Connect Issue 41, 4 October 2021

KEEPING YOU CONNECTED ACROSS CHESHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE

Connect

IN THIS ISSUE Billion pound bid for new hospitals Success in NHS Communicate Awards Accessing your GP Wirral pioneers NHS Cadet scheme

ISSUE 41, 4 October 2021

EDITORS WELCOME

Meet the Executive Team

Hello and welcome to our new look Connect.

We have made some changes in a bid to make our regular publication more relevant and more exciting to read.

We know we have a good readership for Connect and we know that you enjoy finding out about what is going on across the Cheshire and Merseyside patch - including the benefits of our partnership working.

But we also know that it was time for a change and time for us to develop the way we communicate, engage and “connect” with all our stakeholders, whether they be workforce, elected members, clinicians or the public.

We want Connect to be the go-to publication for your news and a place where we celebrate our collective and individual successes across Cheshire and Merseyside.

To highlight the content that we know you want to read each month – we need you. We need you to tell us about your successes, whether in social care, Local Government, Trusts and other health organisations or the voluntary, community and faith sectors – we want to hear from you – and regularly.

We hope what you see in this edition reflects the feedback you have given us about Connect in recent months and we know that we have more to do to truly highlight what is happening in Health and Care across Cheshire and Merseyside.

I really hope you enjoy this new edition and look forward to hearing your thoughts – and receiving more of your news!

Sheena Cumiskey Interim Chief Officer

Keith Griffiths Director of Finance Christine Hughes Executive Director of Communications and Engagement Anthony Middleton Director of Performance and Improvement Professor Sarah O’Brien Executive Director of Strategy and System Development Christine Samosa Strategic Workforce Lead Dave Sweeney Executive Director of Partnerships Linda Buckley Director of Strategic Transformation NHS England and NHS Improvement Gerald Meehan Local Authority Advisor

Inside this edition: Chris Hughes Executive Director of Communications and Engagement

Cover: Mark Cavendish, Image SWpix.com

Page 1: NHS Communicate Awards 2021 Page 3: News and updates Page 5: Cycling Tour of Britain Page 7: Local doctors ask for your support Page 8: Accessing your GP Page 9: Vaccine update Page 10: NHS Cadets Page 11: ICS Development

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Page 12: Partnership working, ICS Communications and Engagement Hub and Chief Exec blog Page 13: Hospitals Bid for Refurbishment cash Back page: Contact Us

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Award Winners

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership are delighted to have received TWO ards at September’s NHS Communicate Awards 2021.

awards were in recognition of the Partnership’s ground-breaking four stage research programme, which aimed entify a correlation between vaccine hesitancy across ethnic minority communities, which mirrored concerning cine uptake figures across Cheshire and Merseyside.

awards were in recognition of the Partnership’s ground-breaking four stage research programme ‘Getting er the Skin’, commissioned in partnership with Public Health England, NHS England and Improvement and the AMPS public health collaborative.

ing Under the Skin won awards in the categories ‘Use of insight and date for innovation in communications’ and t behaviour change or public health campaign’.

research has given us a deeper understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on our ethnic communities and has ided tools to help address vaccine hesitancy.

ghts from the programme have also proved instrumental in improving communication, engagement and trust ween the Partnership and different ethnic communities – building stronger bonds which will last into the future.

a Boampong was the Interim Director of Communications and Engagement at the Cheshire and Merseyside lth and Care Partnership at the time when the ‘Getting Under the Skin’ research and ‘Let’s Get Vaccinated’ paign was implemented.

a said: “I am incredibly proud of this research programme, ause it gave us the valuable insight needed to implement the Lets Vaccinated campaign which informed and educated people from ic communities.

ould like to extend my thanks to everyone involved – the success ese programmes was partly due to a collaborative approach, king alongside other key partners.

have won these awards for its success reinforces to me the ortance of this work, which has in no doubt saved countless lives will inform the design and delivery of services in the future for e communities.”

stine Hughes Executive Director of Communications and agement, said: “Well done to everyone involved in developing and ementing this impressive programme. It’s clear by working in nership we can make a real difference.

delighted that communications effort and effectiveness is ng recognised by these awards.”

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STHK partner with Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (STHK) has entered into a partnership for long-term collaboration with Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust (S&O), with STHK taking on responsibility for the management of Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust.

