From Yorkshire to Jersey

A splendid weekend in Barney- highlight of which was Sunday lunch (yes, Yorkshire puddings obviously) at the King's Arms in Heath, a small charming rural village outside Wakefield.

A pint of Yorkshire Ale and the Hound!

And my 2 nephews-in-law enjoyed the attentions of the licking Sparkles! 

So a thoroughly relaxing time, which played well for our Commons launch of the FTN- acevo report.  Jeremy Hunt spoke about the role of the sector and how appropriate it was for us to be publishing in the week of the 65th anniversary of the NHS. He publishes a revised NHS Mandate on Friday- it will strengthen his desire to make the health service more transparent and to further strengthen moves to better ( and integrated) care for the elderly. Good to see so many members and NHS CEOs there. We plan more such events.

You can read the full report here.

And now I'm in Jersey- a fraternal guest of the Community Union, one of our acevo partners. The general secretary is a valued member. Community is a great trade union which recognises the part our sector plays and welcomes it; unlike many other unions that spend much time attacking us. It has been dispiriting to see how unions that ought to be allies of the sector turning on members and our sector staff. Hopefully one day we will see a change of leadership and change of tack. Many of our sector staff, who are natural union members are turned off by the way the big unions behave. Community is an honorable exception. So I'm glad to be here showing them support in difficult times for us both. While I'm here I’ll get a copy of “Third Sector”, which this week features yours sincerely being deeply modest, as usual. Wish they had touched up the photo a tad to remove some wrinkles. But must be modest....( And transparent I suppose!)

Hospitals and Charities Partnership

So, as I previewed, we have our launch today in the Commons.

I have thought for some time that hospitals, charities and social enterprises could do more together. For example, as I will say at the Launch later, Simon Antrobus of Addaction told us that they are doing work in a hospital where they discovered that just 5 people with addictions had been responsible for 95 admissions in one year. And given the operation of the tariff arrangements in hospitals extra unplanned admissions are not paid for at the full rate so hospitals loose out.

This new major report from the Foundation Trust Network and ACEVO and written and researched by the Kings Fund, has found new services, delivering major improvements in care for patient, and driven by providers, are growing.

The report "Working Together to Deliver the Mandate: Strengthening partnerships between the NHS and the voluntary sector" is launched at 4pm in the House of Commons, by Jeremy Hunt MP. 

The Report shows how Foundation Trusts, NHS Trusts and third sector organisations have pioneered new services for patients that enhance the quality of care, improve the patient experience and are also an efficient use of resources.

Worth repeating what Chris Hopson, the CEO of the Foundation Trust Network said in his press release:

 “We have shown that real benefits for patients and the NHS come from combining and harnessing the expertise and knowledge of the public and voluntary sector providers.  These partnerships are being formed up and down the country providing local designed services that respond to local communities’ needs. 

“We can see that provider experience can drive change and innovation.  It takes committed and strategic leadership across partners.  The examples in today’s report show how providers are offering commissioners innovations in health and social care delivery that improve the care and experience of patients.  Support from commissioners and system leaders to remove barriers and encourage partnerships will pay real dividends in delivering the Mandate and better services. “

 So, frankly, given the challenges hospitals face I'm surprised they haven’t been using charities and social enterprises more. Our joint report shows that impressive results can be achieved through effective partnership working between the voluntary sector and hospitals. These partnerships can deliver more responsive, better-designed services by making use of the sector's high level of expertise and close connections with beneficiaries and communities.

Commissioners need innovation and want to deliver services that make a real difference to health and well-being. Charities are crucial to that process, but are currently underused. So when you look at the challenges hospitals face - for example in A&E departments or in treating an increasing number of frail elderly patients - it is charities that can help relieve the pressures. Hospitals need to start a dialogue with local and national charities to see what we can do together to cut "bed blocking" and support people to stay healthy and out of hospital.