Why collaborate?
- We are facing very significant challenges which we must address with urgency. These include widening health inequalities, rising demand, pressure on quality and safety, staffing shortages, the wellbeing of our colleagues, and funding.
- We have seen that joining forces as equal partners can have huge benefits. Collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated what we can do together at scale to support our colleagues and patient care.
- We have a great opportunity to build on this to make sure we support better health and care across the whole of Lancashire and South Cumbria.
- By working collaboratively, we will be much more likely to achieve our vision than if we work alone. This is because we will be able to better:
- agree joint priorities and how to best join forces to deliver them
- learn from and support each other
- share skills and best practice
- pool resources to support fragile services
- provide flexible career paths across organisational boundaries
- standardise our approach across Lancashire and South Cumbria to reduce variation and duplication
- support the local economy and the environment to add social value.
National context: enabler for working better together
- The Health and Care Act 2022 describes a ‘duty to collaborate’ which applies to all NHS organisations and local authorities. This is really helpful as it means it will be easier to progress with our plans.
- Since July 2022 trusts providing acute and / or mental health / community services have been expected to be part of one or more provider collaborative(s).
- This means that our Provider Collaborative Board is an increasingly important vehicle to help us deliver our ambitions.
How do we fit with the rest of the system?
Integrated care is about giving people the support they need, joined up across the NHS, local councils and other partners. Click here to watch a video that explains about integrated care (opens in new window).
Health and care is organised across different interconnected geographical footprints. We have:
- one system (Lancashire and South Cumbria);
- four place-based partnerships (Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Lancashire, and South Cumbria); and
- 42 neighbourhoods.
The Lancashire and South Cumbria Provider Collaborative is part of the system and enables effective joint working across the five NHS provider trusts, as illustrated in the diagram opposite.
The Provider Collaborative Board recognises there are other partners that have a role in the development of services, and connects with system partners through Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
Each trust also has a significant role to play at place, and works through its local place-based partnership to ensure acute, community and mental health care are joined-up in localities with other health and care providers, such as primary, community and social care, the voluntary sector and private providers.
In addition, the Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership has established a Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Provider Collaborative. This will be led by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust working with our colleagues in health, social care and the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector.
