Tag Archive for: ICS

Health/ Cambs and Peterborough areas / Deadline 26 January

Cheshire Community Foundation are proud to announce round two of the Assura and NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB Grants Programme. This programme will focus on projects looking to reduce health and wellbeing inequalities, and improve access to health services, supporting people to live a healthier life.

Please make sure you download and read the Programme Brief available a This document outlines the details of what you will need to know to apply.

Please note: This programme is not taking place in Cheshire Community Foundation’s usual locations in Cheshire and Warrington.

This round of funding is open for projects taking place in the following Integrated Neighbourhood areas, which were not funded in round one of this grant programme:

North South
Bretton, Park and Hampton NW Cambridge
Central, Thistlemoor and Thorpe North Villages
Peterborough and East Meridian/Granta/Royston
South Peterborough Ely South and/or North
St. Ives
A1 Network
Huntingdon or St Neots
Fenland
Peterborough Partnerships

Any areas not funded in this round will be considered for the third round of the programme.

Who can apply?

The programme is designed to support smaller projects with measurable impact that are developing new or innovative ways of working – or taking forward ideas or concepts to implementation. Projects for existing work, can be considered, if they positively develop the activity further.

Applicants should:

  • Be charitable and local to the area they wish to work, and have a good understanding of the community. We cannot fund statutory health organisations.
  • Have identified a clear health and wellbeing issue in a specific local community.
  • Be able to involve local people in understanding the problem and developing solutions.
  • Have evidence of a clear need.
  • Have a strong track record of implementing solutions and delivering projects.
  • Be able to collaborate effectively with partners, referral agencies and stakeholders.
  • Have robust outcome monitoring and reporting methods.
  • Have a well costed and reasoned budget.
  • All projects must also meet Cheshire Community Foundation’s grant-making principles (acknowledging that this programme is specifically for projects delivered in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough).

What can we apply for?

This programme will fund projects which have clearly identified a need related to health and wellbeing inequalities, or access to health services. You can apply for up to £12,000. Projects must clearly outline how they will address that need, and can apply for costs related to the following items:

  • Staffing/Salary Costs, alongside other related expenses
  • Volunteer costs such as expenses
  • Activity costs, including room hire.
  • Small Capital items (e.g. craft materials, project-based equipment etc.)
  • Transport Costs
  • A small contribution towards project related overheads. This programme will not fund core costs.

How do I apply?

Please make sure you download and read the Programme Brief, available at the left hand side of this page. This document outlines the details of what you will need to know to apply. We also strongly recommend that you read our Grantmaking Principles and Minimum Requirements, as all eligible projects will be required to meet these.

All organisations wishing to apply must first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) form by 11.59pm on 26th January 2025. This form can be requested by e-mailing debbie@huntsforum.org.uk.

Before submitting your EOI, you must also gain the support of your local Integrated Neighbourhood Manager, who can be contacted as follows:

Organisations who are successful at the EOI stage will then be invited to submit a full application form.

Timeline

  • The deadline to submit your Expression of Interest form is 11.59pm on 26th January 2025.
  • Applicants will hear the results of their Expression of Interest submissions in Early February.
  • They will then have until 11.59pm on 2nd March 2025 to submit their full applications. If you are successful, you will be e-mailed a link to the full application form.
  • Final decisions will be communicated in Early April 2025, with projects delivering from Mid-April 2025 onwards.

Successful grantees will be required to complete a brief, online End of Grant Monitoring Form including case studies outlining the impact of the grant award and accounting for the grant funds spent.

If you have any questions, you can email  to arrange a chat via grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk or call the grants team on 01606330607.

Accessibility

At Cheshire Community Foundation,  believe that everyone should be able to access our funding opportunities fairly. We recognise that some people may experience barriers when applying to us. If you need any additional support applying for any of our grant programmes due to a disability or poor health, please contact us at grants@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk, or by calling 01606 330607. A member of our team will be happy to support you on your application journey, or to find alternative ways for you to get us the information we need to assess your application.

