Bay Health and Care Partners Stakeholder Newsletter Issue 13

30th June 2022

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of our Bay Health and Care Partners (BHCP) newsletter where we will update you every month on the collaborative work that is taking place in Morecambe Bay’s Place-Based Partnership and the outcomes and benefits for communities.

We would like to start by highlighting the Health and Care Act that will come into force on Friday 1 July 2022. The Act creates Integrated Care Systems (ICS) which replace Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The commissioning function, which buys services on behalf of communities is set to change. The Act also encourages greater collaboration between services and organisations, to focus on ‘person-centred care’. You can find out more about the changes and what this means for services in Morecambe Bay at the BHCP website here. 

We're delighted to share that South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) has launched a £25,000 fund aimed at supporting projects that help to alleviate poverty. SLDC is encouraging town and parish councils, community and voluntary groups and local charities to apply to the first round of the new Fairer South Lakeland Community Fund as soon as possible. You can find out more at SLDC website here.

An exciting development has taken place through the launch of a new academy which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Lancashire and South Cumbria. The Population Health and Health Equity Academy will see health and care partners across Lancashire and South Cumbria come together to develop a consistent approach to reducing the differences in people’s health. You can read more here. 

We would like to highlight the strength of the partnership during the recent pressures faced. Partners came together to mobilise a plan to try and alleviate pressures on our emergency departments across Morecambe Bay. Actions Partners have taken include potentially extending the opening hours of Urgent Treatment Centres in Kendal and Morecambe and discussing options with social care colleagues to expedite the safe discharge of as many patients as possible who do not meet the criteria to reside.

We would like to thank all the teams who have been involved in a heart scan push in Lancashire and South Cumbria. Almost 750 patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria had echocardiography (ECHO) - a scan used to look at the heart and blood vessels. This was made possible thanks to a digital passporting scheme which allowed staff to move over four hospital trusts. You can read the full story here. 

Dr Geoff Jolliffe and Prof Mike Thomas, Joint Chairs for BHCP

Partners transforming services

Every month we will explore a different area of our programmes of work that are transforming services. This month, we focus on the two-hour urgent community response. Since the two-hour urgent community response (UCR) mandate became live on 1 April 2022, the Rapid Response and District Nursing teams have responded to 920 referrals within two hours for people across Morecambe Bay.

The UCR is accessed via our Urgent Community & Frailty Coordination Hub and delivered by existing Rapid Response and District Nursing teams who cover Lancaster, South Lakeland and Barrow. You can read the full story at the BHCP website here. 

Listening to our communities

The voices of our communities are central to our new way of working. As part of the workforce training offer to upskill health and care professionals to work in a more personalised way; the Population Health team for Morecambe Bay have launched new dates for health coaching training. Upcoming dates are: Tuesday 5 July 9.30am-1pm and Tuesday 19 July 9.30am-1pm; Tuesday 13
September 1pm-4.30pm and Tuesday 27 September 1pm-4.30pm; Friday 7 October 9.30am-1pm and Friday 21 October 9.30am-1pm.

The course is for staff who have the opportunity to support people to make behaviour changes that will encourage improved health and wellbeing. It will provide a range of tools and techniques that will help structure conversations to help individuals to set and work towards goals that are important to them, whether this is about lifestyle changes that will promote better health and wellbeing, or being better able to manage long-term conditions. You can find out more information at the BHCP website here.

GP focus with Dr Arun Thimmiah

Our GPs are an important part of Bay Health Care Partners and here our GPs and primary care colleagues have the opportunity to talk about issues and specialties that they are working on or interested in.

This month Dr Arun Thimmiah shares advice and support on how to improve your wellbeing in advance of World Wellbeing Week (24 June- 1 July). You can read the full article at the Bay Health and Care Partners website here.

The spotlight on…

Every month we will feature a different voluntary, community, faith sector or Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisation across the Bay. This time the spotlight is on... Macmillan Cancer Support’s Information and Support Service.

Barrow-in-Furness residents living with and beyond cancer can sign up for a free course to help them get their lives back on track after treatment.

Macmillan Cancer Support’s Information and Support Service at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust is relaunching its HOPE (help overcome problems effectively) course in the town later this year. You can read the full story at the BHCP website here.

Celebrating our teams

There are a variety of roles across BHCP and other organisations we work with in the community. Here we shine the spotlight on the people who carry out a range of roles to keep our communities healthy and supported.

Emma Kitching and Gill Irwin work under the umbrella term Health Early Action Team (HEAT). The role includes working as Hospital Alcohol Liaison Specialist Nurses (HALS) and working as part of the Familiar Faces Team.

Emma and Gill are hospital-based and work from the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. You can read the full case study at the BHCP website here.

ICCs update

Our Integrated Care Communities (ICCs) are integrated teams of health and care workers, voluntary organisations and wider community assets who work together to aim to improve physical and mental health outcomes, promote wellbeing and reduce health inequalities across an entire population.

In this edition, we would like to highlight Carnforth Health and Fun Day which takes place Saturday 14 July from 10am to 3.30pm at Carnforth High School. You can find out more about the event by reading the Carnforth ICC newsletter.

The latest editions of the ICCs' newsletters can be read here.

Top stories from our Partners

Thank you for reading our latest edition!

This newsletter is produced by the BHCP Comms and Engagement Team. If you would like to submit a story please contact Michelle Jordan, Ivan Drozdov and Karen Evans at BHCP.Communcations@mbht.nhs.uk 

You can sign up for the newsletter here or send us any feedback on it here.

You can find a PDF version of this edition of the newsletter at the 'Bay Health and Care Partners Newsletters' section of the website by clicking here. 

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