Posted on: 27 September 2019
This week’s leadership message comes from Rob Goodyear, Head of Planning for the Leeds Plan within NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and the Leeds Health Partnerships Team.
Hello, my name is Rob and I’m the Head of Planning for the Leeds Plan within NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and the Leeds Health Partnerships Team. I’m also a member of the Partnerships’ local place planners group which includes colleagues from Bradford District and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.
However this blog isn’t about me or the work I do or the organisations I work for do.
I wanted to reflect on a recent emotional rollercoaster as I joined Leeds Community Foundation and a number of local businesses in meeting a number of community organisations and hearing first-hand about the projects they run. I genuinely was not prepared for how much I would be moved as the day progressed.
By the time the day came to a close it got me thinking about why we call community and voluntary organisations as third sector when in fact for many people they’re the first sector and first port of call when the going gets tough.
I’ve been in the NHS a very long time and have seen or heard about some ground-breaking treatments and advances in care however I’ve almost grown accustomed to this. We often get wrapped up in what immediately concerns us and forget that there’s people out there that need intensive support that doesn’t sit with the NHS or the council.
But before that I wanted to let you know why this day mattered to me. Prior to a single clinical commissioning group for Leeds, NHS Leeds CCG, we had three CCGs and I worked for one called NHS Leeds North CCG. We teamed up with NHS Leeds South and East CCG to set up a time limited Third Sector Grants programme that was run on our behalf by Leeds Community Foundation, which has evaluated really well. More importantly it demonstrated how vibrant the third sector (or is that the first sector) is in Leeds. Great learning for both us and the organisations involved but it was after all a time limited project.
Last year further funding was provided through the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership’s Harnessing the Power of Communities programme, primarily looking to help projects that tackle loneliness and social isolation. Based on the evaluation of our Third Sector Grants programme, nine Leeds-based projects received funding from the Partnership, again administered by Leeds Community Foundation. A full list of projects funded through the programme can be found on the Partnership’s website.
So you’ll notice two commonalities here, first we value the work of community and voluntary sector organisations and secondly the active involvement and support provided by Leeds Community Foundation. The Foundation also runs the Leeds Fund, giving businesses a chance to invest in community projects that change people’s lives.
So when they invited me on a bus tour involving local businesses at the end of June, I couldn’t possibly say no as the tour would see a number of the projects we’ve invested in.
The day started with breakfast with Tom Riordan, Chief Executive for Leeds City Council and Kate Hainsworth, Chief Executive for Leeds Community Foundation before a formal introduction where the CCG was thanked for its ongoing support for the third sector We watched an excellent video of how social isolation has an impact on lives – emotional yes, but the tears were kept well in check – at that point.
And then the real emotion hit. It was only 10am. We often hear the terms refugees and asylum seekers and more often than not it comes with lots of negative coverage and attitudes. But did you know many people are fleeing persecution and wars and then have the added pressure of not knowing if they’ll be able to stay in this country?
We have a commitment to make Leeds a city of sanctuary and we’re really lucky to have organisations like Solace supporting people who are extremely vulnerable. I must confess, this is when tears of sadness were welling up. We listened as one woman described how she was forced to get married at the age of 13 to a much older man. She then went on to describe how she felt effectively dead until Solace intervened and bought her back to life – she described it as a cup of water. This was just one harrowing account we heard.
And I clearly wasn’t the only one that was moved. One local business had, by the end of the day, committed to provide further support to one of the projects.
We visited Holbeck Elderly Aid and had to remind ourselves we were guests in someone else’s space. That was made clear when someone’s phone rang, it took a while for them to find it and once they did they proceeded to have a very loud conversation – it was great, this is their daily life we were intruding on and Hilary Benn MP continued his talk as well. Hilary Benn MP was there in his capacity as a patron for Holbeck Elderly Aid.
At Holbeck Elderly Aid we found out more about the work they do on their befriending service to help older people who are feeling lonely or isolated. We heard about their range of activities (too many to list) including the hot meal delivery service, winter health awareness work and took part in armchair gymnastics – I’ll confess I didn’t do this! Fantastic work, no tears apart from their passionate Chief Officer
Next stop was New Wortley Community Centre, what an amazing place and a real hub for the community. They’ve secured lots of investment, not just through the funding I’ve mentioned earlier on, resulting in a new centre with new kitchen, a charity shop and health and wellbeing room.