Healthier Future Fund Survey – Did you apply or think of applying and didn’t?

Earlier this year, NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough introduced the Healthier Future Fund. This initiative enables groups to seek funding ranging from £50,000 to £100,000 annually (or £100,000 to £300,000 over three years) to bolster initiatives aimed at enhancing the health and wellbeing of the community.

Under the Healthier Futures fund, NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough has allocated £2 million for Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners throughout the region. This funding aims to facilitate health and well-being enhancements for residents and communities.

The ICS would like to learn from the experiences VCSE groups had in applying for the Healthier Futures Fund – if you applied or started but decided not to apply, please take this short survey.

 

Fill in the survey here

The link to the survey is here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=GBZ3tWawOUiPYW3o0yKrlrUtZd1uJl5FgQPd_OamWhdUNEozVEZBWU01WktaWTJRNFpEVFBQQVBLTC4u

Summary of Voluntary Sector Representation from Boards/Committees (Oct-Nov 23)

C&P ICB Commissioning & Investment Committee and Improvement and Reform Committee

 6th October 2023

 Miriam Martin (Caring Together)

  • Non-emergency patient transport services – an update on planned procurement process and timetable. Now open for tender. New service will commence in October 2024.
  • Integrated urgent care –Current contract extended by two years to Oct 25 when new contract will start. Extension was agreed to ensure opportunity to engage stakeholders and patients in creating the spec.
  • Winter capacity – In 2023/34monies have been received including some monies for adult social care.
  • Targeted lung health checks – paper identified options for roll out in preparation for an expected national lung cancer screening programme. The committee approved the end to end service model to be outsourced to a single provider.
  • Cardio-vascular disease programme – Monies have been made available from Public Healt to support CVD prevention. The committee approved the proposal to support improved outcomes in the detection and treatment of CVD risk factors.
  • Managed Care Hub – The committee approved a proposal to establish a facility in the North Cambs/Peterborough partnership to provide a dynamic managed care hub targeting hard to reach patients. This provides an opportunity for the Voluntary sector to engage and become part of a holistic service offer for a range of conditions.

The next meeting is 15th December.

 

Quality Performance and Finance 

27th October 2023

Rachel Talbot (Cambridge CAB)

Finance They are on track and doing pretty much the best in the region however the Deputy CEO warned that this Winter will bring as many difficulties as during Covid. She asked that everyone do what they can to make savings wherever they can.

Prescribing Facing a large overspend although apparently doing better than most areas. Key problems = population increase; cost of drugs; increasing/better  diagnosis of conditions like diabetes (= more statins); overprescribing.

We are the 4th lowest cost per 1000 patients. Nd 4th best for procurement. Sharing more amongst regional and national networks.

Learning disabilities 54 deaths up from 23 in 2019. Leading cause of death = respiratory system.

National:

  • Continuing industrial action in the NHS has had a significant impact on patients, with almost 400,000 appointments having to be rescheduled during June, July and August 2023 as a result
  • of strikes
  • Demand for cancer services continued at record levels in July 2023, with the number of urgent suspected cancer referrals at 130% of pre-pandemic levels.
  • The NHS M4 year to date financial position is £794m above plan

Local: October headlines

  • The systems financial position-at Month 6- shows in deficit
  • A&E performance 4 hour performance : is off trajectory for September at a system level 67% against a trajectory of 71.1%;
  • Overall outpatient activity: remains below the set operational plan, currently at 92%.
  • Cancer performance is becoming increasingly more challenged. The 28 Day Cancer Faster Diagnosis standard has regressed from the previous month, falling below the 75% target
  • Annual Physical Health Checks (APHC ) for Severe Mental illness register patients: For Qtr 2 C&P delivered 59% (2284) of our annual target of 4027 checks. The End of the year forecast position: 110% of target of 4027, a 75%uptake against SMI register.
  • Inappropriate Out of Area Bed days – Mental Health: has reduced from 920 bed days a month in April to 690 in latest month (July).
  • Patients not meeting the criteria and not discharged: Performance continues to be strong, and significantly better than the same period in 22/23, and ranks in the top quartile nationally.
  • Urgent Community services: The number of referrals and response within 2 hours continues to show month or month improvement with a 25% increase in referrals April to August
  • Theatre Productivity: Remains high at 79.2% comparative to peers although below the target at 85%.
  • Diagnostic activity across all areas is performing above the planned level at 102% (CUH 103%, NWAFT 101%, and RPHFT 104%).

