Healthy Croydon Briefing October 2007

Croydon’s joint health improvement plan
Work is underway to develop a new joint health improvement plan for Croydon. The Healthy Croydon Partnership Executive Group is overseeing the process. We are aiming for the final draft plan to be endorsed by the Council Cabinet and PCT Board in December 2007. A wide range of stakeholders were invited to contribute to the development of the plan at an event at the Fairfield Halls on 28 September 2007. The proposals for the plan will be an agenda item at the Healthy Croydon meeting on 31 October 2007.

We want our plan to be an accessible public document, setting out clearly and in plain English, our vision for a Healthy Croydon and how we intend to work together to deliver that vision for the people of Croydon. The plan will focus on key health improvement outcomes in six or seven short themed chapters. We also want to include examples of things we are already doing to improve people’s health and well-being in Croydon.

For more information about the health improvement plan contact Ruth Finlay, Project Manager
Tel: 020 8760 5773
Email: ruth.finlay@croydon.gov.uk

IDeA Healthy Communities Peer Review - next steps
A copy of the final report and management action plan has been distributed to all members of the Partnership. Work is already underway in a number of areas highlighted by the Review including a ‘fitness for purpose’ review of Partnership Groups and the development of the joint health improvement plan. The Management Action Plan arising from the review is being overseen by the Council Corporate Management Team with input on the partnership issues from the Healthy Croydon Partnership Executive Group.

For more information about the Healthy Communities Peer Review contact Steve Morton, Healthy Croydon Partnership Manager
Tel: 020 8760 5773
Email: steve.morton@croydon.gov.uk

Review of partnerships in health and social care
Croydon has a broad range of health and care partnership arrangements. These were last reviewed in 2002-03. It is important to ensure that our partnership arrangements are robust and remain ‘fit for purpose’.

A new review began in July 2007 with collection of key documents from fourteen health and care partnership groups. Initial findings were discussed by the HCP Executive Group on 21 September 2007. Follow up interviews with Chairs and lead officers and members of the partnership groups are underway. A final report with recommendations will go to the HCP Executive Group meeting on 6 December 2007. The report will be made available to all partnership groups by the end of December 2007. It will identify best practice and contain an improvement checklist for Partnership Groups which will enable them to identify, prioritise and address areas for improvement.

For more information about the Healthy Communities Peer Review contact Rachel Nicholson, Health Inequalities Policy Officer
Tel: 020 8760 5773
Email: rachel.nicholson@croydon.gov.uk

Croydon’s Think Tanks
Croydon’s Think Tank projects are still going strong! These projects were initiated by Healthy Croydon over 10 years ago to tackle health problems affecting the most deprived areas of Croydon. They aimed to address a wide range of underlying determinants of health such as poor housing, education or income and parenting skills. They are funded by Croydon PCT and Croydon Council. Projects funded through the Think Tanks include the Welfare Benefits Project, Croydon Drop In, the Talk Bus, the SAFE project and the Business Start Up scheme.

A recent evaluation aimed to assess whether Think Tank projects are still delivering effective interventions to improve health and reduce health inequalities in deprived areas of Croydon. It also aimed to establish whether the projects were delivering against current health priorities for the borough in a cost effective way. The conclusion is that the majority of projects are delivering good quality interventions which improve health and contribute to reducing health inequalities. They provide value for money in terms of their impact on individuals’ health and add value in other areas, including, for example, increased family income, access to education and training, and helping vulnerable people stay in their own homes.

For more information about the Think Tank projects contact Rachel Nicholson, Health Inequalities Policy Officer
Tel: 020 8760 5773
Email: rachel.nicholson@croydon.gov.uk

Talk2Croydon
Talk2Croydon - a website aimed at helping people to get involved in decisions that affect them and their communities and supporting organisations with community involvement has been publicly launched. It gives residents a platform to discuss public services, regardless of whether they are run by Croydon NHS, the Council, the police or whoever. As well as being able to raise issues that matter to them, people will be able to find out what changes as a result.To find out more log on to www.talk2croydon.co.uk

Health and Care Forum
Croydon’s Health and Care Forum met on 18 September 2007. The main topics for discussion were the draft Strategy for Mental Health & Social Care in Older Age and also Refugee Health and Care in preparation for the Healthy Croydon Partnership meeting on 31 October 2007. The next meeting will be on 11 December 2007.

