Agenda item

The Director for Adult Social Care and Commissioning will give a verbal update on the Leading Better Lives programme as part of our commitment to develop an early action approach for Leicester.

The Director of Adult Social Care and Commissioning presented a verbal report, which provided an update on the Leading Better Lives programme.

The following was noted:

·       Leading Better Lives is the Council's offer for early action and prevention for adults in Leicester. Whilst developed by Adult Social Care, it was not solely an Adult Social Care initiative and had been developed in partnership with a range of internal and external organisations.

·       The success of the programme to date had been driven by co production with people with lived experience and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector. Continued partnership working would be essential to its future development.

·       The programme originated from benchmarking work undertaken by Adult Social Care with authorities in cities with similar demographics. This identified areas where Leicester was not achieving the same outcomes and highlighted the need to better understand what mattered to local people and what changes were required.

·       Extensive engagement had been undertaken with communities across the city, including groups that were not traditionally engaged. Residents were asked what was working well, what was not working well and what changes would make the greatest difference to their lives.

·       The engagement highlighted issues relating to health inequalities and deprivation and provided a rich source of information. It reinforced existing evidence whilst also providing greater insight into how information could be used to improve outcomes.

·       A recurring theme was that many people were unaware of the support available to them. Difficulties accessing GP appointments, social isolation and loneliness were also identified as significant issues.

·       Partners from local government,health, the VCSE and people with a lived experience had worked together to review the feedback and identify realistic and achievable actions. Care had been taken to ensure that engagement with communities did not raise expectations that could not be met.

·       The programme was ambitious in scope whilst taking a realistic and phased approach to delivery.

The programme had focused on 3 key areas:

­   Improving access to information and advice.

­   Developing community hubs.

­   Delivering a Local Area Coordiator and street champion scheme in 3 pilot areas

• Progress had been made across all 3 areas, with some initiatives already highly visible. Examples included the festival held in Jubilee Square during the previous year to showcase support services, together with a planned presence at the Riverside Festival.
• The next phase of the programme would focus on expanding its reach and impact across the city.
• A programme board was being established, with a direct reporting line to the Health and Wellbeing Board. The first meeting of the board was scheduled for July.
• The programme board would provide opportunities to strengthen links with related work across the Council and partner organisations and support a more coordinated approach.

Future activity would be organised around 4 pillars:

­   Community offer.

­   Partnership working.

­   New ways of working.

­   Digital.

• Sponsors were being sought for each pillar and a set of key performance indicators would be developed.
• The programme aligned closely with the neighbourhood health agenda and wider neighbourhood working arrangements.

In discussion with Board Members, the following was noted:

• The importance of aligning the programme with neighbourhood health and neighbourhood working was highlighted. It was suggested that further discussions take place with Integrated Care Board colleagues to ensure the programme was connected to existing workstreams and that appropriate representation was secured on the programme board. It was acknowledged that some patience would be required whilst a number of posts were being recruited to.
• The significance of addressing social isolation and loneliness was emphasised. It was noted that these issues were increasingly recognised as having both physical and mental health impacts and that tackling them could contribute to preventing illness, improving wellbeing and reducing mortality.
• Clarification was sought regarding how Healthwatch and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector could become involved in the programme. It was confirmed that organisations interested in participating should make contact, and it was noted that Terms of Reference for the programme board were currently being developed.
• Members welcomed the broad and inclusive approach being taken and stressed the importance of securing representation from a wide range of organisations and community groups across the city, including community centres and sports facilities. It was noted that the wider the involvement, the greater the opportunity to achieve positive outcomes.
• Support was expressed for the programme and its preventative focus. It was noted that the objectives aligned closely with national NHS priorities, including delivering more care within communities and reducing health inequalities. Particular reference was made to the links between serious mental health conditions, social isolation and poorer health outcomes. It was further noted that the programme complemented existing work on local area coordination and targeting support towards vulnerable residents. The establishment of a senior level programme board was welcomed as an important mechanism for driving the work forward

AGREED:

1.     That the update be noted.

2.     That further updates on the development of the Leading Better Lives Programme be brought to future meetings of the Health and Wellbeing Board.