In order for the Trust to deliver this responsibility, Ann Marr OBE Chief Executive STHK has agreed to become Chief Executive for both Trusts and Anne-Marie Stretch, who is currently Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Human Resources at STHK, has been appointed to the new position of Managing Director, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust.

Ann Marr OBE said, “Working together in partnership gives us the opportunity to provide high quality and sustainable services to all of the people we serve. We are very much looking forward to working closely with our skilled and committed colleagues at Southport & Ormskirk.”

Neil Masom OBE, Chair S&O Hospital NHS Trust said, “The partnership is the next stage on Southport and Ormskirk’s improvement journey and the right one to accelerate the tremendous progress the Trust has made over the past few years.”

New mental health crisis café opens in Wirral A new mental health crisis cafe has opened in Wirral for local residents.

The space, called Compañeros, has been jointly developed between Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and local organisation, the Spider Project.

It will be open from 1pm-10pm, seven-days-a-week and located at 2a Price Street, Hamilton Square, CH41 6JN. The service is open to adults aged 18 and over. People can access the service in a variety of ways including walk in’s or self- referrals. Appointments are not needed. GPs can also refer into the service.

The service is contactable on 0151 488 8135.

The service will complement the already-existing Freephone Urgent Mental Health crisis line, provided by CWP. The crisis telephone line is open to Wirral residents of all ages, 24/7 and can be accessed by calling 0800 145 6485. The crisis line can also refer people to Compañeros when appropriate.

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East Cheshire NHS Trust unveils £2.2m state-of-the-art Same Day Emergency Care unit Patients who are referred for same day treatment to Macclesfield Hospital can now experience an improved care pathway at the beginning of their journey thanks to a brand-new £2.2 million Same Day Emergency Care unit (SDEC).

The SDEC is a new facility for the provision of same day care for emergency patients who might otherwise have been admitted to hospital. The unit is situated next to the Emergency Department at Macclesfield hospital and boasts six consultation rooms and a spacious waiting area which will meet the growing need of our patients.

The sophisticated SDEC triaging model means patients who are diagnosed and referred directly by their GP, NHS 111, A&E, or ambulance services will be fast-tracked to the right specialist at the start of their visit to hospital.

Dr John Hunter, Medical Director at East Cheshire NHS Trust said, “The new SDEC will reduce hospital admissions and in turn improve the patient experience and help the trust manage patient flow.”

You can view a virtual tour of the new unit on the East Cheshire NHS Trust YouTube channel.

Welcome to our new starters at the partnership Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership has welcomed a number of experienced and talented new members of the senior team to help steer our journey to becoming a statutory ICS by April 2022.

• Steve Warburton, Strategic Advisor • Dianne Johnson, Director of Transition • Alex Chaplin, Digital Lead • Helen Duckworth, Business Intelligence Lead • Vicki Wilson, Deputy Director of Workforce • Jonathan Taylor, Deputy Director of Communications and Engagement

In addition, we will be supported by leaning in arrangements from our CCGs and this includes additional members of the commissioning team – Carl Marsh from NHS Warrington CCG; Paul Edward, NHS Wirral CCG and Leigh Thompson from NHS Halton CCG.

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Vaccine boost as cycling Tour of Britain visits Cheshire Some of Britain’s greatest cycling stars have backed the Covid-19 vaccine campaign – as they started off on Stage Five of the AJ Bell Tour of Britain from Alderley Park.

The Cheshire vaccine site doubled up as the Starting venue for the stage which continued around the North West on Thursday, 8 September, 2021.

The Tour of Britain is a gruelling eight-stage event, beginning on the South Coast and ending in Aberdeen. Stage Five began at the biotech campus, which houses the vaccine site at Alderley Park, before circuiting Cheshire and finished, 152km later, in Warrington.

A line-up of more than 100 professional cyclists packed the starting line in Cheshire, including Britain’s Mark Cavendish. In total, there were five reigning national road race champions, and four reigning time trial champions taking part – with 20 nationalities represented in total.

But, as events like this start to get back to normal and we continue to live with Covid-19, the starting place for the Cheshire stage is particularly poignant.

