Hello our names are Jo and Joanne….

This week’s leadership message comes from Jo Harding, Executive Director of Quality and Safety/ Governing Body Nurse for NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and Joanne Crewe, Director of Quality and Governance, Executive Nurse for Harrogate and Rural District NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.  Both are Lead Nurses for West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.

We were really pleased to be asked to do this week’s Partnership’s leadership message. This was for a number of reasons, the main one being when we talk about clinical leadership and engagement (very NHS terminology) colleagues and the public don’t always recognise that the description of a clinician encompasses the role of many people working in health care services, such as physiotherapists, occupational health and of course nurses.

These clinical lead roles are critical to our local and West Yorkshire and Harrogate (WY&H) plans. They provide the expertise and insight for communities and the system to effectively implement patient centred care as we move towards joined up care and partnership planning.

Most nurses choose to work in the profession because they have a passion to care for others and to be part of a workforce that makes a positive difference to people’s lives. Words such as compassion, kindness, dignity and respect are central to the work we do. These important words shouldn’t be taken lightly they come up time and time again when we evaluate the experience and outcome of the care people receive at home, in hospital or in our communities.

It goes without saying that all clinicians, including nurses, have an important role to play in the development of our Partnership plans and it’s essential that they feel fully engaged, especially if we are to continually provide high quality care and share good practice across the area. It’s important we hear their voices loud and clear.

To be honest many of our clinical colleagues may not have heard about the work of the Partnership – they are busy working on the front line, keeping people safe and well in their homes, residential care and in hospitals across our six local places which make up the West Yorkshire and Harrogate area (Bradford District and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield).

Although this is the case, and will always remain their priority, it’s equally important that they have the opportunity to get involved and put forward their views on both local and West Yorkshire and Harrogate plans – after all they have some great experience of what works well (and doesn’t) and we need to make the most of their expertise.

As lead nurses for our Partnership, it is important that we work with other local clinical leaders (including the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Clinical Forum) to implement service improvements that require a system-wide effort; for example, implementing primary care networks / communities or increasing resilience ahead of winter pressures and workforce recruitment challenges

Across the country clinical commissioning groups have recognised the value that the executive nurse brings to local decision-making about the health of communities. As the health care system evolves and new structures are established, we like to believe that we bring with us real life experience and professional leadership in a changing commissioning environment.

In terms of both the local and wider Partnership our role as executive commissioning nurses falls quite neatly under the following five areas of work.

Assuring the quality of services

Working alongside our colleagues to provide local leadership and operational responsibility for assuring the quality and safety of services in a local area from a commissioner perspective – this involves providing checks and balances on the decision-making process and acting as a channel for longer-term quality monitoring across the system – whilst keeping firmly in view the person at the centre of everything we do.

Driving cross-organisational relationships

What we aim to bring to both local and Partnership work is strong links with hospital and community providers, general practice, care homes and the community organisations. We all know this is vital in planning and delivering health and care across organisational boundaries.

Highlighting the importance of patient’s experience of service delivery

Our experience of being a nurse and working on the front line means we have first-hand experience of what services should be commissioned to deliver effective patient care. We do this by working closely with colleagues and ensuring what is put in place is the best and most appropriate care possible.

Providing leadership for nurses

A key part of the work we do is around providing and advising on professional development, succession planning and the future model for general practice nurses, those working in care homes and other nurses working outside the NHS.

Providing a commissioning voice for the largest profession in the NHS.

Over the coming months we will be working hard to ensure the largest profession within the NHS has a voice across West Yorkshire and Harrogate and that their views are heard in the work we do, for example at the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Clinical Forum and in the work we do with our peers at a national level. We are in a good position to do this, as we have a seat around the decision making table at the Partnership leadership meetings and are already involved in national work.

As we move forward our role is to work alongside other colleagues to bring a broader view, advising and directing on health and care issues across West Yorkshire and Harrogate and particularly the professional contribution of nursing. Our role will be to communicate this together within and across all partner organisations.

A good example of this can be seen in the work we are doing with other primary care colleagues to further support unpaid carers. Over 80 health and care professionals working in primary care including GP practices, social care and the voluntary and community sector will come together next week to find out how they can contribute to the West Yorkshire and Harrogate vision for unpaid carers.

The event, supported by NHS England will focus on improving the quality of life and well-being of all carers living across the area. Working in partnership with Carers Trust, Carers UK, The Children’s Society, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England have developed voluntary quality markers for GP practices, based on what carers have said matters most to them. The CQC have also endorsed the quality markers as a model of good practice

We recognise that carers play a significant role in delivering and supporting health and care and that without them the health and care system would be overwhelmed. Supporting carers well (including working carers who are nurses) so they have good health and wellbeing is a priority to us all.

Have a good weekend

Jo and Joanne

 

What else has been happening this week?

Urgent and Emergency Care Programme Board (UEC PB)

The programme board met on Monday chaired by Dr Adam Sheppard. Each of our five A&E Delivery Boards presented their work on emergency department systems improvement which they are undertaking on behalf of all A&E boards. For example Bradford District and Craven colleagues talked about their work on the single choice policy. This is about one policy for people being discharged from hospital (being implemented in October). Another example is the research work in Leeds around redirecting people away from A&E. The learning from all the Boards will be shared across West Yorkshire and Harrogate.

The UEC Board also confirmed the key priority areas for investment in integrated urgent care (IUC). This includes work on frailty, technical infrastructure and strengthening communications.

Stroke programme

The stroke programme met on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by Dr Andy Withers, who is also Chair of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Clinical Forum. Members received an update on the work of service specifications, care pathways and the work we are doing to further improve stroke care across the area. A meeting took place on the 29 August with the Clinical Senate in terms of programme developments. A follow up conversation will take place at the West Yorkshire Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee in October. You can also read a paper here on the work we have done in response to public feedback.

Yorkshire and Humber Digital Care Board

The first board meeting of the Local Health Care Record Exemplar (LHCRE) for Yorkshire & Humber took place today. The meeting was chaired by Rob Webster our CEP Partnership Lead. CEOs and colleagues from local government, NHS trusts and clinical commissioning group attended the meeting.  Teams have been meeting through the Yorkshire & Humber Care Record Delivery Board to develop our proposals and the draft agreement with NHS England on deployment of funds. Work continues to develop the team and identifying representatives from our Partnership to ensure the right capacity and engagement in LHCRE.

 

What’s happening next week?

  • Carers event - West Yorkshire and Harrogate, Health and Care Partnership (WY&H HCP) will share their vision and aspirations for unpaid carers, including young carers, living across the area at a special event in Leeds on Tuesday. Over 80 health and care professionals working in primary care including GP practices, social care and the voluntary and community sector will attend the event to find out how they can contribute to the WY&H HCP vision for unpaid carers.
  • The Public Health Coordination Group meets on Thursday. This meeting is chaired by Dr Ian Cameron.
  • Our finance directors meet on Friday.