chief Executive

Amanda Pritchard has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of NHS England.

Amanda will be the first woman in the health service’s history to hold the post, which she will take up on Sunday 1 August 2021.

Domestic servitude animation

The real-life story of a survivor of domestic servitude has become the inspiration behind a new online animation aimed at the communities of West Yorkshire. The animation aims to highlight the signs, raises awareness and encourages reporting of this hidden crime. Over the last two years, there has been a specific increase in reports of domestic servitude within West Yorkshire, indicating women from Pakistan and Bangladesh are being brought to the UK and exploited in domestic homes. As well as English, the animation has been translated into Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali with subtitles. See the dedicated webpage for more information.