Sefton Partnership

Our work with organisations across health, care and wellbeing in Sefton will be further strengthened by the proposals set out in the Health and Care Bill.

Building on our plans outlined in Sefton2gether, the Sefton Partnership brings together local NHS, Sefton Council, voluntary, community and faith (VCF) groups and other organisations involved in improving health, care and wellbeing in the borough.

The aim is for a more effective use of community assets with a greater focus on prevention and wellbeing.

There are huge benefits for people and communities of having integrated care as close to home as possible by joining up primary, secondary, community, social care, and wellbeing services.

And when we need to access health, care and wellbeing services, we want these to provide us with the best service and the best outcomes.

Partners in Sefton want to create a more joined up local system that meets the needs of all the people who live in Sefton in line with our shared vision:

“To deliver a confident and connected borough that offers the things we all need to start, live and age well, where everyone has a fair chance of a positive and healthier future.”

This partnership is one of nine place based partnerships working within the regional Integrated Care System; the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. There are 42 ICSs in England, including Cheshire and Merseyside, which is the second largest in the Country. An Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together the NHS organisations, councils, and wider partners in a defined geographical area to deliver more joined up approaches to improving health & care outcomes.

The two parts of the regional system are the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP). ICPs will provide a forum for NHS leaders and local authorities (LAs) to come together, as equal partners, alongside important stakeholders to generate an integrated care strategy for the region.

Under proposals set out in the White Paper setting out legislative proposals for a Health and Care Bill; ‘Working together to improve health and social care for all, ICBs will be established as new statutory organisations to lead integration within the NHS. The current functions of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be transferred to ICBs by July 2022 and they will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the NHS in the region, including planning and buying healthcare services.

The Cheshire and Merseyside ICB will arrange for some of its functions to be delivered, and decisions about NHS funding to be made at a local level through the place-based partnerships.

Health and wellbeing boards (HWBs) will continue to develop the joint strategic needs assessment and joint health and wellbeing strategy, which both the ICP and ICB will give due regard.

Decisions will be taken closer to the communities they affect, leading to better outcomes. There will be a better use of community assets and a greater focus on prevention and wellbeing.

There are huge benefits for people and communities of having integrated care in their neighbourhoods by joining up primary, community, social care, and wellbeing services.

We all want the very best health and wellbeing for our families, friends, communities and for ourselves. And when we need to access health and care services, we want these to provide us with the best care and the best outcomes.

A case study of the benefits of joined up working across health and social care

The care home cell is a good example of how joint working across health and care organisations can bring great benefits and result in better care and outcomes for residents ahead of the introduction of integrated care systems in July 2022.

During the pandemic, organisations across Sefton came together in a group called the ‘care home cell’ to determine what could be done to support care home residents and staff.

This included colleagues from NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS Southport and Formby CCG, local GPs and nurses, the Care Quality Commission, Healthwatch Sefton, Sefton Council, Public Health teams, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust and others as the needs of the group changed over the course of the pandemic.

Watch the video below to hear from some key members of the group and understand more about the work that was done across organisations.