Emerging practice: social and economic development

Collaborative Newcastle is a partnership established by a range of local organisations to improve the health, wealth and wellbeing of everyone in the city. There are three pillars underpinning Collaborative Newcastle, including: health and care, growth and prosperity and net zero. A wide range of projects are underway across the three areas which bring together the city’s ‘anchor institutions’ to promote inclusive growth, through the creation of good jobs and productivity growth across our key economic sectors.

Dorset ICS has been working with public service organisations, charities, businesses and Bournemouth University to be at the forefront of using research and technology to transform health and care services across the county. This YouTube video talks about the development of the ICS’s Living Lab, which will collaboratively bid for innovation funding opportunities and improve workforce education, enhancing Dorset’s position as a leading area for research into transformative healthcare nationally

Barts Health NHS Trust’s anchor work is long-standing and highly respected. Their Healthcare Horizons programme, developed in association with JP Morgan Chase Foundation, has been set up to inspire young people in east London into health careers. Healthcare Horizons promotes workforce opportunities in the NHS and boosts recruitment, giving advice on completing university applications as well as teaching interview skills.

The University of Bradford has been working in partnership with the NHS to develop the Workforce Observatory for West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership. The Workforce Observatory will provide a forum to pool relevant intelligence so that the health and social care workforce can be analysed, planned, forecast, grown and developed in an evidence-informed manner, enabling integrated system-wide workforce planning and development.

South Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Working Win programme has reached more than 5,000 residents with over 2,500 returning to work or finding work. This has helped the region’s fightback against the pandemic and supported people in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw with physical and mental health issues to find or stay in training and work. Funded by the Government’s Work and Health Unit, and delivered in partnership with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and local NHS partners, Working Win provides holistic employment support for people across South Yorkshire.

The Strategy Unit, hosted by the Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, undertook an economic impact of the NHS in the Black Country in 2017. The impact assessment reviewed data on the local NHS, including procurement spend, employment figures and Gross Value Added (GVA), and explored three scenarios to illustrate how using NHS resources in a different way could boost economic output in the Black Country.

West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership has sought to develop strategic partnerships and to experiment in new ways in this space. Their Fuel Poverty Fund saw £1 million invested to help keep people warm in winter so they could live a long, healthy life. They have also set up a Health Inequalities Academy and Health Equity Fellowship to develop the long-term leadership needed to underpin social and economic development.

University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust has developed a tool which seeks to mitigate against inequalities on waiting lists for elective care. This webinar focused on the Clinical Priority Tool explains how taking additional factors impacting patient healthcare (age, metal health, gender, underlying health conditions and many others) into account allows a detailed comparison of patient need and makes recommendations on booking when comparing patients on the same priority and procedure.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has been developing its Anchor Programme since 2019. Its annual impact report, Putting Communities at the Centre, published in April 2022, sets out recent tangible achievements in a range of areas, including access to quality work, local value and wellbeing, nurturing young people, collaborating with partners and protecting the environment.

The Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership published Commissioning for Reform in 2016, setting out how the newly established Joint Commissioning Board could act as a driver for public service reform in its widest sense by helping to tackle the underlying issues of deprivation and poverty. The strategy’s vision stands the test of time, with the GM Transformation Themes in particular highlighting the interdependencies between health and social care commissioning decisions and those made across broader public services, and therefore the need to integrate the approach to commissioning to deliver reform.

The NHS London Procurement Partnership (LPP) has been leading on social value for the NHS in London. Through the NHS London Anchor Network, LPP has commissioned a social value reporting and monitoring tool on behalf of the five London ICSs, with a view to standardising the approach to social value across the region. To complement the tool, and to assist systems in understanding the local outcomes they wish to focus on, there will be a range of supportive documents produced and the tool will be regularly reviewed, including in partnership with the GLA.

The Universities for Nottingham Civic Agreement was signed in 2020, between the universities, local government, the NHS and LEP. As with many Civic University Agreements being developed, health remains a key focus for the universities as they pledge to develop a major new joint medical technology offer to business, with an ambition to make Nottingham and Nottinghamshire a leading destination in which to invest or establish new businesses in health and life sciences. The Universities for Nottingham programme also details how the universities will explore the development of a joint programme of training and support to meet clinical skills needs in the local healthcare system.

The Healthy Urban Development Unit has developed a range of tools and guidance to help assess and provide for the health impacts of new development and works with health organisations and local planning authorities to maximise the opportunities that an integrated approach to health and planning can bring. Their 2019 Planning Contributions Model can be used to influence the planning process via S106 planning negotiations or CIL and to gain necessary resources for health improvements or expansion.

The Mayor of London committed to developing a wellbeing and sustainability measure in his 2021 manifesto, helping measure London’s success as a place to live and work for all its residents. This is intended to counteract the fact that, for years, London’s success has been mostly measured in terms of its material wealth. The GLA's City Intelligence Unit is leading on the development of this measure of wellbeing and sustainability, bringing together data on the multiple aspects of our lives that underline wellbeing. The draft recommendation is currently out for consultation.

The chief executive of North East and North Cumbria ICB, Samantha Allen, wrote to the chief executive of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) in September 2022 to raise serious concerns that vulnerable people have seen their electricity or gas services disconnected as a result of non-payment. The letter made clear that ‘increased demand not only limits the NHS ability to provide treatment to those who need help most but there is also evidence that unnecessary admission to hospital can negatively affect a person's quality of life and health outcomes.’

The West Midlands Economic monitor published by Citi-REDI is a good example of a regularly updated localised economic overview which will be of real interest to the relevant ICSs. Produced on a monthly basis, the monitor highlights economic developments in the West Midlands in line with the UK government’s Industrial Strategy - Infrastructure, Ideas, People, Business Environment and Place.

As part of the Welsh Government’s broad Foundational Economy (FE) focus they have developed a Healthier Wales Foundation Economy programme. With more than half of the Welsh Government’s budget spent on health and social services, the FE programme ensures that they spend this money in a way that benefits the people and the economy.