Callout for VCFSE children and young person’s representative to sit on Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board
Cheshire and Merseyside’s Integrated Care Board are seeking a children and young person’s representative from the VCFSE sector. The terms of references can be found here Please note that the terms of reference are currently in draft form and will be finalised after the first meeting.
If you are interested in this role, please send an expression of interest of no more than 300 words explaining why you would be suitable for this role, along with your CV to Amy Wood - amy.wood@vsnw.org.uk
The closing date is 10th October 2023 at 4pm.
Healthy & Home: Embedding the VCFSE in Hospital Discharge
A new video telling the story and achievements of the Warrington and Halton “Healthy & Home” has been produced, highlighting the difference the project has made in people’s lives and the important role of the VCFSE sector within hospital discharge services.
Delivered by Warrington Voluntary Action and Halton & St Helens VCA, Healthy & Home is a two year project funded by NHS Charities Together in collaboration with Warrington and Halton Hospital Trust. The model ensures that VCFSE organisations are fully involved in the discharge process as valued and trusted partners. The service is coordinated through VCFSE hospital discharge link workers based within the hospitals discharge hub, assisting with arranged packages of support for patients going home, from simple practical tasks to complex specialised support.
The model provides VCFSE support at the right time, with support in place for timely hospital discharges and upon arriving home to enable people to live more independent in their own homes and reduce the likelihood of readmission.
Healthy & Home has recorded some significant outcomes including:
· Within a 12 month “snapshot”, 76% of people referred to Healthy & Home did not re-appear in A&E
· Potential cost savings of between £145,520 (Based on each individual having one visit to an urgent care centre with minimal investigation) and £1.3 million (Based on each individual requiring an ambulance to A&E on one occasion, with complex investigations upon arrival).
· In one case alone, a saving of £72,000 (equal to the cost of 2 VCFSE Link workers for 12 months) was made when a Healthy and Home personal care plan for a patient was delivered via VCFSE Link workers.
The Healthy & Home project in Warrington and Halton has highlighted how multi-agency work with the VCFSE sector can be transformed to deliver positive outcomes for communities, improve quality of life, reduce lengthy hospital stays and prevent re-admission. Similar projects across the North West are also reporting positive outcomes, such as Cumbria CVS’s “Third Sector Referral Co-ordinator Team” delivered in partnership with VCFSE organisations in the region.
The success of these models clearly highlight the benefits of the VCFSE sector being equitable partners within the design and delivery of health and care services and working together to make the best use of resources at a regional and place-based level, as well as providing quality care to services users.
Callout for VCFSE Representative to sit on NHS Cheshire and Merseyside's People Board
Part of the new NHS Health and Care Partnership, this senior board leads on health and care workforce issues. The Terms of Reference are here.
We are looking for sector representation. If you are interested in this role, please complete an application form, a monitoring form and attach a copy of your CV and send to Dena Kynaston: dena.kynaston@vsnw.org.uk by 11 September 2023.
If you would like to discuss the role further, please contact Warren Escadale: 07753147664.
Please note that Warren will be on leave at times during the summer period and he will get back to you as soon as possible.
Work supported by VSNW featured in NHS VCSE Engagement Framework
NHS England has published a framework for addressing practical barriers to integration of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in integrated care systems. The framework supports leaders in integrated care systems (ICSs), NHS providers, local authorities, and VCSE organisations to recognise and address challenges and barriers that have an impact on their ability to integrate VCSE organisations as system partners.
The framework is organised into three sections,
1. A list of challenges and barriers that are commonly experienced when trying to work in partnership with, and when integrating, VCSE and statutory provision and activities.
2. A list of ‘approaches’ that highlight what people have done to improve things together in relation to each of the above areas.
3. A series of case examples which provide more detail on the practical actions that people took within local systems when implementing approaches to integrating the VCSE sector and which take account of the overall journey and context.
The barriers and challenges are organised in relation to three key areas of integration: Commissioning and strategic planning, including the role of the VCSE sector in service design and delivery. Sharing data, intelligence, and insight, including using VCSE data to inform population health management and social prescribing. Within the case studies, VSNW’s support for VCSE engagement with the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS and work on the Greater Manchester VCSE Commissioning Framework are highlighted.
The framework was commissioned as an independent resource and published by the NHS England Voluntary Partnerships Team and produced by Shilpa Ross, Helen Gilburt, Clair Thorstensen-Woll and Nick Downes at the King’s Fund.
The framework can be read here https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/a-framework-for-addressing-practical-barriers-to-integration-of-vcse-organisations-in-integrated-care-systems.
