 Summer Newsletter
JUNE 2020
I am acutely aware as I write this that the whole nation has been experiencing, and continues to experience, unprecedented times as we navigate our way through the COVID-19 major incident. Never has it been more important to work together and support each other, putting a ‘whole systems approach’ at the fore to help us through this difficult period, both locally and nationally.
Our Health and Wellbeing Board recognises that to improve our local population’s health and wellbeing as well as tackle health inequalities, we have to work together, applying a whole systems approach; our strength lies in our position as systems leaders, and our ability to champion the actions of our own and partner organisations. This is immensely pertinent at present, and I want to reassure everyone that our Board members, the systems leaders, are maximising their collaborative strength and working together tirelessly to make the most effective use of combined resources in order to protect and support our residents and communities during these times.
This edition includes updates on the Board’s role in the new COVID-19 national Test and Trace system, Sussex Health and Care Partnership, the voluntary and community sector, the Board’s new children’s sub-group, the West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report, and future Health and Wellbeing Board meetings and seminars.
We welcome your feedback; please send your comments to Alison Thomson, Public Health Lead for Partnerships at alison.thomson@westsussex.gov.uk.
We hope you find this update both informative and interesting.
Best wishes
Amanda Jupp
Chairman, West Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board
The National Test and Trace service launched on 26 May 2020, forming a central part of the government's COVID-19 recovery strategy. The primary objective of the Test and Trace service is to control the COVID-19 rate of reproduction (R), reduce the spread of infection and save lives. Achieving these objectives requires a co-ordinated effort from local and national government, the health and care system, businesses and employers, voluntary organisations, community partners and general public.
As part of the Test and Trace service, each upper tier local authority (LA) is required to have a Local COVID-19 Outbreak Control Plan in place to allow improved speed of response. This builds on local knowledge, working with Public Health England’s local Health Protection Team. The Director of Public Health for every upper tier LA will drive this local plan through a COVID-19 Health Protection Board, working in collaboration with Gold Command and a Member led Local Outbreak Engagement Board.
In West Sussex, the member led Local Outbreak Engagement Board (LOEB) will be established as a sub-group of the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) to provide political ownership and public-facing engagement and communication for outbreak response, and will report to the quarterly HWB public meetings. Further detail on the LOEB will be provided to HWB members shortly.
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The partnership, called ‘Sussex Health and Care Partnership’, has successfully achieved ‘Integrated Care System’ (ICS) status which is awarded by NHS England and Improvement. Sussex is one of eighteen health and care systems in England that have progressed to this status, with other areas expected to all become an ICS in the future.
As an Integrated Care System, NHS organisations work together with local councils including ourselves, and others, to take collective responsibility for managing resources, delivering NHS standards, and improving the health and care of the population they serve. This new way of working will be based on the health and wellbeing priorities and outcomes that matter to local communities and will allow all organisations to work together to deliver this under a single plan.
The benefits of this partnership are really starting to be felt and have been especially evident with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new joint teams and partnership arrangements recently set up to help discharge patients from hospital, including mental health hospitals, have been widely praised and recognised as exemplary. We are now looking to see how we can continue some of these working arrangements which are showing to be highly effective in improving peoples’ lives.
Becoming an ICS means we have now taken a huge step forward in our ability to formally design and commission health and care services that aim to make it easier for residents to find the right care at the right time, with one of the agreed commitments being that we focus on prevention and personalised care for people.
To keep up to date with all the latest news from the Sussex Health and Care Partnership, visit their website at https://www.seshealthandcare.org.uk/
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During this difficult time, our community and voluntary organisations have quickly adapted the way they work, so they can continue to be there for people when they are needed.
Whether it’s practical services such as help with food and shopping, health and wellbeing services, someone to chat to or information and advice, we have a fantastic network of community and voluntary organisations and groups across West Sussex who work collaboratively to provide support where needed. Keeping a focus on the importance of community, collaboration, diversity and inclusion are key for many of these organisations.
We are lucky to have access to a wide range of organisations working for the community across the county, ranging from community-led groups offering support in their immediate community to organisations with responsibility for services covering the whole county and thousands of residents. We have social enterprises, networks, residents associations, co-operatives, and religious organisations. All are supporting the community and working alongside health and statutory organisations to keep us safe and well during the pandemic.
There are some links below as examples of some of the organisations supporting health and wellbeing across the whole county. They can also connect you with other community groups (large and small) as we all try to ensure people find the right support for their needs. Please do get in touch if you need support or if you want to get more involved with your local community:
Age UK West Sussex, Brighton and Hove – supporting older people
Sussex Clubs for Young People - youth activities and support
YMCA Downslink – preventing youth homelessness
Carers Support West Sussex – supporting family and friend carers
West Sussex MIND – Mental Health support
Citizens Advice West Sussex and Arun and Chichester Citizens Advice – information and advice
Turning Tides community led homelessness organisation
4Sight sight loss and visual impairment support
Independent Lives – supporting disabled people with support needs and carers
Impact Initiatives – helping people lead health and fulfilling lives
Aldingbourne Trust – supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live independent lives
Southdown Specialist housing care and support
Healthwatch West Sussex – health and care information and advice and consumer champion
West Sussex Voluntary and Community Sector Infrastructure Alliance and Horsham District– connecting people with charities, volunteers, and businesses in your local area
A new Children’s sub-group of the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB), which will focus specifically on children’s health and wellbeing, has been supported by Board members.
The sub-group will sit underneath the HWB, driving forward and bringing together the children’s elements of the HWB role, linking in with both the Children and Young People’s Emotional Health and Wellbeing Partnership, and the Cross Directorate Schools and Colleges Wellbeing Board (see diagram below). The sub-group will enable greater input from those officers and Members whose role has a focus on children and young people, and will be chaired by County Councillor Jacquie Russell, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People.
 Children’s health and wellbeing is an absolute priority for the county, and this new sub-group will help shine an important light on this area. West Sussex has been facing many challenges in relation to vulnerable children in particular, leading to the implementation of the Children First approach and the Children’s Improvement Board. HWB members selected ‘Children, young people and families have good emotional wellbeing and mental health’ as a priority goal for the starting well key theme within the West Sussex Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2019-24 for 2019/20, due to the challenges facing children and young people locally and nationally.
The West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2019/20 has been circulated virtually to Health and Wellbeing Board members for their feedback by Friday, 26 June 2020. Responses are being collated and will be shared with Annie Callanan, Independent Chair, West Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board.
Future Meetings
The county council’s Governance Committee considered current arrangements for formal meetings as a result of the current COVID-19 major incident. During the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a need to focus on priority and essential business whilst recognising the importance of democratic accountability and oversight.
On this basis the Governance Committee agreed that the Health and Wellbeing Board meetings on 30 April and 25 June should be cancelled. During this time, any urgent business has taken place in virtual consultation with Board members and the Chairman.
The next formal meeting of the Board is due to take place on Thursday, 8 October 2020.
Please contact Democratic Services for further information.
Seminars
Prior to the national lockdown, the Health and Wellbeing Board held a private seminar on Monday, 16 March 2020 themed ‘Neighbourhoods and communities at the heart of health and wellbeing.’ The seminar covered two areas; our approach to refreshing our West Sussex Carers Strategy, and an open discussion about the vital role of neighbourhoods and communities in our health and wellbeing. It was well attended and provided a critical engagement opportunity as we work to co-design our future landscape for an Integrated Health and Care Partnership.
The next seminar will be held virtually on Monday 27 July 2020, and will continue the theme as before discussing the COVID-19 response across the West Sussex health and care system with particular focus on communities, homeless and rough sleepers, and the Crawley Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) place-based response.
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