 

System Leadership Group

13th November 2023

Sharon Allen (Arthur Rank)

Following the meeting in September to review structures and working of Local People Board and it’s sub-groups, this group has combined the work of two previous groups; Leadership and Organisational Development and System OD and is co-chaired by Anita Pisani, Deputy CEO at Cambridgeshire Community Services and Sam Carr, Assistant Director Systems and Organisational Development, CCS who also has a system role.

The group has four objectives:

  • Work as a system to embed Compassionate Culture through design and delivery of OD interventions and ensure the Leadership Compact is embedded through the system;
  • Develop a systematic and coordinated approach to managing talent and succession planning across the ICS;
  • Use staff surveys (NHS and system partners) to identify improvement actions;
  • Develop system leadership, teaching everyone to work beyond our own organisational boundaries to support the needs of local people. Create collaborative and inclusive cultures across the ICS that engenders joint working and common purpose.
  • We discussed Talent Management and the support being provided to progress this and how we can ensure this is genuinely system wide, recognising the challenges of different parts of the system not being equally resourced or able to offer comparable T&C for colleagues. NHS England is currently piloting a programme called Scope for Growth and information was shared on this.
  • The importance of everyone in our system being aware of and integrating the Leadership Compact (which is referenced in our VCSE strategy) was reinforced to foster a shared approach to leadership across our system.

Update on Leadership programmes:

  • An update of Springboard programme was given and information circulated separately to Health Alliance
  • Mary Seacole is a programme aimed at middle managers and the programme is looking for additional facilitators, particularly from the North of the county, training will be provided.
  • A further cohort of Leading Beyond Boundaries is underway and we have several Health Alliance colleagues on this programme and it will be good to hear back from them in due course about their experience. The alumni event that had to be postponed due to impact of industrial action is still be rescheduled.
  • Stepping Up and Ready Now programmes are leadership programmes for colleagues from ethnically diverse backgrounds. A local provider has been sourced, and the system needs to determine how to resource secure this. BLMK (Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes) ICS has suggested a joint approach which will share costs and places and the group agreed to pursue.

Actions for VCSE partners or Health Alliance

  • It would be good to know how many Alliance members complete any form of staff survey and particularly any who are willing to share results for comparison across the system.
  • Consider applying for Springboard Women’s Leadership programme – also any women leaders in our sector who are willing to share your career journey at one of the sessions, please contact Mel Paine, melanie.paine1@nhs.net – it would be great for more colleagues from across the system to hear from voluntary sector women leaders!

 

Local People Board

17th November 2023

Sharon Allen (Arthur Rank)

A risk was raised under the BAF (Board Assurance Framework) about the reservist programme that has been running. The funding for the project managers supporting this programme is ending at the end of March and the board was asked to note this and the risks to the programme. This is of course a risk across many programmes and one that the voluntary sector is very familiar with so I raised the point that the ICS needs to be aware of all projects that are at risk due to loss of specific funding to determine how best to prioritise any ongoing support.

There was also discussion about where Freedom to Speak Up Guardians sit within the approach to managing risk.

There was an update on the structure and the Enabler groups that sit under the People Board:

  • EDI (rep Gemma Manning, ARHC)
  • Leadership and OD (Sharon Allen, ARHC)
  • Recruitment (Sharon Allen, ARHC)
  • Retention (Tbc)
  • Education and Development (Kay Hardwick, ARHC)
  • Workforce Planning (tbc)
  • Health and Wellbeing (Kat Shepherdson, Hunts Vol Forum?)
  • Futures (tbc)

Brief update on ‘Above Difference’ Programme starting Jan 2024, Health Alliance has three members joining who will share feedback.

