Agenda item

The Director: Adults & Community Wellbeing and the Chief Operating Officer, North Lincolnshire CCG, submitted a joint report requesting that the Health and Wellbeing Board note the progress to date and the updated priorities for the Health and Care Integration Plan 2021.

The Health and Care Integration Plan 2019 - 24 was approved for publication by the Health and Wellbeing Board on 25 June 2019.  The plan was set in the context of the Health and Wellbeing Board’s responsibility to promote joint working and demonstrate how we  focus on transforming the lives of people in North Lincolnshire through developing a ‘Sustainable, Enabling, Integrated Health & Social Care System’ that empowers our local population, provides opportunities to develop relationships across communities, promoting self-help.

The report set out that the plan was structured around the four strategic principles: Enabling Self Care, Care Closer to Home, Right Care Right Place and Best Use of Resources. Significant progress had been made over the last eighteen months, most notably demonstrated by a range of partners working together in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. People had been deployed differently to take on new roles to contribute to the emergency response within acute, community and social care settings.

The report set out a number of highlights, including:

Ø  A ‘community first’ approach was applied, putting the person at the heart of everything we do. In addition to providing information, advice, and guidance, connecting more vulnerable residents and families to direct support from within their community.

Ø  A new ‘Welcome Home’ service to support people leaving hospital had been developed with the voluntary sector to ensure people returning have everything they need at home.

Ø  A single point of access for community health and social care had been agreed which provides the public and professionals a single contact point for advice and support.

Ø  A dedicated GP had been established to support an urgent response to people in crisis in their own homes alongside community health and social care resulting in a reduction in avoidable hospital admissions and A&E attendances.

Ø  The Urgent Treatment Centre at Scunthorpe General Hospital, providing urgent care without the need to attend A&E, was implemented.

Ø  Focused exercises focusing on hospital discharge process had been undertaken and changes made to enable people to leave hospital at the right time and support them to remain in their own homes.

Ø  A joint approach to supporting frail and elderly residents had been developed which will enable a pro-active approach to supporting people living with long term health and support needs.

Ø  The Primary Care Networks, covering North Lincolnshire, were now well established and had been pivotal in delivering the vaccination programme.

Ø  The vaccination program for COVID-19 had a high uptake locally with all groups offered the vaccine within timescales.

Ø  The mental health community model had been developed, providing support to people with mental ill health closer to their homes and communities.

Ø  A draft strategy had been developed for palliative end of life care and was currently out for consultation across North Lincolnshire.

Ø  Infection prevention control training had been provided to all front-line care home and homecare staff, keeping people safe and well and reducing the spread of infection.

Ø  Partners had adapted to new ways of working using technology and people in receipt of care and support had embraced this change.

The Chairman led a discussion on the integration agenda, highlighting the ambitious nature of the planned and ongoing work.  Board members asked a range of questions, such as steps to ensure mental health was built into any proposals, digital inclusion and equality, and multi-agency discharge arrangements.

Resolved – (a) That the Health and Wellbeing Board note the progress to date and the updated priorities for the Health and Care Integration Plan 2021; and (b) that future papers be presented to the Board on digital inclusion and discharge arrangements.