Peter Hodges, PR & Marketing Director for Tour organisers SweetSpot said: “Getting the AJ Bell Tour of Britain back on the road again was a fantastic achievement following the disappointing, but understandable cancellation last year due to Covid-19.

“It is very appropriate for us to be starting off at a vaccine centre for our Cheshire stage, and one that I am very proud to have received my vaccination at. It is a great time for us to reflect on how the vaccine has helped us in the fight against Covid and helped us get back to a more normal way of life”.

Vaccine Delivery Director for the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership, Jayne Wood, said: “We have now delivered more than 3.5 million doses of the vaccine which has had a huge impact on helping reduce the impact of Covid-19.

“Once again having local, regional and national events like the Tour of Britain is one of the signs that we are beating the virus and getting back to normal. It is so impressive to see some of the fittest and most accomplished athletes in the world starting off on such a renowned event from one of our vaccine sites – which will soon be closing as we no longer need it at this scale!.”

Image courtesy of SWpix Page 5

Stage five began at Alderley Park and finished at Warrington Town Hall.

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Local GPs ask for your support as they work through their busiest period

General practice staff are asking for patience and support as they work through their busiest ever period.

Doctor’s surgeries across Cheshire and Merseyside are open and staff are working harder than ever to make sure patients and the public are kept safe and they continue to get the care that they need.

While legal restrictions such as social distancing and wearing a face covering ended in July in many places, they are still required in healthcare settings to keep patients, the most vulnerable and staff safe. This includes general practice, dental surgeries and hospitals.

Find out more about accessing a GP on our website.

Facing Up to Face to Face Appointments…

Blogger, HCP Primary Care Advisor and GP, Dr Jonathan Griffiths, responds to recent public comment around whether GPs are being too slow to get back to “normal” as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.

He begins: “One of the issues that has appeared since the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be that people think that all GPs have gone into hiding. There are many mainstream and social media stories of people being unable to get through on the phones to reception staff or unable to make an appointment with their GP.” Read the full blog here.

Covid Pass Do you need proof of your Covid Status for travel or leisure?

The easiest way is to download a copy on the NHS App or visit covid-status.service.nhsx.nhs.uk/ or call 119 and press option 3 Your GP Practice does not have access to your Covid19 Pass Page Page77

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Covid-19 Vaccine update Booster for Health and care staff, over-50s and Most Vulnerable Thousands of health and care workers and vulnerable people across Cheshire and Merseyside are being offered a Covid-19 booster vaccine.

The programme will be rolled out to the same priority groups as previously. This means care home residents, health and social care workers, people aged over 50, those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of severe Covid-19, adult carers, and adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals will be prioritised.

The move will ensure the protection vaccines provide for those most at risk of severe illness from Covid-19 will be maintained over the winter months. Data published by ONS shows people who have not been vaccinated account for around 99% of all deaths involving Covid-19 in England in the first half of this year.

People will be contacted directly by the NHS to let them know when it is their turn to get their booster vaccine and health and care staff are encouraged to ask their manager about how to book their own booster jab.

Children Aged 12-15 Offered Covid Vaccine Cheshire and Merseyside is to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine to children aged 12 to 15.

The decision to offer one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, was taken by the Government on Monday, September 14, following advice from the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs).

The Cheshire and Merseyside Vaccination Team is preparing to deliver a schools-based programme, which is the successful model already used for vaccinations including for HPV and Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (DTP).

This will be supported by GPs and community pharmacies. Invitations for vaccination will begin soon.

Parental, guardian or carer consent will be sought by vaccination healthcare staff prior to vaccination in line with existing school vaccination programmes.

Vaccine Misinformation The HCP is working with schools, Local Authorities and the Police to ensure that any impact from anti-vaccine protesters is kept to a minimum.

In the last few weeks there has been an increase in the amount of misinformation being sent to headteachers, both in the sub-region and nationally, around the risks and liabilities of delivering the vaccine programme to 12-15 year-olds in schools.

The HCP and other NHS organisations continues to ensure that correct information, from a trusted

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source, is available and visible to allow people, including parents and carers to make an informed choice about the Covid-19 vaccine. Operational information has also been cascaded to vaccine site managers and clear reporting routes are open for any incidents.

There has also been an increase in physical protests, either outside or on school grounds, and both the Police and Local Authorities have taken steps to ensure they can respond appropriately if any anti-social behaviour or criminality is reported.