Presentation from Jo Oldfield from the Training Hub which supports GP practices and Primary Care Networks (PCN’s) with Organisational Development, recruitment and retention, learning and development, leadership and strategic growth. The Training Hub is the delivery arm for national NHSE primary care workforce initiatives locally.

The Health and Care Academy is delivering an ICS careers expo for Year 10 students and potential apprentices/ new recruits, on the 27th & 28th March 2024 at ARU-P.

I continue to raise the point about the challenge of trying to implement initiatives that are One Workforce focused when there are such differences across our sectors, this is acknowledged which is positive. The ICB has employed Bev Hoskin as Head of Pay and Reward across the system, a very challenging role. I have had an induction meeting with her in my role as HA rep on the People Board and shared what we have done. It would be good to invite her to a future HA meeting.

Actions for VCSE partners or Health Alliance

  • Are any Health Alliance members able to attend the Enabler groups where we do not currently have representation?
  • It would be good to know which Health Alliance members have a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, there is a system wide network which we need to be linked into.
  • Look out for details of ICS careers expo in March and ensure Health Alliance members participate.
  • Are colleagues happy for me to share the work we did some time back from Hunts Voluntary Forum CEO network on T&C in our sector (anonymised) with Bev Hoskins

 

 

 

Summary of Voluntary Sector Representation from Boards/ Committees (June – Aug 2023)

QUALITY PERFORMANCE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE

23rd June- Rachel Talbot

There has been an increase in referrals to paediatric services for preschool children along with an increase in need for children with complex needs. As well as this there are long waiting lists for speech and language therapy.

There is still concern about the number of inappropriate out-of-area mental health placements with work being done to reduce these.

The dementia tour bus that visited care homes across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough earlier in the year was a great success.

27th July- Rachel Talbot

There has been a reduction in turnover of staff since the beginning of the year. Mental Health nursing however had seen an increase in turnover.

A discussion took place about the Learning Disability Health Needs assessment. There was a list of recommendations however with lack of funding these may be difficult to implement.

Ambulance handover time has improved and is being sustained and is now the best in the region.

PEOPLE BOARD AND SUBGROUPS

12 July -Education and Development workshop ARCH representation

The Oliver McGowan training the ability to recruit the right amount of staff and the cost of training were discussed.

Background-the- The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a requirement that regulated service providers must ensure their staff receive Learning Disability and Autism training appropriate to their role. The suggested training is the Oliver McGowan training.

17 July- Leadership and OD subgroup- Sharon Allen

There is a shift in focus from NHS from Serious Incident Review to Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework (PSIRF). Understanding what within the organisational system led to an adverse outcome. All NHS and commissioned organisations have to introduce PSIRF and Arthur Rank are doing this.

Sharon had taken part in the System Change Consulting Programme (a Health Education England-funded programme) and she fed back at the meeting. The programme had several modules and they are now available online.

https://eoe.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/development-support/system-leadership/system-od-and-transformation-learning-modules/

The Leading Beyond Boundaries training had 78 nominations including several from Health Alliance members and all have been offered a place.

If organisations undertake staff feedback and are willing to share results and action plans contact Sharon Allen or Anita Pisani

COMMISSIONING, INVESTMENT AND IMPROVEMENT AND REFORM COMMITTEE

18TH August – Michael Firek

Someone to Talk To- Young people’s Mental Health Service the ICB has agreed to continue to fund this service until June 26. It is a jointly commissioned piece of work with Cambridgeshire County Council and supports young people 13-25 with complex mental health needs. The service is currently delivered by Centre 33.

Continuing healthcare efficiency plan- A plan has been received and approved to reimplement clinical tier rates for nursing care beds. A revised and simplified set of rates has been discussed with providers to manage costs and be more reflective of the client’s needs.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICS Outcomes Framework- work is continuing on this. The intention of the framework is to encompass patient and user experience as well as workforce, culture and leadership elements alongside clinical, care and service outcomes.

