A thanks from Sally Burns our Director of Public Health – West Northamptonshire

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I am delighted to share with you the third Director of Public Health Report (DPHR) for West Northamptonshire, which highlights how together with our local partners, we have embedded a place-based approach in the work we do across the Council to reduce health inequalities and improve life outcomes for our residents.

As I reflect on 2023, it has been another incredibly busy year and one of particular significance for my Public Health team, with it being the first full year where the team has sat solely within West Northants Council, working closely with our partners to serve West Northants residents.

Over the last year, I have witnessed firsthand the power of collaboration with our systemwide partners and the impact we can make for the communities we serve when our aims and outcomes are properly aligned. That’s why I am excited to share with you the Director of Public Health report for 2023, as it is full of brilliant examples of how we have worked with our partners, voluntary sector, and communities to start to embed our place-based and ‘asset-based’ approach, which have helped our communities and individuals to have hands on involvement in shaping services that best meet their needs.

Whilst we have made great strides in beginning to address the poor health outcomes in West Northants, health inequalities very much remain a big concern and it is clear there is still more to do. In this report and its accompanying video, you will see how some of the work has started to address this issue and how the idea of taking a place-based approach embodies this way of thinking.

Please so take the time to watch our short video which summarises the report and our place-based approach: https://youtu.be/_76UoKqpCnA or to read the full report for more detail: Health and Wellbeing Board – Key responsibilities | West Northamptonshire Council (westnorthants.gov.uk)

I would like to thank all our partners who continue to work with us on this important agenda and I hope that we can start to break down these health inequities so everyone in West Northamptonshire can live a long and healthy life.

 

Collaboration in Health Inequalities

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Voluntary Impact held its Collaboration in Health Inequalities event on the 1st of May 2024 at the Kings Park Conference Centre. Funded through NHS Partnerships England, keynote speakers included Sally Burns (Director of Health for West Northamptonshire), Naomi Eisenstadt (Chair of the Integrated Care Board) and Julie Curtis (Director of Place for West Northamptonshire).

The Presentations can be viewed here:

Place Development in West Northants

What do Health Inequalities mean to an Integrated Care System

Our Northamptonshire Population and the Health Inequalities that we see

 

Over 100 delegates were in attendance from all sectors including the VCSE, Local Authorities and various NHS Health Departments.

Following on from the presentations, delegates divided into Focus Groups covering subject areas such as Poverty, Isolation, Ethnic Minority Inequalities, Older Adults and Children and Young People.

The Groups looked at what is being done now and how, and what good looks like in a perfect world.

The Conference was concluded with a Question-and-Answer Panel.

The notes from each Focus Group will be compiled over the next 2 weeks and will be shared in future Friday Bulletins. If you wish to subscribe to our Bulletin simply contact Sophie.negus@voluntaryimpact.org.uk

A View From The Turret On Sustainability

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The New Normal in Sustainability.

I tend to read a lot. Being a CEO it’s hard not to notice some of the content which arrives at your Inbox.

There have been copious amounts recently about Charity Sustainability and what’s called the New Normal.

I like IVARS definition the best which is: A complex mix of surviving cuts and finding new sources of funding. If ever there was an understatement I think that’s it.

In 25 years of working in the Charity Sector I have never seen an environment quite so tough and challenging. A few years ago, a CEO with any form of game plan could hope to bring a Charity into Sustainability within 2-3 years. My own personal view now is that the time period has been extended to 4-8, such is the upheaval not only within Local Authority Finances but with our UK wide Economy.

And unfortunately, there is no one thing or no one person that can bring about Sustainability (unless you have a multimillion-pound donor in your back pocket).