NHS guidance on partnership with VCSE organisations can be read here https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/voluntary-community-and-social-enterprises-vcse.
Read the thoughts of one of the framework authors here https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2023/04/partnership-working-vcse-ics.
Cheshire and Merseyside Health & Care Leaders Group
VSNW recently hosted an event with the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Leaders Group in Warrington featuring guest speakers Dr Ellen Loudon and Raj Jain, Co-Vice Chairs of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership.
The Health and Care Leaders Group is made up of leadership representatives from VCFSE organisations across the 9 boroughs of Cheshire and Merseyside, including our place-based CVS infrastructure organisations, and is tasked with ensuring the sector has an equitable role in the health and care economy across the region.
Warren Escadale, Chief Executive of VSNW, opened the event providing background to the work of the group since it’s establishment in 2019 and presented the potential future opportunities for the VCFSE sector to work closely with the Integrated Care System in Cheshire and Merseyside and champion the role for our VCFSE organisations.
Racheal Jones, Chief Executive of One Knowsley and Merseyside lead for the VCFSE Transformation Programme provided an overview of the strategic work happening now to strengthen VCFSE engagement in health and care across the region including the sectors participation in priority workstreams as community mental health transformation and the cancer alliance.
Alison Cullen, Chief Executive of Warrington Voluntary Action and Cheshire and Warrington lead for the VCFSE Transformation Programme presented the “Healthy & Home” programme in Warrington and Halton which aimed to embed the VCFSE sector within hospital discharge. The programme has seen remarkable outcomes, with data showing a cost saving of over £760k to the NHS with 76% of people not re-appearing in A+E after 12 months post referral.
We were then thrilled to be joined by Raj Jain, Chair of Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board and Co-Vice Chair of Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Raj provided an overview of his role in the health and care system in the region, and the current challenges and strain facing the NHS. Raj was clear in his recognition of the VCFSE sector as “game changing” community partners that are crucial in the move towards prevention of ill-health.
Following on from Raj, Dr Ellen Loudon (Co-Vice Chair of Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership, Director of Social Justice & Canon Chancellor at the Diocese of Liverpool, and Independent Chair of VS6 Partnership) provided an inspiring speech on the importance of the VCFSE sector in health and care transformation:
“"A transformation in the way we respond to health and care, from distant and transactional to an interactive responsive prevention focused model, is crucial to our collective endeavours; the VCFSE is vital to this transformation. We know how to do this and we are good at it! Very good at it.”.”
VSNW would like to thank our speakers and our attendees from the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Leaders Group for attending this event and for providing valuable insights and challenges to the future of the role of the VCFSE sector in health and care. As Ellen puts it, “This is an exciting time for Cheshire and Merseyside”!
To view the Cheshire and Merseyside Health & Care Leaders Group, Terms of Reference, please click here.
Meet Rev Canon Dr Ellen Loudon, the Co Vice-Chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership (HCP)
Hello, my name is Ellen Loudon - I am the independent chair of VS6. I have worked as a senior leader within the VCFSE for a number of years. Currently, I am the Director of Social Justice at the Diocese of Liverpool and Canon Chancellor at Liverpool Cathedral. I also chair a number of charitable boards such as Together Liverpool and Liverpool Diocesan Council for Social Aid and Micah Liverpool. I live in the shadow of Liverpool Cathedral with my two dogs - Holly and Tig.
I am pleased to have been appointed Co Vice-Chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership as I see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to seek change together. Addressing inequalities and advocating for social justice is what I am most enthusiastic about and is at the heart of the work I do. I have extensive experience of chairing regional boards that address and tackle inequalities such as the Liverpool City Region Fairness and Social Justice Advisory Board (FASJAB) on behalf of Steve Rotherham.
Through my role as Co Vice-Chair, I will be representing the VCFSE sector and joining Health and Care Partnership (HCP) colleagues in Cheshire and Merseyside to explore ways in which we can address the conditions that cause health and care inequalities. I am dedicated to ensuring that my role will be used to change the way we tackle these issues in a collaborative, fully integrated partnership. What is of particular interest to me is how the VCFSE can be an innovative leader in this work to make Cheshire and Merseyside fairer and more just.
I will be joining the next Cheshire and Merseyside VCFSE Health and Care Leaders Group meeting alongside Raj Jain (Chair). This is an opportunity for me to listen to the sector and make sure these voices are heard in the HCP. I am looking forward to hearing from the VCFSE sector representatives – about their hopes for the HCP and the role they want to play in the future of health and care across Cheshire and Merseyside.