PA Consulting- These were engaged on Feb 23 to develop a resource model informed by population health, outcomes and the health economic value of change. Work is currently under way to develop logic models that will help the system to assess the economic benefits of different interventions.

Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS) Review- more than £183m of funding goes into Mental Health and Learning Disability and Autism services. The ICB has done a deep dive review of expenditure for 22/23 to understand the activity, quality, experience, performance and value for money of the services provided for the local population. Several learning points were identified.

Continuing funding for 23/24 was agreed upon. There was a recommendation to pursue 3-year contracts with Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations who were delivering services funded by the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS) or the Service Development Fund.

Local People Board Update – June

Title of Group
Local People Board
Date 23 June 2023
Reps name  Sharon Allen, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity
Summary of agenda items / key themes discussed
Leadership Compact, ICB wanting to ensure this is socialised and lived throughout the system to proposed we use a simple scoring mechanism to provide an on-going Meeting Assessment. At the end of the meeting we reviewed and scored each component of the compact and how we had evidenced this throughout the meeting – a useful exercise we may wish to replicate at Health Alliance meetings?
ICB Board Assurance Framework 2023/24, there was discussion around how dynamic this is eg able to respond to today’s announcement about extended industrial action
Enabler Group Update, Health and Wellbeing (HWB), Giles Wright gave a presentation. There was a lot of discussion about the Staff Mental Health service, which received very positive feedback from those NHS organisations that pay for and use it. There was discussion about how this valued service could be available to the system and also how the voluntary sector could potentially be part of provision of a service that has a wider focus. Also confirmation that the Staff Support Hub has been funded until March 2024 by the ICB now that NHS England has ceased funding all staff support hubs (although see next item on proposal for regional hub).  Helpful analysis of what needs to be done at national, regional, local and provider/employer level.
Regional Staff Support Hub Options 2024/25: the ICB level staff support hubs across East of England have been working on a proposal to set up a regional (online) staff support hub funded by NHS partners, available for all of the sector, including voluntary sector. This is an enhancement to not replacement of local provision. NHSE allocating £2m to hubs nationally, about 10% coming to this region to develop regional hub. It was agreed to ask the HWB enabler group to look at in detail and make recommendation.
Leadership Programme Update – Civility Saves Lives, looking to develop a programme to promote a just and civil culture throughout the system, with Toolbox talks and access to a range of programmes, more details to follow.
CPICS – A joint project between Anglia Ruskin University (who have been given funding from Health Education England) and CIP ICS.  Looking at a local system, encouraging health and care careers and accessibility into the sector, developing knowledge and skills and integrating settings. The work will be led through the R&R and SED groups and has to be developed by March 2024.
Workforce Productivity Agenda – data analysis shows that C&P is one of highest growth projections of all regions. The challenge is that whilst financial investment in the workforce has increased, productivity has decreased. The challenge for the system is to secure workforce supply and deliver productivity improvement in 23/24 and assess workforce requirements for future years and determine what levers and levels of investment in education and training are needed to secure supply.
Provisional Future Agenda Items
September – Efficient & Effective Ways of Working, Education Learning & Development
Implications for the VCS
How are we embedding the Leadership Compact into all of our work and through our organisations?
Ensure we are engaged with the Wellbeing work, supporting the continuation of the Staff Support Hub and any plans to develop a Regional Hub as well as discussions around possibility of extending mental health service to and from our sector.
Opportunity to engage with the Leadership Programme and Civility Saves Lives, look out for further details.
Engage with the joint project with ARU to support with our talent pipeline.
Actions
As above
Date, time and venue of next meeting and name of representative who will be attending
15 September, 13.30, face to face – venue tbc, Sharon will attend

Health Alliance Update – June Meeting

Sandie Smith, Health Alliance Director

Julie (CEO of Hunts Forum) welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked POSH for letting us use their venue. Julie explained that a Health Alliance Director had been appointed and they would be taking the reins from today- Sandie Smith was introduced.

