Healthwatch Brighton and Hove - commentary on the ICS's Shared Delivery Plan and its development
The Health & Care Act (2022) established a new approach for integrated working across health and social care. Integrated Care Systems were created at a regional level between NHS commissioners (those who fund services) and providers (those who deliver services), local authorities, and voluntary & community sector organisations. Our Integrated Care System covers Sussex and is called Sussex Health & Care.
Every Integrated Care System is required to agree a high-level five year Integrated Care Strategy. The Sussex strategy, Improving Lives Together, was adopted in late 2022. Improving Lives Together was developed from the three existing Sussex Joint Local Health & Wellbeing Strategies (click here to read the Brighton and Hove strategy) and from the East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNA's) which help to identify the current and future health and wellbeing needs of people living in each local authoirty.
Healthwatch played a pivotal role in the development of the ICS strategy and routinely supports the ongoing development of the city's JSNA's through our projects.
Each Integrated Care System is also required to agree a Shared Delivery Plan (SDP), outlining the measures to be taken to deliver the Strategy’s system and priorities. The SDP had to be submitted to NHS England by 30 June 2023. SDPs were also required to be presented to Health & Wellbeing Boards (HWB) in advance of this date and to support this, a Special meeting of the Brighton HWB took place on 28 June 2023.
The role of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove
Healthwatch provided comments on the draft SDP in advance of the May Assembly meeting and raised several points at the public meeting. We raised concerns and asked questions, about:
• appropriateness of the language used in the report.
• whether the targets were achievable or realistic.
• the lack of any baseline data giving context to the targets.
• where/how Healthwatch could support Sussex Health and Care to deliver on its priorities.
As a result, Healthwatch received reassurance at the Assembly meeting that:
• a public-friendly version of the Plan would be produced.
• targets were purposefully challenging and ambitious.
• an agreement to provide baseline data/contextualisation.
In June, Healthwatch supported NHS Sussex by delivering a public survey to capture people’s views on elements of the SDP. The survey was shared across Sussex, achieving 453 responses in two weeks from a diverse cohort of people.
In advance of the Special HWB, Healthwatch Brighton Hove reviewed a revised draft of the
Share Delivery Plan. We provided HWB members with our commentary on the draft Shared Delivery Plan presented to the Assembly in May and the progress made. Our CEO spoke to our report at the June HWB meeting. You can read our briefing report in full, below.
