A paper published today celebrates the success of Health and Care Portsmouth – a partnership of six local organisations working together to improve health and social care for local people.
The report, ‘Making the case for joined up working in health and social care‘, was first published in March 2024, but has been updated to include even more examples of work undertaken within the partnership.
The document is a series of case studies which highlight the way teams and services are breaking down barriers by working together across organisations to share resources and budgets, and ultimately develop better health and care services for residents.
Helen Atkinson, Chair of Health and Care Portsmouth Partnership Board and Director of Public Health at Portsmouth City Council, said:
“This is the second publication of this report, which showcases our strong partnership working in Portsmouth – and the impact it is having for our residents. Our partnerships put us in a strong position to effectively plan and deliver services that focus on the individual, use every Portsmouth pound to best effect, and create seamless services for our population.
“We are all so proud to be part of Health and Care Portsmouth, and it is our enthusiasm and passion to deliver that makes it’s all come together.”
Health and Care Portsmouth was first established as a partnership in 2015, with a Blueprint for Health and Care Portsmouth recently being refreshed to confirm the vision for services in the city, the principles that govern working together, and the commitment that partners make to continue the journey of integrated health and care.
The five priorities for Health and Care Portsmouth are:
- Health improvement and reducing health inequalities
- Children’s services 0-19 (and 0-25 for young people with special educational needs)
- Adults with the most complex lives and needs
- Integrated community care model
- Person-centred care
In the paper, there are now two case studies for each priority which highlights successful integration between teams from different organisations to deliver services collectively.
Case studies featured in the paper include:
- Joint commissioning between Public Health at Portsmouth City Council and NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board to improve access to reproductive health care in general practice and community pharmacy
- Improving key indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by working innovatively across organisations to prevent and detect CVD
- An integrated multi-disciplinary team with staff from Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust that has successfully reduced demand for neurodiversity diagnoses for children and young people
- Giving children the best start for life through Portsmouth Family Hubs, a partnership between Portsmouth City Council, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Home-Start Portsmouth
- An in-house community-based support service for adults with autism that has coproduced services with the autism community
- A safe space for women living with substance use difficulties, coproduced with women in drug and alcohol treatment
- The development of an integrated multi-disciplinary hospital discharge team with staff from Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust that support patients to leave Queen Alexandra hospital more quickly
- Redesigning the Portsmouth short-term intermediate care bed provision to best meet the needs of the local population
- An integrated Learning Disability Service team between Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust that is successfully delivering high-quality services for residents with learning disabilities
- Increasing adult independence and preventing, reducing or delaying the need for statutory care and support services
Each case study includes an overview of the service or project, the way the teams are working, the impact it’s having, and the lessons learnt.
The partnership hopes to publish a document once per year, adding more case studies to the five priority pillars for Health and Care Portsmouth.
Helen added:
“We are so proud of the work that’s been delivered in Portsmouth over the last decade (and beyond), and we want to share that work. We want to share our learnings – the mistakes as well as the best practice – with other NHS organisations, local authorities, and the voluntary and community sectors – to ensure that more people can benefit from joined up health and social care.
“Our way of working has taken a long time to develop, and it might not work for everyone, but in times of austerity, when funding and resources are more restricted than ever before, we want to share our learnings in the hope that more people can see the benefits of truly integrated working.”
The six organisations involved in Health and Care Portsmouth are:
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- HIVE Portsmouth
- NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board
- Portsmouth City Council
- Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
- Portsmouth Primary Care Alliance
The organisations work as partners in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System, to ensure the successful implementation of health and care services for Portsmouth in line with the aims of the Integrated Care System.
Read the report: ‘Making the case for joined up working in health and social care‘.