NHS South West
Plymouth Teaching PCT is responsible for providing and purchasing health services for over 250,000 residents in the Plymouth area. In gained teaching status in April 2003.
The PCT employs around 2,600 staff working from over 50 sites across the city. It provides community based health services such as general practice, dentistry, nursing, rehabilitation and learning disabilities, and mental health and inpatient services in both rehabilitation and acute mental health. It also has responsibility for the city's 45 GP practices
The trust ensured that the proposed SES linked into the its 'Plymouth's Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy'. The strategy sets out key priorities to address the health, social care and well-being needs within Plymouth for 2007-2020.
The five priorities identified in the strategy are:
- to explicitly address inequalities in all plans through target setting, re-focusing investment and rigorous use of equality impact assessment
- to shift the focus of investment to address prevention and health promotion, particularly in specified areas
- to raise awareness of mental health issues amongst patients and staff
- to directly address identified issues of access and take-up of specified services
- to further develop services to promote independent living for patients
The trust identified three important changes to address the priority areas:
- a shift in investment to priority areas to directly address health needs and to maximise overall health gain
- early and systematic involvement of the community and voluntary sector (third sector) in the design and delivery of services
- a focus on partnership working with the local council to design and deliver integrated services to improve both quality of care and efficiency
In November 2007, the trust approached Plymouth City Council to explore joint outcomes, involvement, and consultation in the development of a joint SES.
Both the trust and council agreed a joint rationale for their partnership as follows:
- both needed an SES in place by 1 June 2008
- city- wide objectives and high-level shared outcomes would be agreed to provide the broader context
- similarly, they would agree shared values/principles across the six diversity strands but with separate action plans for each area
- both parties would develop an SES that was outcomes driven but would share resources within an integrated and joined up approach eg. joint consultations with the local community on service developments (this was achieved in December 2007)
- both parties agreed to identify best practice across the UK, including other statutory organisations, to inform their approach including the Department of Health guidance on '10 steps to developing an SES'
- organise an internal 'speed dating' stakeholder event to look at priority outcomes for the service and organisations as well as introducing the concept of an SES at other trust events
Once agreed, the trust and council jointly organised two disability equality review events which they used as a springboard to tell their local community about their commitment to develop an SES together.
- This approach emphasises the organisation's commitment to developing an SES that is locally driven and focuses on the important priorities for the local area, based on local data and feedback. It will also be developed and designed in partnership with users, staff, the community and voluntary sector, and integrating services where appropriate and maximising value for money.
- Working with the council on the SES contributes to the trust's vision 'that Plymouth is a city where effective partnership working enables services to be designed around the unique needs of individuals and communities to improve their well-being both now and in the future'.
- City wide objectives and shared outcomes means that both parties recognise that partnership working can make Plymouth a healthy place to live and work
- Similarly, partnership working will contribute to achieving long term equity and ensure that where particular groups receive systematically different levels of care, the key partners look to commission or provide different services, ie. provide different access to groups with different needs or provide additional services to promote or improve access.
- Going forward, the trust agreed a clear timetable that covers consulting with key groups on the SES, achieving internal ratification and launching the SES in June 2008.
Angela Saxby, Equality and Diversity Manager angela.saxby@phnt.swest.nhs.uk, telephone 01752 314172