Issue - meetings

The Board was provided with an overview of the collaboration between Bridgewater Community Healthcare (BCH) NHSFT and Warrington and Halton Hospitals (WHH) NHSFT, including progress to date and the key next steps.

The collaboration was described as an equitable partnership of two foundation trusts intended to support and accelerate the delivery of One Halton and Warrington Together priorities, with system partners to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes of both populations.

It was noted that the NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, promoted models of collaboration with the ‘breaking down’ of barriers between primary and community and acute care, with out of hospital provision of care prioritised and the development of integrated community teams and primary care networks.   It was explained that BCH and WHH operated across the Warrington and Halton health economy footprints, and like many health and care organisations, both faced increasing pressures from increased demand for services due to population health trends, service delivery pressures due to workforce availability and need to address challenges at an organisation and system level. 

Therefore in line with the direction of the NHS Long Term Plan, both organisations shared an ambition to develop true sustainable integrated care and shared the belief that there were opportunities to collaborate in developing place based models of care in both Halton and Warrington, which would not only remove the barriers between acute and community but also primary care, social care and voluntary/charity sector services.

The report continued, discussing system aims, progress made to date and the key next steps with regards to governance, workforce, clinical service sustainability and reducing costs in the system.

It was highlighted by a Board Member that the governance arrangements were not yet clearly defined. The Board requested that an update report should be circulated to Members once the governance arrangements had been confirmed.

In addition, the Board discussed the interface between the Local Authority and the Programme Managers, the proposal for a new hospital in Warrington and engagement with Whiston Hospital and the collaboration.

On behalf of the Board, the Chair thanked Mel Pickup for her contribution to Board meetings and wished her every success in the future.

RESOLVED:  That the Board noted the contents of the report.