Many of you may already know Sandie- Sandie was previously the CEO of Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough so had been part of the first discussions with the ICS and has a great knowledge of the Health and Care system. Sandie started on the 1st of June and has a one-year part-time contract. She will be working to further the Health Alliance’s involvement with the ICS and to promote the good work that has already been achieved. She will continue to be supported by Debbie and will be chairing the meeting going forward.

Sandie plans to meet with many of the Health Alliance members, particularly those who have been involved as reps or as part of the task and finish groups. If you would like to discuss anything with Sandie please email her sandie@huntsforum.org.uk or Debbie debbie@huntsforum.org.uk

Andrea Grobois, Assistant Director of Community Strategic Partnerships, was introduced- Andrea has been in post for 8 weeks. Andrea will be attending the Health Alliance meetings going forward and will be ensuring the voluntary sector have an equitable voice in the ICS and will help address challenges. Andrea is contactable via email a.grobois@nhs.net

The action log was reviewed, and there were some updates.

The governance review had taken place, and 2 of the boards that the Alliance have reps attending have been merged with no notice to those involved. For the Alliance, this could mean over-representation. Andrea and Sandie will discuss this. It was also noted that this meeting came with 600+ pages of papers which is a massive ask. (action 34)

A safeguarding task and finish group have met, the meeting went well, and members discussed safeguarding training in the sector. It has been agreed that Sandie will draft a safeguarding action plan. (action 35)

There is willingness from North and South place partnership for a joint meeting with the voluntary sector to discuss the Hewitt report. The next steps would be to co ordinate this. (action 43)

Andrea Grobois, Assistant Director of Community Strategic Partnerships

Jenna Lusk from POSH talked about the charitable foundation’s involvement in the community and the aim to help people stay healthy and as mobile as possible. Jenna explained that the projects they run are wide ranging and funding is sought from various areas. Some projects include Yoga, Chair based exercise, walking football, healthy goals sessions, and a time out social group. Many activities take place at the football ground but there are opportunities to take some projects into the community which they do. The team often link with other organisations to enable projects to happen and have good links into Cambridge United’s foundation too.

Debbie gave feedback from the Health Inequalities task and finish group. The 3 projects that were undertaken have now been completed. Debbie had used the projects as an opportunity to speak to attendees about the ICS priorities- what did people feel about them? What do they feel is needed to achieve them? What is missing?

Debbie reported that the project that had been undertaken on the Oxmoor with families had sparked interest from other areas in the county.

 

The meeting then went on to look at some of the goals from the voluntary sector strategy. Sandie will be focussing on some of these going forward and Andrea will support if there needs to be ICS input.

Under Goal 1 the group discussed the funding available for the VCSE sector. The Healthier Futures Fund is the monies that are available at present and organisations will need to get their bids in for August. There have been a few questions raised.

  • How are the bids being evaluated? Initially they will be looked at by Cambridge Community Foundation, districts are being asked if they would like to review. Where is the voluntary sector voice on this?
  • It was felt more needs to be done to make it accessible to smaller groups.
  • It was felt that the “new project” approach will stop some organisations as many need funding to continue the service they already offer. Where is the money for this?
  • How can the impacts from these projects influence future commissioning.

Organisations are being encouraged to sign up to the JOY app but there is some hesitation on this. Organisations are already reporting that some have been overwhelmed by the number of new referrals they are receiving and more complex cases (no finance to support) The social prescribers often make a referral without understanding what an organisation can offer.

The Alliance members agreed that it would be good to find out who has signed up to the JOY app and if they had any implications they could share. Maybe the impact is not as expected. Debbie will ask all on mailing list for feedback on this.

The Health and Wellbeing Network have hosted a few “Meet Your Social Prescriber” events which have been popular and there is another one on 4th July 1pm on line (see link below)

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/656740457387

Social prescribing will be added to next agenda.

AOB

Sharon Allen shared: She is part of a small advisory group working with Alessandro Bosco (ab2984@medschl.cam.ac.uk) who is part of a small research team supported by colleagues from Eastern Academic Health Science Network and ARHC. The focus of Alessandro’s work is investigating health inequalities for people needing to access medication for palliative and end of life care, particularly out of hours.

It will be really helpful to engage in dialogue with people who have had this experience, particularly those from marginalised communities and are particularly keen to engage with people in Peterborough and Fenland.

They want to share a leaflet on anticipatory medicine currently in use. The leaflet provides guidance on anticipatory medication in the community and should target end of life care.  The idea would be to explore with members of the public their ideas and views on the leaflet.

Any member organisations who think they could facilitate a focus group that Alessandro can attend and hear people’s experiences and ideas for how we can improve things. If any Health Alliance members think they could support with bringing a group together or have other information or ideas that could support with this work please contact Alessandro direct.

 

The Next Health Alliance meeting is July 12th 9.30 on Zoom – contact debbie@huntsforum.org.uk

To learn more about the Health Alliance and the health agenda CLICK HERE

Change is here – learn how you can engage with health

Over the past year or so, Support Cambridgeshire has been heavily involved in integrating the VCS (Voluntary and Community sector) into the new Integrated Care System (ICS), the replacement to the CCG. As a result, we are excited to bring you some new pages to our website, which tell you how you can get involved and learn more about your voluntary or community group’s role in shaping your local area’s health and care services.

New ICS pages – the team here has been working hard to provide more information on the health changes. Currently, we have three pages, one around what the ICS is, our VCS Health Alliance and the Staff Support Hub. All of these are for your knowledge so you can integrate with the services and get your voice heard.

Voice Blogs– as part of the new work embedding VCS into this new system, several Voluntary and Community representatives attend high-level health meetings. Here you can read a summary of the meeting. If you have a question or want to add something to an agenda, go through the VCS rep; they represent the sector, so your voice matters.

In the future, we will need new representatives to attend these healthcare meetings. However, we can offer support and training to upskill you to do this effectively. So contact Support Cambridgeshire if you want to chat about this.

Health Alliance – One of the ways that support Cambridgeshire has created ladders up to the decision makers is through the Health Alliance, a meeting which allows the voices of the VCSE to get heard. Representatives from the boards attend along with a wide range of VCS reps, from small community groups to countywide providers. Are you interested to know more? Contact Debbie.

‘Well Together This Winter’ Initiative launched

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System (CPICS) have launched Well Together This Winter, a new one-stop shop for important information to help you stay well during the colder months.

We can all stay well together this winter by following some simple steps. Make sure you use the right service for your needs; follow simple tips around self-care like stocking up your medicine cabinet and keeping hydrated; and learn about the support that’s available to you throughout the colder months.

  • Self-care is all about doing the simple things that will help you stay well at home.
  • Pharmacists are trained people who have been through at least five years of training.
  • GP Practices now all offer remote appointments as well as face-to-face appointments.
  • NHS 111 is open 24/7, every day of the year, and offers expert advice and support to people.
  • Urgent Treatment Centres and Minor Injury Units can help with lots of different problems, including wounds, cuts and bruises, bites, minor burns, minor head injuries, eye problems and ear ache.
  • Accident and Emergency departments and 999  are for people experiencing a life-threatening emergency.  999 & A&E are here to support those people with the most serious medical issues.
  • Keeping Warm inside your home is really important. The NHS recommends that you heat your home to at least 18 degrees if you can, as this can help you stay well during the winter.
  • Warm Hubs have been opened by local councils. These are safe spaces within the community that you can come to for free to stay warm.
  • Mental Health tips for winter are free to access and useful to know as many of us may feel a little low at some points during the winter.

Visit www.cpics.org.uk/well-together to find out about the different NHS services and when to use them, mental health support, and more.

If you need help with your mental health, don’t wait – reach out now.  There are alot of national and local services available.

