Primary Care Latest Updates

March edition of ICN Today newsletter now published

Image of a cafe on Giles Street in Northampton with bistro tables and chairs outside a cardboard cut out of Cinderella

The March 2023 edition of ICN Today, your e-newsletter from Integrated Care Northamptonshire, is now available to read online.

In this edition, we bring you updates on new senior colleagues being welcomed to our Integrated Care Board, an exciting new phase for our mental health Crisis Houses, our work to ensure equality in local diabetes and chaplaincy services, and, as we mark Patient Safety Week, our commitment to improving patient safety across our NHS.

There are also some exciting new training and development opportunities to share, including a chance to join our Reverse Mentoring programme – plus a first peek at the brand-new look for our Virtual Wellbeing Festival 2023.

Elsewhere we hear from ICB Non-Executive Member Andrew Hammond, who takes on our Three in 60 Challenge, and from service user Kirstie Pope, who shares her experience of how reasonable adjustments completely transformed her experience of care in Northamptonshire.

Read the March 2023 edition of ICN Today.

Do you want future editions emailed directly to your inbox?  Become an ICN Today subscriber .

Read March edition of ICN Today newsletter now published…

Equality commitment drives review of NHS chaplaincy and diabetes services

Wind turbines landscape image for ICN blog post header

Integrated Care Northamptonshire (ICN) is to undertake a review of local NHS chaplaincy and diabetes services as part of an ongoing commitment to equality across our health and care organisations.

ICN is proud to work with NHS England’s Equality Delivery System (EDS) 2022 to ensure we are developing and improving services, free from discrimination, to meet the needs of our patients, service users, communities and our staff.

EDS 2022 is an accountable equality improvement tool that measures equity in services, workforce health and wellbeing, and leadership.

It helps NHS organisations improve the services they provide for their local communities and provide better working environments, free of discrimination, for those who work in the NHS, while meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

As part of the initial phase of EDS 2022, ICN will be conducting a review of the chaplaincy services and diabetes services for the period from April 2022 to March 2023. The review will focus on the following four key requirements:

  • Service users have required levels of access to the service
  • Individual service users’ health needs are met
  • When service users use the service, they are free from harm
  • Service users report positive experiences of the service

Diana Belfon, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist for Integrated Care Northamptonshire said: “We will complete EDS 2022 in partnership with our patients, communities and staff, who will be invited to be part of focus groups that will score and rate our chaplaincy and diabetes services.

“Following the service review, service improvement plans will be developed and considered by our various governance processes and shared with key stakeholders.”

If you would like to be involved in the EDS 2022 review into NHS chaplaincy and diabetes services, please contact diana.belfon@nhft.nhs.uk

Read Equality commitment drives review of NHS chaplaincy and diabetes services…

Integrated Care Northamptonshire launches 10-year strategy

Aerial image of Northampton town centre with the market square at the centre of the photo

Integrated Care Northamptonshire (ICN) is excited to share a newly launched 10-year strategy to support people in Northamptonshire to ‘Live Your Best Life’.

This strategy has been developed together by NHS providers, local councils, voluntary and community organisations and other partners, with a focus on enabling residents to benefit from equitable opportunities to live their best life, whoever they are and wherever they live in the county.

Our vision is bold: we want to work better together in Northamptonshire to create a place where people and their loved ones are active, confident and empowered to take personal responsibility for good health and wellbeing, with quality integrated support and services available for them if and when they need help.

ICN’s work to develop this strategy together shows the commitment from organisations to improve outcomes for residents in Northamptonshire and deliver change through shared working and community involvement.

Many are aware of the significant challenges currently facing health and care services locally and nationally. It is only by working together as ICN with shared aims that we can face up to these challenges and improve the health and wellbeing of those who live and work in our county.

The strategy sets out how we can achieve better outcomes throughout all stages of a person’s lifetime: from pregnancy, birth and early years, through improved education and better employment opportunities, to better access to health and care services right through to the end of life – all the time supporting everyone to be valued for who they are.

To help meet our vision, a set of 10 ‘Live Your Best Life’ ambitions have been developed to deliver better outcomes for the people of Northamptonshire over the coming years. Each ambition looks at the approaches we need to take together to help us improve outcomes in partnership with our residents.

As we move forward, plans are under way to engage and involve our local communities throughout Northamptonshire with the delivery of the strategy, to ensure the voice of our people remains at the centre of all we do.

Our new Local Area Partnerships (LAPS), representing neighbourhoods and localities of between 30,000 and 50,000 people across the county, will give a voice to residents, involving them in new services and solutions for their local area. This will be guided by a Community Engagement Framework (CEF), which sets a blueprint for how we will engage with the public and will be an integral part of achieving our 10 ‘Live Your Best Life’ ambitions.

