Plymouth University is holding a conference to showcase how a pioneering integration of healthcare, social and wellbeing services is making a positive difference to the city.
Integration: Making it Real takes place on 7 March; providing an opportunity for local and national health and social care experts to discuss how the integration, known as One System – One Budget, has benefitted Plymouth.
Comprising the University, Plymouth City Council (PCC), Plymouth Community Healthcare, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and the North, East and West Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (NEW Devon CCG), One System – One Budget began in April 2015 when PCC and NEW Devon CCG combined their commissioning money to a sum of £462 million.
To date, funds have been used to create a ‘single point of access’ for service users, whereby they can access nurses, social workers, health and wellbeing professionals in one place within their locality, rather than having to ‘retell their story’ to numerous people across the city. This has resulted in a multi-agency and co-operative approach where co-location facilitates the sharing of information, resulting in better outcomes for service users.
Integration: Making it Real takes place all day on 7 March 2016 in the Roland Levinsky Building at Plymouth University, and speakers include Professor Trish Livsey, Executive Dean of the University’s Faculty of Health and Human Sciences and Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council, as well as other leading national specialists.
Packed full of lectures, workshops and networking opportunities, the conference is set to showcase the good work One System – One Budget has achieved, along with how local authorities in other parts of the country can work collaboratively to achieve effective results.
As a strategic partner, Plymouth University will conduct analysis of the integration, using it to help inform and prepare the workforce of the future – providing student doctors, nurses and health professionals with the understanding and skills to work in a more collaborative way.
The institution is also conducting research into a number of conditions requiring multi-disciplinary care, including dementia, and will publish results in due course to help services to further improve and adapt.
Professor Livsey said: “Plymouth University is proud of its excellent teaching, research and clinical skills in health and wellbeing, and we’re delighted to be part of this integration. The courses and research we do are world-leading and, through our excellent working relationship with the other organisations, we have been able to share ideas of best practice with our students and ensure the local community is served as effectively as possible.”
The integration was initiated by PCC and New Devon CCG as a way of dealing with the city’s ageing population, an expected increase in numbers and greater demands on public spending. The One System – One Budget model is based on the four Integrated Commissioning Strategies of: Wellbeing, Children and Young People, Community, and Enhanced and Specialist Care, and its holistic approach is designed to deliver healthier people, living healthier lives in healthier communities.
Looking forward to the event, Councillor Tudor Evans said: "We are looking forward to celebrating our successes at this conference and showcasing some of the radical work being done in Plymouth to improve health and social care. These are challenging times for health and social care and here in Plymouth we have recognised that we need to work in a collaborative way to address the health and care needs of our local population.
"We have made some great progress so far in making our health and care services more integrated and one of the first stages was the transfer of adult social care staff from Plymouth City Council to an integrated health and care team at Plymouth Community Healthcare. The next phase is our work with NEW Devon CCG to pool resources and we recently agreed a joint commissioning budget through our ‘One System – One Budget’ approach, with the aim of tailoring services to the needs of the individual and ensuring they get the right care, at the right time, in the right place.”
For more information or to reserve a place at Integration: Making it Real, please visit the events page.