Local Services

  • NHS 111 option 2 is available for people who are in a mental health crisis.
  • Lifeline – 0808 808 2121 – Opens every day between 11am – 11pm.
  • CPSL Mind – 0300 303 4363 – Opens 9.30am – 5.30pm
  • Centre 33 – 0333 414 1809 – Opens 12pm – 5pm Monday to Friay and 10am – 1pm on Saturdays.

National Services

  • The Samaritans – 116 123 – Opens 24/7, every day of the year.
  • CAL M Zone – 0800 58 58 58 – Opens 5pm – midnight every day of the year

November 2022 ICS Newsletter – Let’s Talk: Your health & care campaign

The third newsletter from Cambridgeshire & Peterborough ICS was issued this month.  During November, the ICS has been busy promoting Let’s Talk: Your health & care campaign. Let’s Talk is all about gathering views of people who live and work in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to shape the first-ever Health & Wellbeing Integrated Care Strategy.

Also, over the last month, two important strategies, the People and Communities Engagement Strategy and the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Strategy, have been agreed upon.

You can find details on both of these strategies here.

The VCSE Strategy focuses on the positive impact our VCSE partners have on the health and wellbeing of our local people, and sets out how we can all work together to create healtheir futures for our local people and communities.  The Strategy was co-produced by the ICS, including VCSE partners, and led by the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).   An action plan will deliver the Strategy and future updates will be shared in this newsletter.

Autumn booster and flu vaccines are now available for those over aged 50 and over – the NHS COVID-19 and flu programmes continue to protect the county ahead of winter, with our 33 million people in England eligible for a free flu vaccine this year.  This will include primary-age and some secondary-age children, who will be offered a nasal spray.

Warm Hubs will be introduced to support local people and communities who may be facing difficult challenges as we get closer to winter.  The hubs will offer a warm, friendly and inclusive environment with access to hot food, tea and coffee. The new initiative has been developed by both South and East Cambridgeshire District Councils as well as Cambridge City Council, with support from the ICS. The hubs will be coordinated by Cambridgeshire ACRE – the charity dedicated to supporting and strengthening rural communities across Cambridgeshire.   For more information on warm hubs, visit the ICS website

In other news – £5m healthcare facility has been secured for new Bourn Airfield development.  This development at the airfield will see 3,500 new homes built – leading to significant additional healthcare needs for the local community.

NHS Blood and Transport (NHSBT) has triggered an ‘amber alert’ as blood stock levels across the country have fallen to critical levels.

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Read November’s newsletter in full here

 

Staff Support Hub Update – Finance support for staff and volunteers

Tools and webinars to help your financial wellbeing

The cost-of-living crisis is increasing and so are the financial worries. More than a quarter of the UK adults feel ashamed, depressed, and anxious due to financial worries. This isn’t something to be ashamed of, but it is important that you can face up to it and get the help you need.

To help reduce the financial worries of the staff, we the Staff Support Hub have collaborated with the MoneyHelper to add some useful finance calculators to our website.

We have a range of free financial tools including:

  • Budget Planner
  • Savings Calculator
  • Credit Card Calculator
  • Loan Calculator
  • Redundancy pay calculator and planner
  • Pension calculator
  • Workplace pension contribution calculators

Also, this new financial help webpage on our website has got:

  • Online, Telephone, and Face-to-face debt advice services
  • Money Manager for Universal Credit claimants
  • Redundancy Advice Plan

Accessing the financial tools

To access these tools, please click here. Alternatively, you can find these calculators on our website under the ‘More Support’ tab.

Money worries can impact your mental health.

If you feel your financial worries are affecting your mental health, please call our helpline number at 0808 801 0377 or chat with us online from our website here.

Financial Wellbeing Webinars

Also, along with Money Charity, we are organising two financial wellbeing webinars this month.

Please click on the below webinar titles for more details and to register.

Other upcoming webinars

Please click on the webinar dates below for more details about the webinar and to register.