But here are some threads to think about:

  • Compile, Establish and Promote your Strategic Plan. If you haven’t got one then you need one.
  • Position and Influence Map – Work out who your key Stakeholders and Partners are or could be.
  • Demonstrate and Evidence Impact and Expertise. If you don’t know how to do this contact VIN and we can try and assist. It’s not easy but keep it simple and offer something.
  • Diversify the Income Portfolio – Easier said than done but look to nontraditional partners and new influencers as part of your organisational Effective Risk Management.
  • Identify Opportunities – Health Inequalities/ICS/Place/Poverty/CYP – There’s lots on offer but you might need to look at your original constitution and see if its still relevant for today’s world.
  • Stretch the Brand and Project Reach – The More for More Approach. Can you be more, or do more, and how?
  • Demonstrate Excellent Cost Control – Don’t be Part of the 38% (apparently it’s been identified that 38% of Charities do not have a granular understanding of their Finances).
  • Reduce the Cost of Provision – A Positive approach to Good Housekeeping. Its not a negative, it’s a way of thinking effectively about how you run your business.
  • Be true to your Mission, Vision, and Beneficiaries – The Culture War. Don’t Mission Drift and Chase Cash – it’s a recipe for disaster.
  • Lead pragmatically to intuit the Landscape – Dare to Dream. Think about what good looks like and chase it.

Another definition of Sustainability is Perseverance, and we are all going to need bucketloads of this over the next 2 years. VIN is here to help smaller community-based organisations grapple with some of these issues. Remember, you are not alone. If it keeps you awake at night, it will be keeping someone else awake too…..

Re-Imagining Planned Care together

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Northamptonshire NHSs are seeking VCSE assistance to help, support and improve Outpatient Care across the County.

They are already working together as a Health and Care Partnership System with patients, carers, and our local communities, but they now want to promote a series of small workshops where the views of VCSE Representatives and their Beneficiaries can be heard,

Why are they doing this?

They know that despite the innovations they have implemented and the re-design of some of the services they provide there continues to be several challenges.

  • People wait longer than they should.
  • That care is not always delivered locally or conveniently.
  • There is limited coordination of care for a person, which results in multiple appointments that patients may struggle to make and is made more complicated when more than one service is involved.
  • People being bounced between GPs and hospitals leading to confusion and needs not being met or delayed.
  • There are inequalities in accessing support and health outcomes from different communities and individuals where the way they offer care does not work for them.

How can the VCSE be involved?

The next step for THEM is to complete a series of co-design workshops. These workshops will focus on “Access,” “Assessment,” “Treatment” and “Discharge from treatment/services/care and will be attended by patients, carers, staff, and other sectors working to provide services.

The workshops will take place over 8 non-consecutive days (2 days per pathway section) during May and June, with dates and venues to be confirmed. We want to hear from the many different perspectives of our local communities as your views will help to inform and shape the design of future planned care services so that they will work for you, your families, and your friends.

Your insights, views, and expertise are invaluable. You can participate as much or as little as you are comfortable with.

Opportunities include: –

  • You can join a briefing group: This is an open virtual forum via Microsoft TEAMS that will be brought together as and when needed. In this group, you will be able to share your views and see the design ideas that are coming out of the workshops.
  • You can act as an ambassador for the programme: you will be provided with briefings to share with your own communities and networks.
  • You can express an interest in joining the co-design workshops and provide ideas and help design the blueprint itself. (Spaces may be limited due to room capacity).
  • Or you may have a particular skill that you could offer to the team. For example – helping us to develop the materials for the workshops.

If you would like to be involved or require any further information, please email  Jayne Chambers (jaynechambers@nhs.net) or Cath Chisholm (cath.chisholm@nhs.net)

There is also a possibility that the VCSE could host 2 or 3 of these workshops. If this is of interest please contact russell.rolph@voluntaryimpact.org.uk

Northampton West Local Area Partnership Engagement Day

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In collaboration with Community Spaces, the Northampton West Local Area Partnership will be hosting a Community Safety and Engagement Day on Saturday 27th April 2024 @St Crispin’s Community Centre.

The Local Area Partnership Lead Michelle Grimwood is looking for 5 or 6 VCSE organisations to take part with community stalls or outside activities.

This is a perfect opportunity to showcase your work and allow members of the public to understand the work you do and why it’s important.

The event is taking place between 11am and 3pm.

If you would like to reserve a community stall or provide an activity on the day (such as Yoga or Thai Chi for example) then please contact: Michelle.Grimwood@westnorthants.gov.uk

Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce offer 30 free Memberships.

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The Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce are offering 30 Free Memberships for a 12-month period to any community organisation within Northamptonshire that might be interested.

Organisations can register their interest here:

Community Funded Memberships | Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce (northants-chamber.co.uk)

Please note that organisations that have been Chamber Members for the past 2 years will not be eligible.

Successful organisations will be contacted directly by Chamber representatives.

