Local authorities and health services come together in landmark partnership
A landmark partnership that has seen local authorities and the NHS come together like never before represents a “massive sea change” in the way health and care services are jointly delivered to the people of Lancashire and South Cumbria.
For years, services such as social care, GP practices, hospitals and public health were run by separate organisations with different objectives.
Starting this month, local authorities and health services will now come together more formally as part of Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership.
The partnership will be led by Lancashire and Cumbria’s local authorities, which have responsibility for nearly all the determinants of health, including public health, housing, education and economic development.
A key goal of the partnership is to improve the health of the community so that we live healthier and longer, relieving pressure on the NHS.
The partnership will have huge input from the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) Sector, which is so important in keeping people active and well in the community. It aims to deliver better joined up services, tackle health inequalities, ensure services are not duplicated by different organisations and deliver better health outcomes.
County Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “The creation of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership represents a massive sea change in the way local authorities and the NHS work to promote and maintain good health in the community.
''For many years, we've been working very closely with the NHS to join up services, to provide better health outcomes for our residents. From now on it will be the local authorities and VCFSE who will be leading on supporting communities to keep people healthier, active and well. In doing so, as all the research shows, this will reduce pressures on the NHS.
“Having the local authorities leading the partnership gives us a vital opportunity to look at and improve the services we provide including housing, leisure services, education, economic development, public health and adult and children’s social care, to ensure they are fully integrated with NHS services.
“It will help us make a huge difference to people’s lives and ensure we provide better support for the people in our communities who need it most.
"Where people cannot be kept well, the NHS will be there, as always, but more can be done by treatment in the community in intermediate care to keep people away from the need for acute hospital care as much as possible."
Commenting on Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership, Kevin Lavery, chief executive of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: “There is an overwhelming sense of opportunity across all of the partners in Lancashire and South Cumbria to work together to improve the health and wellbeing of our local people – and there’s a collective ambition to grasp it.
“I have an incredible sense of positivity about the future and greater integration of health and care.”
Lancashire County Council’s cabinet is set to formally agree its full support for the partnership with all the other local authorities in Lancashire and South Cumbria and confirm the councillor who will chair the new committee on 7 July.
The full agenda for Lancashire County Council's cabinet meeting on Thursday 7 July can be viewed here: Agenda for Cabinet on Thursday, 7th July, 2022, 2.00 pm (lancashire.gov.uk)
Select the link to read the cabinet report on Development of Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership.