February 2023 Newsletter
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB welcomes new Chair
In the new year, the ICB welcomed David Pearson as the Non-Executive Chair of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB board. Throughout his career, David has held a range of clinical, executive and non-executive positions. David is a resident of the Staffordshire Moorlands, and in 2010 was awarded an MBE for services to Staffordshire’s mental health services.
We would like to thank the former Chair, Prem Singh, for all he did in his role as Chair. Prem has provided significant contributions to health and social care over his 47 years of service in the NHS and social care. We wish him all the best for his retirement.
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Inpatient mental health services consultation approved
During January’s ICB Board meeting, the work to identify the long-term solution for inpatient mental health services previously provided by the George Bryan centre was discussed, and an agreement was reached that we move to the public consultation phase. This follows extensive discussions with various partners including more recently NHS England who have approved the business case supporting a move to formal public consultation. The consultation launches today, 9 February 2023, and you can find out about events, how to be involved and read more information on the ICB website.
The Integrated Care Partnership Strategy
Integrated care partnerships (ICPs) are alliances of NHS providers that work together to deliver care by agreeing to collaborate rather than compete. These providers include hospitals, community services, mental health services and GPs, social care and independent and third sector providers. The pursuit of ‘integration’ is about ensuring that the right partnerships, policies, incentives and processes are in place to support practitioners and local organisations to work together to help people live healthier and more independent lives for longer. ICPs will play a critical role in making this happen. To understand the way forward, a strategy has been developed. The strategy will address the broad health and social care needs of our local population. It goes beyond treating sickness, to tackling the causes of ill health such as employment, environment, and housing issues and will be used as a guide when making decisions, commissioning and delivering services. View the draft strategy on our website.
Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT) launches Safe Haven Crisis Café and ‘Safe Hands’ Out of Hours Home Sitting Service in Staffordshire
MPFT has provided Burton and District Mind with funding to provide crisis support services for people aged 16+ with mental health problems in East Staffordshire, Tamworth Borough and Lichfield District.
Safe Haven Crisis Café in Tamworth is a non-clinical out of hours provision that runs 365 days a year. It will provide a safe, supportive, non-clinical environment where people can access support during their recovery for up to three hours. This service will promote self-empowerment and independence in a relaxed informal setting. It will be available on weekdays from 5pm to 11pm, 9am to 5pm at weekends and 10am to 2pm on bank holidays. Contact phone number: 07380 460551.
Working alongside the Safe Space Crisis Café service will be the Safe Hands Out of Hours Home Sitting Service, working from Tamworth and Stafford. This service will support the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment team based in Lichfield, covering East Staffs, Lichfield and Tamworth, and from Stafford covering Stafford Borough and Cannock Chase. The service is made up of two, two-person teams and will provide an on-call approach. It will relieve pressure from home treatment, 136 Place of Safety suite, Crisis Café and offer respite.
The ‘Safe Hands’ Out of Hours Home Sitting Service will be available on weekdays: from 4pm to midnight and at weekends from 12pm to midnight.
Combined Healthcare supports Stoke Social Group for Older Adults
North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is collaborating with Stoke City Football Club and Home Instead to deliver a supportive social group for older people who may feel isolated.
The Stoke Social Group for Older Adults is held every Wednesday from 10am - 12noon at the Bet 365 Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent. It provides attendees with the opportunity to take part in group activities and engage in gentle exercise sessions to help both their physical and mental health. They can also talk to professionals about any mental health concerns they have.
Combined Healthcare's Nicola Mayo said: “People play bingo, curling, have lots of coffee and biscuits, and most importantly of all chat and socialise with others."
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Health Tech Newspaper (HTN) award win
For 6 years, we have been working with a Swedish company called HN to provide a health coaching intervention across the ICS, for 2000 residents. This has directly resulted in significant behavioural changes and a reduction in the use of services. In addition, it has led to a statistically significant reduction in mortality for older men in deprived communities. In January, this work was recognised at the HTN Now Awards for excellence, achieving first place in the ‘Digital ICS Transformation’ category, and highly commended in the ‘Health tech case study of the year’ category.
The All Age Wellbeing Portal podcast
The All Age Wellbeing Portal is an online facility for people seeking support and advice for their mental wellbeing by North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, and is part of digital transformation at the NHS Trust.
Find out more about the Portal by listening to a recent ‘Combinations’ podcast here.
To access the All Age Wellbeing Portal, please click here.
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February's health campaigns
February is oesophageal cancer awareness month and, as such, we are launching a campaign to raise awareness of the potential symptoms of this cancer and to encourage anyone experiencing them to contact their GP. Symptoms can include ongoing difficulties and/or pain in your throat or chest when swallowing, a persistent horse voice or acid reflux, excessive heartburn or indigestion, and persistent hiccups or ongoing weight loss. It’s important to note that it’s probably nothing to worry about, but if it’s unusual for you, then you should get in touch with your GP.
On 2 February we marked ‘Time to Talk Day’ – an awareness day to encourage everyone to feel more comfortable opening up about their mental health. We know that it can be difficult for some people to speak out when they are feeling low. However, having these conversations can be extremely helpful. Find out more about Time to Talk Day here. In addition to this, if you are 16 or older, living in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and you are feeling anxious or down, you can call 0300 303 0923 to self-refer to the local wellbeing service. Alternatively, you can do it online via www.staffsandstokewellbeing.nhs.uk. For urgent mental health support, call our 24/7 support lines:
- North Staffordshire/Stoke-on-Trent: 0800 0328 728 (option 1)
- Rest of Staffordshire: 0808 196 3002
It is also National Apprenticeships Week next week (6 until 12 February). Here in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent we offer a variety of apprenticeships for health and care roles, which give you experience and competencies that will be beneficial when you are looking for permanent employment, or to progress along your chosen career pathway. You can head over to our website to find out more about the apprenticeships on offer locally.
We will be celebrating and promoting a variety of other important awareness dates throughout February, including:
- LGBT+ History month
- World Cancer Day
- Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week
- Children’s Mental Health Week
- National HIV testing week
Keep an eye out for more information about these campaigns by following us on Twitter and Facebook.
The latest strike action
It has been announced that there are Ambulance worker strikes planned for 20 February, 6 March, and 20 March. Work is ongoing to ensure that system partner plans are in place to mitigate any staff shortages and operational impacts. This is being overseen through our Incident Control Centre (ICC).
To stay tuned with our campaigns, make sure you follow us on Twitter and Facebook via @StaffStokeICS for the ICS accounts and @StaffsStokeICB for ICB accounts.
Previous editions of this newsletter can be viewed on the ICS website here.
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