| Welcome to the programme newsletter | Welcome to the latest edition of Humber Acute Services programme stakeholder newsletter. In it you'll find the latest news and updates about the programme, alongside information about how you can get involved, share your ideas or ask questions.
We hope you will find this update helpful and interesting. | |
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Evaluation Workshops
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Through the Humber Acute Services programme, we are designing hospital services for the future. We are looking at potential ways of providing the best possible care across the three key building blocks of hospital services:
- Urgent and Emergency Care
- Maternity, Neonatal Care and Paediatrics
- Planned Care and Diagnostics
Following the extensive engagement, we have undertaken with patients, the public, staff and other stakeholders throughout 2021, we are now using what we have heard to help evaluate different potential models of care for the future.
A series of workshops got underway on the 4th of March to help to identify and assess the relative pros and cons of a range of potential future scenarios for hospital services across the Humber.
This is a really important step for the programme and will to identify the different potential options that could form part of a wider consultation with the public, staff and other stakeholders later in year.
In total 126 participants attended with varying clinical and non-clinical backgrounds, inclusive of representatives from the Citizen’s panel, voluntary and community sector organisations. We were really pleased with the level of engagement received throughout the workshops and would like to thank all staff and participants involved who helped to make them such a success.
The approach to evaluation that is being used was created following extensive engagement with staff, patients and the public that took place throughout 2021, which was called What Matters to You?
You can access the What Matters To You? engagement feedback reports using the following links:
Following the evaluation, our work will be independently reviewed by the Yorkshire and Humber Clinical Senate and then by NHS England before we can progress any further. These independent reviews are expected to take place during Spring and Summer 2022. Following the independent reviews, we expect to progress to full public consultation of a range of potential ways forward later this year.
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| Developing our longer-term plans |
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What's in a name?
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We have been doing lots of listening to staff, partners, patients and members of the public over recent months and it is clear that the name of our programme – Humber Acute Services or HASR – does not mean a lot to most of the people we speak to.
As we continue to plan for public consultation, we need a name that can engage and allows the public, staff and other key stakeholders to grasp the nature of the work we are doing. Please click below to vote for your favourite name or make an alternative suggestion – it will only take a minute of your time.
Click here to take part in the survey.
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Can you help?
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We have been listening to feedback and ideas from people across the Humber over the past 18 months and these have really helped to influence our emerging ideas.
As we develop these ideas for how services could look in the future, we would also like to hear from particular groups within our community, to help us better understand how they may be impacted by any potential changes to acute hospital services. Throughout our work we are seeking to listen to all communities and individuals and reduce health inequalities in the Humber area.
The groups we would particularly like to engage with include:
- People living with serious and enduring mental illness
- People living with poor mental health, including parents and carers.
- Adults and children with learning disabilities or difficulties, including parents and carers.
- People from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds
- People who identify as LGBTQ+
- People affected by homelessness.
How can you help?
- Do you work with or support any of these groups, or know someone who does?
- Do you know of any pre-existing groups we could attend?
- Would you like to be involved and represent the voices of the people you work with?
If you answer 'yes' to any of the above, then please click here to register your interest in hosting or supporting a focus group or other engagement activity over the coming months.
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| Programme Update (Interim Clinical Plan) |
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The next stage for the Interim Clinical Plan
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The Interim Clinical Plan (Programme 1) is our programme of work to make rapid changes and improvements in services that are facing particular challenges. Through this programme Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS foundation Trust (NLaG) have been working together to develop unified Humber-wide services in these specialties, building resilience and strengthening services.
Significant progress has been made towards this goal – by establishing joint clinical leadership teams across specialities; developing visions for the future and formulating service strategies to achieve those visions. This work has helped establish the foundations necessary to stabilise and improve services.
From April this year, the focus of the Interim Clinical Plan is moving from planning to implementation – with operational teams working jointly across both trusts, concentrating on mobilisation and implementation of the service strategies. The joint decision-making arrangements will continue – through the Committees in Common formed by both trusts – but day-to-day governance of the programme will change. The work will move away from the programme management arrangements of the Humber Acute Services Programme, with a Joint Development Board maintaining oversight of mobilisation and implementation, reporting through to the Committees in Common.
Michelle Cady (Director of Strategy and Planning at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Chair of the Joint Development Board) said:
‘I’m really excited to be focusing on the next stage of the Interim Clinical Plan – working with colleagues across both trusts, as Chair of the Joint Development Board.’
‘Developing a one team approach has been a really important part of our improvement journey so far. I know colleagues have worked really hard to get us to this point – and I want us to build on these foundations as we start to mobilise and implement plans across the different specialties.’
‘Some of the work that has been done over the past 18 months or so has gone really well and the leadership and commitment from colleagues in both organisations has been at the centre of this. We’ve also learned some important lessons along the way, and it is important to reflect on some of those lessons as we move forward – while also recognising what has been achieved so far. We’re just finishing drawing some of those details together and I hope to share them through another edition of the newsletter soon. It’s a really exciting time to be working across both trusts.’
The specialities included under the umbrella of the Interim Clinical Plan are:
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Ear Nose and Throat (ENT)
- Gastroenterology
- Haematology
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Respiratory
- Urology
Claire Hansen (current Interim Clinical Plan Programme Director) said,
‘I’m really grateful for the commitment and hard work of everyone who’s been involved in developing the clinical strategies and getting us to this point. Everyone has been fantastic, and I can’t thank all those involved enough!’
‘The next stage of the Interim Clinical Plan is really important. Building on the momentum we’ve seen develop as we have worked together through the pandemic with be crucial and having a high degree of continuity is essential. Michelle has been involved with the programme since taking on her role as Director of Strategy at HUTH, so it is great that she will be taking on this leadership role. This provides a really strong foundation to build on going forward – continuing to work with operational teams across both trusts and members of the programme team continuing to support this transformation work.’
‘It is a really exciting time to be working across both trusts. We recognise that change can be a source of apprehension for some. That’s why continuing to talk and listen to our staff will also be really important and this remains a top priority for the programme.’
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Trust Collaboration
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Question:
Isn’t all this the start of a merger or HUTH taking over everything?
Answer:
No, it might seem like that but this joint work does not mean the trusts are merging. This is already a complex programme of work, such a move would be a distraction for everyone at a time when we need to focus all our efforts on providing the best possible services across the Humber. Change may happen at some point, but what that looks like is not clear at the moment – the NHS nationally is seeing much change in structure through the emerging Integrated Care Systems and other organisational forms may be available to providers in a few years’ time. So we can’t, and won’t, predict what will happen in the longer term.
The way we work across the NHS is changing – where collaboration, rather than competition, is the normal way to work. The simple fact is both trusts need each other to tackle the issues being faced by secondary care across the Humber. Our local people deserve better healthcare and working together as trusts – as well as with other health and care providers, the voluntary sector and our local communities – is the best way to achieve that.
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Ask A Question
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You can ask a question about any aspect of the programme at any time by using the online question portal or by sending an email.
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We launched our revamped Humber Acute Services programme newsletter in July 2021. Each newsletter includes a range of information about the programme and you can access previous editions by clicking the links below:
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