Second wave of NHS Cadets set to begin training in Wirral.

NHS Cadets is a new programme aimed at young people aged 14 to 18 providing opportunities to explore roles in healthcare.

NHS Cadets is a partnership between NHS England and Improvement and St John Ambulance that provides opportunities to explore roles in healthcare. The 36-week programme is aimed at young people who are from communities currently under-represented within St John and the health service.

In Wirral the programme began in October 2020 and is delivered as a joint initiative between Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, The Hive Youth Zone and St John Ambulance.

Wirral Community Health and Care are the first Community Trust in the country to be involved in this innovative pilot programme which provides 14 to 16-year-olds with courses to develop their leadership skills, and in normal circumstances, first aid training and volunteering opportunities in the NHS. Although the pandemic meant that the programme had to be delivered differently, this did not stop the team at The Hive providing an interactive and engaging experience for the young people involved.

The existing team of Cadets have embraced virtual ways of working, with the dedicated and passionate team at The Hive continuing the

programme throughout lockdown to ensure that young residents across Wirral could access this exciting programme remotely during lockdown.

Rach Markey, NHS Cadets Project Co-ordinator and Youth Worker said: “The positive impact that the NHS Cadets programme has had on our young people is second to none.

“Not only has it given them an insight into a future career in healthcare, but they have made lasting friendships and it has been a pleasure to see them learning new skills and growing in confidence.

“Out of the 75 that initially started we have 59 young people graduating over the summer, which I am incredibly proud of as this has been a particularly challenging time for young people.”

The Trust are looking forward to the supporting the next group of young people who embark on the second NHS Cadet Programme this month.

There are still places available, so if you know a young person, aged 14 -16, who would like to get involved in this aspiration raising programme please email: nhscadets@thehiveyouthzone.org

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ICS Development – As described in our recent publication Partnership Working, we’re making great progress in our journey towards statutory ICS status by April 2022, but what exactly does that mean?!

There’s so much new terminology for us all to get our heads around, so some frequently asked questions are addressed below….

What’s an Integrated Care Systems (ICS)?

An Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together the NHS organisations, councils, and wider partners in an area to deliver more joined up approaches to improving health & care outcomes.

There are 42 ICSs in England, including Cheshire and Merseyside, which is the second largest in the Country.

From April 2022 the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS will have legal status and will include a statutory Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), and a new NHS body called the Integrated Care Board (ICB).

So what’s an Integrated Care Board (ICB)?

Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will be established as new statutory organisations to lead integration within the NHS. The Integrated Care Board will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the NHS in Cheshire and Merseyside, including planning and buying healthcare services.

The current functions of Cheshire and Merseyside’s 9 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be transferred to the Integrated Care Board by April 2022, following their closure. …And the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP)?

The Integrated Care Partnership will provide a forum for NHS leaders and local authorities (LAs) to come together, as equal partners, alongside important stakeholders from across Cheshire and Merseyside.

Together, the ICP will generate an integrated care strategy to improve health and care outcomes and experiences for the people in Cheshire and Merseyside, which all partners will be accountable to deliver.

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The ICP will be a dedicated forum to enhance relationships between the leaders across the health and care system, interact with and support the development of Place-Based Partnerships.

Place-Based Partnerships The Cheshire and Merseyside ICB will arrange for some of its functions to be delivered, and decisions about NHS funding to be made, in the region’s 9 borough places – through Place-Based Partnerships.

The ICB will remain accountable for NHS resources deployed at borough place-level. Each ICB will set out the role of designated Place-based leaders within its governance arrangements.

And finally…. Provider Collaboratives!

Providers of health, care and support services will increasingly collaborate at all levels of the system.

This is nothing new; there are some great examples of joined-up provider working, especially during the Covid pandemic.

There are two separate Provider Collaboratives for Cheshire & Merseyside.

• The Cheshire and Merseyside Acute and Specialist Trust (CMAST) • Mental Health, Community, Learning Disability collaborative (MHLDSC) Both will agree specific objectives with the ICB, to contribute to the delivery of Cheshire and Merseyside’s strategic priorities.

What’s next?

We’ll update readers with key developments as our journey picks up pace in the coming months. In the meantime, send any questions to cm.partnership@nhs.net and keep an eye on key reading here.

what’s going on?