Read the Integrated Care Northamptonshire Live Your Best Life Strategy 2023-33.pdf [pdf] 22MB

Councillor Matt Golby, Integrated Care Partnership Co-Chair and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health at West Northamptonshire Council, said: “The launch of the ‘Live Your Best Life’ Integrated Care Northamptonshire 10-year strategy is a really exciting time for the people of Northamptonshire. The strategy is truly collaborative and showcases the commitment from health, local authorities, VCSE and community organisations to improve health and wellbeing outcomes at all stages of a person’s life.

“We know the strategy is ambitious, however by working together in this way we believe we can make a positive difference and bring needed change to help people live their best lives. The steps we take next are important to help us meet our shared ambitions and aims, with community feedback being an essential part of this.  

“I would like to say a thank you to all involved in the development of this strategy and I look forward to continuing to work with partners in its delivery.”

Naomi Eisenstadt, Integrated Care Partnership Co-Chair and Chair of NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, said: “As organisations with collective responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the people of Northamptonshire, we know that it is only by working in partnership that we can achieve our shared ambition to support everyone to live their best lives.

“This strategy sets out a framework for us all to build on together over the next 10 years as we strive to improve the health and wellbeing of our population and reduce health inequalities – while making the best use of public funding and the collective resources available to us.

“We now look forward to developing our strategy into actions and improvements that people can really see, engaging with our communities as we go to ensure that the voices of those who live and work in our county remain at the heart of everything we do.”

Councillor Helen Harrison, Integrated Care Partnership Co-Chair and Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing at North Northamptonshire Council, said:

“This strategy feels like a great step forwards for healthcare in Northamptonshire. North Northamptonshire is such a diverse area and I welcome the focus on places and local populations this strategy brings. The approach taken will help empower communities to take collaborative action to solve problems in their localities. I believe that taking this approach will help make it a driving force for improving better health outcomes for our residents.

"I am delighted North Northamptonshire Council is part of this collaboration. I am looking forward to contributing to the delivery of more joined up services that better meet the needs of our localities and everyone who make them their home.”

Across the year we will keep you updated on the development and implementation of our strategy on this website and in our monthly ICN Today e-newsletter. Subscribe to ICN Today.

Read Integrated Care Northamptonshire launches 10-year strategy…

Leadership development opportunities for health and social care colleagues

Female carer helping an older woman down the stairs

Integrated Care Northamptonshire has launched a programme of free training and development opportunities for health and social care staff looking to progress their careers in leadership roles.

Starting in spring 2023, there are three leadership development programmes currently accepting applications. All are delivered through a mix of online and in-person learning and are provided at no financial cost to participants or their employer organisations.

Subject to the eligibility criteria applicable to the individual programmes, they are open to colleagues working for the NHS, for organisations providing NHS services, and in social care across Northamptonshire.

The programmes now open for applications are:

  • Collaboration to Improve Care – an innovative place-based leadership development programme that aims to address grounded, real-time challenges in the provision of joined-up care across health and care systems. It is open to those in frontline management roles in a care setting who are looking to build their leadership skills and capabilities. Collaboration to Improve Care is delivered with NHS Midlands Leadership Academy and designed in partnership with Skills for Care, the National Association of Primary Care and Think Local Act Personal. Launching: March 2023.
     
  • Health and Care Support Worker Introduction to Leadership and Management – for health and social care support workers who are looking to take the first steps on their leadership journey. The programme provides an excellent foundation upon which to begin building your line-management skills. Launch date to be confirmed.
     
  • Moving Up – a leadership development programme for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) colleagues which is aimed at addressing the problem of BAME colleagues being under-represented in senior positions. It is open to BAME staff working in health and social care roles between band 5 and band 7. Launching: April 2023.

For full details of these programmes and to apply online, visit the Integrated Care Northamptonshire staff learning and development hub.

Read Leadership development opportunities for health and social care colleagues…

January edition of ICN Today newsletter now published

Middle aged man and woman walking through a park with a larger group walking behind them

The January 2023 edition of ICN Today, your monthly e-newsletter from Integrated Care Northamptonshire (ICN), has now been published.

In this edition, we are excited to launch the brand new Integrated Care Northamptonshire strategy, our 10-year framework setting out how health and care organisations will work together to support everyone in our county to 'Live Your Best Life'.

We also bring you an update on the work we are doing to manage the continuing pressures faced by our system during a particularly challenging winter.

Elsewhere, it's NHFT CEO Angela Hillery's turn to take on the 3 in 60 Challenge, we launch a brand new programme of leadership training opportunities for 2023, you can find out which inspiring speakers will be joining us in February for Race Equality Week, discover how the Cobblers first team are working with us to help prevent suicide, and much, much more.

Read the January edition of ICN Today. 

Do you want future editions emailed directly to your inbox?  Become an ICN Today subscriber .

Read January edition of ICN Today newsletter now published…
Newer articles