Integrated Care Systems (ICS) are here to work together to plan and coordinate services so to make sure everyone gets the best care possible and can live happier, healthier lives. They enable us to take a broad view of what makes us happy and healthy.
The ICS Vision and Priorities: “We will enable people across Coventry and Warwickshire to start well, live well and age well, promote independence and put people at the heart of everything we do.” Find out more about ICS in Warwickshire
A “Research Engagement Network Development Programme” is underway. WALC’s members have the opportunity to feed in to this research, working with WCAVA. Download the WCAVA presentation Integrated Care Systems and Community Research July 2024
The Health and Social Care Act 2022 and statutory guidance sets out a clear intention of a more joined-up approach to health and care built on collaborative relations; using collective resources of the local system, NHS, local authorities, the voluntary and community sector and others to improve the health of local areas.
- Different communities may need different services or approaches to health and social care
- Help decision makers learn about your communities (health)
- Local rural community hubs are often village halls, pubs and village shop
Town and Parish Councils play a key role in enabling localised and rural communities to thrive. What would the residents in your communities tell us?
BACKGROUND READING
National Centre for Rural Health and Care
Between 2020 and 2022, the Centre ran an inquiry into rural health and care for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Health and Care. Since focussed action on four key areas for improving outcomes in rural and coastal areas. A recent Health Inequalities webinar explored how trusts and systems are improving access to health services in rural areas, engaging with coastal communities, and improving recruitment and retention of NHS staff in rural and coastal areas. Read more
RURAL SERVICES NETWORK: Rural Access to Health and Care Services
Rural residents face distinct healthcare challenges, including limited access to transport, longer distances to medical facilities, an aging demographic, housing inadequacies, digital connectivity gaps, and recruitment hurdles for healthcare workers. Further reading from Rural Services Network
HEALTHWATCH NORTH YORKSHIRE: Rurality and the healthcare barriers
Why people living in our rural areas struggle to access the care they need. Read the report
ACRE: Well served, healthy places
People living in the countryside can find themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing health and social care. This is because these services tend to be centralised in more built-up areas and getting to them may require travel. At the same time, older people make up a significantly larger proportion of the population of rural areas and this can increase the demands placed on services such as social care. Health and social care providers do, of course, provide outreach services. However, these need to be properly funded, integrated, and responsive to the needs of local communities. Further reading from ACRE
“GROUNDBREAKERS”
Growing Health Together: an East Surrey initiative which helps Primary Care Networks collaborate with community members and local organisations to improve health and prevent disease
Prevention: A Community-powered NHS (New Local) Working collaboratively with communities as equal partners in the design and delivery of healthcare
Prevention programme 2023-2025: A series of initiatives aimed at improving people’s health and wellbeing across South Gloucestershire
Peer Support Group: People Focused Doncaster
Community Anchor: Heely Trust
WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL: Health and Wellbeing
1. Community Powered Warwickshire
WCC partnered with New Local. Read the Final Report 2024
Work has also taken place to embed CPW into several linked plans and strategies with there being both council-led and partnership examples. For example, community power has been embedded into the Countywide Approach to Levelling Up, into the Council’s Creating Opportunities work, Sustainable Futures Strategy and the Integrated Care System Engagement Strategy.
Community Power is also linked into a series of other policies and plans including: Health in all Policies; Integrated Care System Place Development work (South and North); Organisational Development culture programme “How we work best”; in the commissioning and embedding of three new VCSE sector support services; and work around the creation of a Co-production Framework.
WCC has worked alongside the five district and borough councils in Warwickshire (Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford upon Avon, North Warwickshire, Warwick) to tackle inequalities and to shape local plans to create opportunities, drawing on the core principles of the county-wide community powered approach.
These principles were co-designed with partners. They aim to ensure communities are involved in local decision making and that statutory and partner organisations work alongside communities to take practical action, and where relevant, enable communities to lead. See page 9 (involve communities in decision-making, work alongside communities to take practical action, enable communities to lead)
2. Creating Opportunities in Warwickshire: The journey so far – July 2022 to December 2023.
From 2024 onwards – Bringing together Levelling Up and Community Powered Warwickshire, Creating Opportunity takes a community-centred approach to address place-based inequality across the County.
Building an evidence base
Underpinning all (WCC’s) work so far has been the commitment to develop and understand a strong evidence base. (WCC) have developed a suite of materials that support this work and provide insight at a regional, county, district/borough and community level, including:
- The State of Warwickshire dashboard provides an in-depth analysis of the strengths and challenges from across the County.
- Creating Opportunity profiles and evidence bases for each of the District and Borough Councils identified headline messages from community engagement with the Voice of Warwickshire residents’ panel.
- Place based Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs): analyse current and future wellbeing needs across the population, establishing key local priorities across health and social care.
- Poverty dashboard: WCC’s business intelligence dashboard which outlines statistical information, interactive mapping and reporting tools that provide detail about the local areas in Warwickshire.
Embedding Levelling Up
Published:
- Local Transport Plan (LTP4) Adopted July 2023
- Sustainable Futrres Strategy
- Voluntary and Community Sector Strategy 2020-2025
- Health and Wellbeing Strategy: This strategy has led the charge on considering the wider determinants of good health and exploring the connections to other Levelling Up missions and themes. The strategy is led by Warwickshire’s Health and Wellbeing Board and supported by multi-agency partnerships in the North, South and Rugby.
In development:
- Economic Growth Strategy
- Education Strategy
- Safer Warwickshire Serious Violence Prevention Strategy
- Future Infrastructure Strategy
3. County-wide Action plan
The Countywide Approach to Levelling Up set (WCC’s) strategic vision. Many of (the) countywide priorities are addressed through the strategies and associated delivery plans listed above in pages 7-8. Specific actions are also picked up in (the) Integrated Delivery Plan (IDP).
The IDP is a rolling two-year delivery plan that sets out how (WCC) will deliver against the Council Plan’s objectives. Over 100 actions in the current IDP are linked to Levelling Up. The refreshed delivery plan will continue to monitor progress with a continued focus on creating opportunity.
Support people to live healthy, happy, and independent lives and work with partners to reduce health inequalities P. 37 – 42