Partnership Working We have published ‘Partnership Working’ to showcase just some of the achievements and progress made by the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership in improving the health and wellbeing of people and communities across the region and reducing health inequalities.

We will be sharing regular updates as we continue our journey to statutory Integrated Care System (ICS) status by April 2022 so look out for those and keep an eye on our website and social media accounts!

ICS Communications and Engagement Hub On Thursday, 30 September, 50 communications and engagement specialists from ‘Team Cheshire and Merseyside’ came together for the launch of the new ICS Communications and Engagement Hub. Executive Director of Communications and Engagement Christine Hughes (Chair) was joined by National Director of Systems Partnerships (ICS development) Roger Davidson, and NHS Confederation’s Assistant Director (North West) Rory Deighton to discuss the progress made in establishing the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS and the vital role of the profession in driving the reforms.

Set to be held monthly, it was agreed that future focus of the hub will include the role of communications and engagement in the development of Place-Based Partnerships, ensuring that the voice of people and communities is central to decision making throughout the region and developing effective partnerships with the voluntary, community and faith sector.

If you work in communications and engagement in Cheshire and Merseyside and want to get involved contact cm.partnership@nhs.net

Chief Officer’s Blog The Partnership’s Interim Chief Officer, Sheena Cumiskey, regularly takes stock of current issues and successes, as well as giving an insight of what is happening ‘behind the scenes’ within the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership in her new weekly blog. You can view all the posts here – don’t forget to bookmark this page and check back each Friday.

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Cheshire & Merseyside Hospitals Bid for £1 billion Refurbishment Cash Four hospital Trusts across Cheshire and Merseyside have submitted multi-million pound bids redevelop their sites.

The bids come as part of Department of Health and Social Care’s £3.8bn ‘New Hospitals Programme’, which promises the creation of eight new hospitals in England. A final decision on the funding bids is expected by next Spring.

Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust Liverpool Women’s has bid is to relocate its maternity services closer to the one of two acute hospitals as it looks to improve patient safety.

A new facility, linked by a footbridge to the new Royal Liverpool Hospital or located at Aintree Hospital has been proposed.

The Trust says this move would provide critical care facilities and improve access to specialist surgical and medical services in case of urgent need.

Artist impression: Warrington and Halton Hospitals bid

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Wirral University Teaching Hospital is looking for £100m to revamp its Bebington cancer facility.

The revamp will position the Clatterbridge campus as a hub for planned care, including surgery and rehabilitation.

A spokesperson for the Trust said: “We have lodged an expression of interest with the Department of Health and Social Care for funding to develop our Clatterbridge health campus in line with our strategy.”

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Leighton Hospital, part of Mid Cheshire Hospitals, has unveiled plans for a £663 million redevelopment as its bid for the funding.

James Sumner, Chief Executive of the Mid Cheshire Trust, said: “Our vision for the new Leighton is for a carbon neutral facility that will play a vital role at the heart of the community and support the delivery of a new clinical model – a blueprint for providing care both in and out of hospital.”

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals has developed the proposals for high quality health and care facilities for its local communities and the bid will now compete to be one of eight new hospitals built through the New Hospital Programme.

The bid, developed in collaboration with a range of partners, proposes that the existing Halton site is comprehensively redeveloped as a hospital and wellbeing campus and a new Warrington Hospital is built either on the site of the existing hospital or in another central location in the town.

Simon Constable, Chief Executive of Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals, is urging people in both communities to support the bid.

An online survey is available on the Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust website.

“Our bid will be one of many submitted to become one of only eight new hospitals to be built under the New Hospital Programme and competition will be fierce. We have been talking about new hospitals in Halton and Warrington for nearly five years, but now is the time to make that effort a reality.”

Paper-based surveys in alternative languages and format are available by contacting; whh.communications@nhs.net or phone 01925 662114

Join the millions already vaccinated You’re much less likely to get serious Covid-19 or be hospitalised if you’ve been vaccinated.

If you’re over 16, you can book your Covid-19 vaccine now at nhs.uk/CovidVaccination

EVERY VACCINATION GIVES US

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Connect edtion 41 produced in-house by the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership Communications and Engagement Team MMXXI