 

VIN achieves Strengthscope accreditation

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Read more

A focus on early support available for families and young people as they are invited to have their say

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Parents, carers, and young people are invited to have their say on future services for children, young people and families in West Northants as part of a consultation to refresh and review their local support offer.

The consultation is an opportunity for families to input into what their 0 to 19 services look like for children and young people, and how families would like to access support, advice and information in a way that is convenient and right for them. 

The consultation is available now for residents to complete via the online survey here: https://westnorthants.citizenspace.com/family-hubs/services-for-cyp-and-families.

All responses from the survey will be anonymous, with the feedback being collated and used to inform the new service model for Council funded 0 to 19 services and the approach to how the Council, together with other local organisations improves the offer regarding early support for children and young people in West Northamptonshire.  

This comes at a time in West Northamptonshire, where this is a huge focus on early help services for our families and young people, with this consultation being an important part. Together with other local organisations, the Council is looking at the early help offer and how this can be strengthened to ensure there is the right, preventative support available. The consultation responses will directly feed into project and service development including:

  • Establishing local Family Hubs in West Northants with the aim of ensuring all families with children aged between the years of 0-19 can access help, advice and support they need for a wide range of services much more easily. This includes exploring different ways to make services accessible – for example building an informative website, creating in-person ‘hubs’ where various services are available for families in one place.
  • Planning of the Council’s service specification for our 0-19 services – understanding what families and young people would like from these services will help create a localised offers that meets the needs of our population.

About the early help offer

The focus on the early help offer is about how together with other organisations such as health and the voluntary sector and community organisations, the council can ensure families can access timely and helpful support to offer information, advice and guidance on a range of topics (this may be advice on newborn support and development, vaccinations for children, mental wellbeing advice for teenagers) to name a few examples. By ensuring that people have access to the right early help can make a difference to their wellbeing, development and ultimately, life experiences.

Across West Northants, there are some excellent services which provide early help support, for example, our schools, health colleagues, voluntary sector, libraries, and others. However, the needs of children and families that require help and support continues to increase and it is essential the council meet the needs of our population and streamline how people can access this support. It is only by listening and engaging with those that have used these services or are likely too, that a service offer can be built that is right for local families.

The consultation closes on Sunday 28 April 2024 at midnight. All responses from the survey will be anonymous.  

 

Ambassadors of Change

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Connect Northamptonshire has delivered a successful Emerging Leaders Programme for our VCSE sector.  Find out more about the Programme from our new “Ambassadors of Change” in this video here

 

Tethered Fortunes

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The recent publication Tethered Fortunes makes for grim reading. Written by Doctor Beth Kitson and others, it states unequivocally that the future of charities (large and small) will be directly impacted by the finances of Local Authorities. Much of the news lately has been about Local Authorities considering bankruptcy (the serving of a section 114 notice) as they try to stay afloat and continue to provide services to local communities amidst huge funding shortfalls in some cases. The talk of swingeing cuts across all areas of a Local Authority’s operation has been spoken of by council leaders across the UK: And of course, Northamptonshire has recent history regarding this. Set against a backcloth of a sharp and deep cost of living crisis, where more people are vulnerable than ever before more demand is certain, and its clear that many of the most disconnected will fall through the cracks. One would like to think that the VCSE could provide for these, but that’s uncertain in the current landscape.

The report also states that Local Authorities, who have historically been supportive funders of the VCSE, are beginning to disinvest. Disinvestment takes different forms: It can be seen through the operation of non – inflationary grants and contracts (effectively asking the VCSE to do more with less) or reductions in funding programmes (certainly asking the VCSE to do more with very much less).

The report also argues that when Local Authorities fail, the VCSE sector tethered to it is likely to fail also, and certainly takes years to recover post failure.

The report can be seen here

The solutions are complex. Asking the VCSE to disinvest from its traditional Local Authority partner is difficult, but in some cases it may be a route to survival. Diversifying a portfolio though (long in the making) is no easy task and can take years to achieve.

Providing more for less can only be sustained in the short term. Eventually the house of cards will topple.

If the report is too depressing to read in its entirety the conclusion page provides an excellent synopsis. Ultimately our communities and the people we all want to service will suffer, and that’s disappointing, frustrating and alarming for all to see.