For more information about the Health and Care Forum contact Cath Collins, Community Involvement Worker
Tel: 020 8683 7010
Email: cath.collins@cvalive.org.uk

Croydon Council’s Corporate Assessment
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) framework was first introduced for single tier and county councils in 2002 to rate councils on how well they were delivering services to their local communities. Since then it has evolved and in 2005 it was made harder becoming a more stringent assessment with greater emphasis on outcomes for local people and value for money. Under the CPA councils are rated annually by combining scores for individual services to achieve an overall score. Croydon’s current overall CPA score, published in February 2007, is 3 stars, performing well.

One of the key components of the CPA framework is the corporate assessment – a special periodic inspection – that results in a separate score and detailed inspection report. You can view Croydon’s most recent corporate assessment – which took place in 2004/05 – at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/cpa/authority.asp

The Council’s next corporate assessment is scheduled to start on 28 January 2008 for two weeks. It will involve having a team of about 20 inspectors on-site who will interview Council Members, staff, partners, stakeholders and residents, as well as visiting council facilities. Children’s services are also going to be inspected at the same time, in a separate inspection known as the Joint Area Review. Part of the assessment will look at how the Council has worked with its partners to improve health and well-being in the borough.

For more information about CPA contact Linda Oram
Tel: 020 8726 6000 ext. 47016
Email: linda.oram@croydon.gov.uk

PCT Commissioning Strategy Plan
The PCT’s five year Commissioning Strategy Plan was submitted to NHS London on 4 October and will be taken to the PCT’s October Board meeting. Between now and the end of December the PCT will be developing a three year detailed operating plan. The five strategic goals set out in the Commissioning Strategy Plan are:

By 2012, we will improve health and reduce inequalities by focusing on the two areas of greatest potential health gain: children & young people and smoking.

By 2012 we will improve the quality of life for people with long term conditions, through designing a whole system model with generic pathways with increased self care, reduced urgent care and increased provision of planned responses.

By 2012 we will have models of care and deliver services designed around the needs and preferences of local people, which provide services closer to home where possible and centralised where necessary based on quality and expertise.

By 2012 we will improve the quality and infrastructure of maternity services and ensure that all women have choice about the maternity care they receive, together with improved access to services and continuity of midwifery care and support.

By 2012 we will improve services and promote independence for people with learning disabilities through the delivery of the social care change programme which will reprovide services for clients currently in community homes.

For more information on the Commissioning Strategy Plan, contact Fouzia Basit, Assistant Director: Strategic Planning and Performance Improvement
Tel: 020 8274 6205
Email fouzia.basit@croydonpct.nhs.uk


Consultations
At the PCT Board meeting on 28 August 2007 the Board agreed not to take forward the Primary Care Strategy proposals in their current form. The PCT consulted widely on the proposals over three months from March to May 2007. The consultation generated a high level of interest and the PCT received 189 formal responses. A focus group was held to confirm that the findings were accurately represented. Overall, concerns raised by local people indicated a need to undertake further development work, which will also take into consideration the Commissioning Strategy Plan and Healthcare for London proposals. Revised proposals will be developed by March 2008.

Events
SLaM are organising a half day event on Suicide Prevention, 10 December 9.15 – 1.30 at the Bethlem Royal Hospital. For more information contact Kristy Papas on 020 3228 3745 kristy.papas@slam.nhs.uk

The Girls Matter Conference is due to take place at Croydon Chamber Town Hall Croydon on 27 November 2007. It is the first of its kind to be held in Croydon and will focus on five key areas:
Raising Aspirations
Teenage Pregnancy & Sexual Health
Girls & Gangs
NEET – Not in Education, Employment or Training
Self Esteem & Positive Body Images

For more information visit www.girlsmattercroydon.com