New partnership deal puts NHS decision-making at the heart of communities

The NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria has announced plans to delegate decision-making down to the four 'place-based partnerships’, which will improve outcomes for patients and help tackle health inequalities across the region.

The Place Integration Deal – announced at today’s Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) July formal business meeting – moves resources and decision-making closer to our local communities, and recognises the critical role of all organisations that support people to live healthier lives.

The partnerships cover Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Lancashire and South Cumbria, largely aligning with the region’s four upper-tier councils to boost integration between health and wellbeing services, local authorities, Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) and partners in each of the places.

The ICB, which has responsibility for NHS spend and performance, set out its aim to delegate services such as general practice, community pharmacy, dental services and eye health, as well as a range of community-based services like district nursing, occupational therapy, and bed-based community rehabilitation, to all four partnerships in the future, giving communities in each area greater involvement in decision-making and planning.

Kevin Lavery, Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB chief executive, said: “Meeting our population’s needs requires us to organise and deliver care at the most appropriate level and as close as possible to the residents we serve

“It is our ambition to have a world-class, all-age, community-centric integrated care system to be able to improve health and care outcomes and experiences for our population. 

“Our four places will be a key driving force in ensuring our residents have healthy communities, high-quality services and a health and care service that works for them, and this deal will pave the way for further innovations in integrated working with local government and wider partners.”

Each of the four places has agreed on a number of priorities which will be delivered during 2023/24, and services that could be delegated by the ICB will have a strong focus on those providing ongoing support to individuals in their homes.

A key ambition of the partnerships is to develop pooled budget arrangements, bringing together spend across the NHS, local authority and wider partners and reduce duplication of work across different organisations.

“It is our ambition to have a world-class, all-age, community-centric integrated care system to be able to improve health and care outcomes and experiences for our population. 

Please find place-specific quotes from the four directors of health and care integration below:

Blackburn with Darwen

Claire Richardson, director of health and care integration for Blackburn with Darwen within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: “This partnership will build on our long history of joined-up working and will support us to really centre on the needs of our communities. Our aim is to improve the health and well-being of our residents throughout their lives with a real focus on preventing ill health and tackling health inequalities. This will be monitored through improved patient experience and outcomes. 

“We will also be engaging with our local communities to identify what matters most to them and involve them in developing and delivering local services in the future. We want decision-making about public services to be kept as close to communities as possible.”

Blackpool

Karen Smith, director of health and care integration for Blackpool within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: “I welcome the decision to delegate responsibility for some NHS services to the place partnerships. The place integration deal recognises the importance of health and social care integration and will bring excellent, locally-based, integrated services to Blackpool, meaning people can live healthier lives and stay as independent as possible.

“It will also mean that most day-to-day care for individuals and families will be delivered in our local neighbourhoods, and will also reduce inequalities by ensuring that decision making and spending on public services is as close to people and communities as possible.”

Lancashire

Louise Taylor, director of health and care integration for Lancashire within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and Lancashire County Council's executive director of adult services and health and wellbeing, said: "This will be a very positive development, as our ‘place-based’ partnership will take collective responsibility for improving the health and wellbeing of our residents.

"Our vision is to create a place-based partnership which recognises the critical role of the public and all organisations that support people to live healthier lives,  delivering good quality, integrated care and support with partners, and to ensure our services are joined up to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for the population, prevent ill health and really work hard to tackle health inequalities across our neighbourhoods."

South Cumbria

Jane Scattergood, director of health and care integration for South Cumbria within the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: “We are delighted to be working alongside partners from three new unitary authorities which have some of their footprint in the South Cumbria area. 

“We are looking forward to working with and for the residents of South Cumbria to integrate and provide excellence in local health and care services and to help our residents live longer healthier lives. 

“This much more joined-up approach can only be a good thing for local residents because decision-making and spending on public services will be as close to people and communities as possible. There will be a real focus on the prevention of ill health and tackling health inequalities and this new way of working will put our population’s needs at the heart of everything we do.”