So the day moved me, the day inspired me and the day made me proud. I was proud when the work of the CCG in involving the sector was acknowledged and even more proud of the breadth of work done by the third sector in Leeds. There was an advert a little while back where a car breakdown recovery firms described themselves as the fourth emergency service. For many, especially the most vulnerable, community and voluntary organisations are their first emergency service. Now that’s food for thought for an experienced NHS employee like me.
Have a good weekend,
Rob
What else has been happening this week?
System Oversight and Assurance Group
The Partnership’s System Oversight and Assurance Group (SOAG) met on Monday. 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. This week’s discussion included updates on the programmes for mental health, learning disability and autism; primary and community care; improving population health; workforce and harnessing the power of communities.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Communication and Engagement Network
Over 30 communication and engagement colleagues attended the network meeting in Wakefield on Tuesday. This included those working in the NHS, councils, charities and Healthwatch. This is an important group for the Partnership as they have a wealth of expertise and communication channels helpful for distributing and cascading messages to both staff and the public. Colleagues received an update on the development of the Partnership’s five year plan; an overview on the work taking place around organisational development as well as an update from colleagues working on the Think Learning Disabilities campaign. There was also an update on digital and technology; the GP online consultation project and the Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism Programme.
National integrated care system leaders (ICS)
Partnerships like ours are also known as integrated care systems (ICS). On Wednesday ICS leaders met. Rob Webster, our Partnership CEO lead attended. Leaders discussed system priorities, the development of the five year plans (see Rob’s vlog last week to find out more); Partnership Boards; governance and accountability and the importance of building public confidence: openness and transparency. Rob was also part of a wider discussion on the NHS People Plan which is all about workforce.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Paediatric Ambulatory Network Meeting
Our Partnership has joined forces with Bradford University to host a day-long event on Wednesday dedicated to promoting paediatric health and home-based care. The inaugural West Yorkshire and Harrogate Paediatric Ambulatory Meeting was held at the University of Bradford. Ambulatory care describes non-inpatient care, including urgent and non-urgent outpatient services. This is an emerging area of paediatrics and will be critical to the delivery of high quality care for our children and young people in the coming years. The conference has been put together by members of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s award-winning Ambulatory Care Experience (ACE) service. BTHFT Health Education England Leadership Fellow Dr Reena Basu, who organised the event, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the response to our meeting so far from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate including local and national organisations and the third sector’. Over 100 people attended the day including those who have experienced the service. Others included academics, researchers, educators, clinicians, commissioners and families.
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Healthy Hearts project sees early improvement in blood pressure
Since its official launch in April, the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Healthy Hearts project has seen an extra 3,800 additional patients added to hypertension registers and nearly 1,000 more people having their blood pressure controlled to below 140/90. Because of this, over the next five years, an estimated eight people will avoid an early death; 15 people will avoid having a stroke and 10 people prevented from a heart attack. This will improve further now we have more people on hypertension registers and under review. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the GP practices that have supported phase one of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Healthy Hearts project. It is thanks to everyone’s hard work and contribution that we have achieved these results.
The West Yorkshire and Harrogate’s Healthy Hearts project aims to help reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and prevent the number of heart attacks and strokes across the region.
We estimate there are over 40,000 people across the region that we still need to reach. If we do, we believe that we can prevent around 700 heart attacks and strokes across West Yorkshire and Harrogate which would be hugely significant and have a massive impact on people’s lives.
Phase two of the project will see an emphasis on cholesterol management, while phase three will see a concentration on glycaemic control in diabetes. For more information follow @WYHHealthyHeart on Twitter.
What's happening next week?
- West Yorkshire and Harrogate Joint Committee of Clinical Commissioning Groups meets on Tuesday 1 October. The Committee, which is part of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership, has a shared health programme of work that aims to further improve the health and wellbeing of the 2.6 million people living across the area. The agenda for Tuesday 1 October 2019 will be published online on Tuesday 24 September 2019 at www.wyhpartnership.co.uk. To register your interest in attending these meetings or to ask a question before the meeting takes place please email westyorkshire.stp@nhs.net or call 01924 317502. You can also watch the Joint Committee meeting here.
- West Yorkshire and Harrogate Clinical Forum meets on Tuesday. The meeting is chaired by Dr Andy Withers.
- West Yorkshire and Harrogate System Leader Executive Group meets on Tuesday. The meeting will be chaired by Rob Webster, our Partnership CEO Lead.
- The Programme Board for Unpaid Carers meets on Thursday.