Further Reading:
· https://www.vs6partnership.org.uk/aboutvs6
· https://togetherliverpool.org.uk/
· https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/governance/fairness-social-justice-advisory-board/
· https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/what-are-health-inequalities
VSNW congratulate the Chair of our board, Sally Yeoman, for being presented with her MBE at Windsor Castle
Voluntary Sector North West are delighted to congratulate the Chair of our board, Sally Yeoman, for being presented with her MBE at a ceremony at Windsor Castle earlier this month.
Sally was awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to the community in Halton and St Helens in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2022.
In a statement Sally said: “It is an honour to be the CEO of Halton & St Helens VCA, to work with such incredible colleagues and partners and to see, hear and support the work of the sector across the North West every day is a privilege. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have these opportunities and to receive this honour for doing a job and for supporting causes and work that I love.”
The team at VSNW would like to convey our congratulations to Sally as we look forward to further working with her in the future!
VSNW Commissions Dave Packwood to Establish a Cheshire and Merseyside VCFSE Children and Young People Network
VSNW Commissions Dave Packwood to Establish a Cheshire and Merseyside VCSFE Children and Young People Network.
VSNW is pleased to announce that Dave Packwood has been commissioned to develop and establish a VCFSE Children and Young People’s Network in Cheshire and Merseyside.
This network will maximise the capacity of the local sector and influence the work of the Cheshire and Merseyside’s Integrated Health and Care System. It will provide an opportunity to share good practice, build relationships and network, identify common concerns and opportunities, and promote the local sector’s role in improving the lives of children and young people, including early years, in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Members of this network will also have the opportunity to shape the work of Cheshire and Merseyside NHS workstreams and boards. This includes the Children and Young People Transformation Board, and Cheshire & Merseyside’s Barnardo’s-Health Equity Institute pilot (see links below).
The network will meet online, six times a year. If you would like to get involved in the network email dave.packwood@vsnw.org.uk
Dave has worked within the voluntary sector for over 30 years, with positions in small local voluntary organisations, regional organisations and large national charities. Dave has been involved in facilitating a number of networks and Forums including the North West Children and Young Peoples Network which ran for 12 years from 2006 – 2018. Dave has a BA and MA in Youth Work as well as a Diploma in Management Studies and is a Level 5 qualified Executive Coach. He has also worked as an Additional OFSTED Inspector for Youth work and Voluntary Sector Advisor for Government Office North West. Dave now works as a VCS Consultant around Funding and Commissioning, organizational development and providing coaching for Chief Executives and Senior Managers.
Further Reading
· Appointment of new chair for the Children and Young People’s Transformation Board
Sally Yeoman MBE appointed VSNW Chair
Voluntary Sector North West has appointed a new Chair of the Board. Alison Page, has stepped down as VSNW chair after six years’ service, and the Board has appointed Sally Yeoman.
Alison, who joined the Board in 2017, has played a pivotal role growing both VSNW and our impact. During this time, the sector has secured ground-breaking agreements in how we work with public sector partners, like combined authorities and the new health and care partnerships. Under Alison’s leadership, VSNW’s ambitions to support the sector have rightly increased.
The new Chair of the Board, Sally Yeoman, CEO of Halton & St Helen’s VCA, has worked alongside Alison since 2019. Sally said:
‘I have supported the work of VSNW as a Trustee since early 2019. Having a strong regional voluntary sector infrastructure organisation is a huge benefit to us all and I am really pleased to be able to step into the Chair’s role. I know that following on from Alison will be a huge challenge. Alison has demonstrated great leadership, ensured we connect across the North West, led by example and leaves VSNW in a really strong place. It’s been a huge benefit to us as an organisation and me personally to work with and learn from Alison.’
VSNW, CEO, Warren Escadale said:
‘Without Alison’s guidance, expertise and support, VSNW would not be operating at the level that it is now. It’s that simple. Alison will be greatly missed by myself, the board and all at VSNW. As a figurehead for the sector regionally, and nationally, and a VSNW partner, our consolation is that we will continue to meet, work and champion the sector with Alison as often as possible!
I greatly look forward to working with Sally as the new chair of VSNW. Sally, myself, our staff team and the Board as a whole know that there are huge challenges and limited but important opportunities for the sector. Sally’s strategic insight, experience and daily insight will inform all that we do and how we look to deliver VSNW’s objectives and the current VSNW Strategy 2022/25. It’s sad that Alison is leaving the Board but we could not have a better incoming Chair.’
VSNW is seeking individuals with experience in the Voluntary Sector to join it’s Trustee Board. If you are interested in becoming a Trustee, please contact Operations Manager, Yen Tan - yen.tan@vsnw.org.uk for further information.
Further reading:
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