We’re working to make it easier for you to understand where you can go when you have an urgent health need or healthcare emergency and ensure the treatment you receive is timely and of high quality.
Priorities and projects
We will ensure that when you require urgent and emergency care you receive the right support in the right place – first time
We want to connect urgent and emergency care services together to fully meet the physical, mental health and social care needs of everyone living in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
We’re committed to providing a responsive, urgent health service outside of hospital so you no longer need to queue in hospital emergency departments
We will ensure that adults and children with more serious or life threatening emergency needs receive treatment in centres with the right facilities, processes and expertise in order to maximise their chances of survival and a good recovery.
Aims and outcomes
We want you to go to the right place, first time to meet your urgent and emergency care needs
We’re working to connect urgent and emergency care services and deliver the national requirement for Urgent Treatment Centres
We want a ‘single system’ approach to the way services are planned and delivered
We want to ensure the right services are provided out of hospital to your home
We’re making sure the correct processes and support are in place to enable you to be discharged from hospital in a safe and timely manner.
We want to deliver high quality and effective services safely in the right setting, at the right time and with the right health and care professional. We want people living in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to be able to access high quality elective care that is both clinically and financially sustainable. Furthermore, alliances of local providers working across organisational boundaries will deliver efficient health and care that is coordinated and collaborative.
Priorities and projects
We’re developing seven-day elective centres to ensure improvements in productivity, efficiency and the quality of care
We’re looking to increase the uptake of cancer screening to improve early access and detection
We’re promoting an increase in the uptake of self-care where appropriate
We’re developing a Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent-wide sustainable model for outpatient and day case provision
We’re also committed to developing fully consolidated diagnostic services.
Aims and outcomes
By 2020, we want to see a system in place whereby you should only need to attend hospital to receive treatment that cannot be provided elsewhere – community ‘triage and treat’ services will be expanded, some through GP practices
You will be empowered and supported to self-care
We want non-emergency hospital services to be largely separated from the urgent care system, avoiding the cancellation of operations that can result from peaks in demand
Your care will be delivered through a collaborative and joined up system that is accountable for the delivery of each step of your care, with no ‘hand offs’ or inconsistency of service.
We have multiple objectives focused on improving maternity services alongside services for children and young people. With regards to maternity services, the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Maternity Transformation Programme is working in partnership with Together We’re Better and new parents to develop local services that meet the recommendations of NHS England’s Better Births report. In terms of children and young people, we’re developing an action plan to tackle those areas where services can be improved.
Priorities and projects
Maternity
We want to work with maternity services from surrounding areas to learn and share best practice in order to improve the quality and safety of maternity and newborn services
We’re recruiting a team of Maternity Champions to work with women and families in co-producing and improving services (see case study)
We’re empowering staff in maternity services to develop new ways of working; e.g. increasing personalised care planning
We’re working in partnership with Public Health to undertake a range of developments to improve the health and wellbeing of women and babies; e.g. increase breastfeeding rates
We’re increasing perinatal mental health service capacity across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and launching a campaign to reduce perinatal mental health stigma.
Children and Young People
Reducing inappropriate demand in children’s health and social care services with a focus on the most vulnerable (looked after children, children in need of protection)
Embed a preventative approach with a focus on early years, positive parenting and early interventions
Work across the system to improve the pathways and transition points for children with complex health needs.
Aims and outcomes
Maternity
We want to see a 50% reduction in stillbirths by 2025 (20% by 2021)
We want 90% of women to be able to choose from three birth settings by 2021
We want to see a 50% reduction by 2025 in neonatal brain injuries occurring during childbirth
We want a minimum of 51% of women to be on a continuity of carer pathway by 2021
Become a Maternity Champion
If you would like to become a voluntary Maternity Champion, attending parent and baby groups, Children’s Centres, libraries or hospitals wards gathering feedback from women and their experience of maternity services, please email the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Maternity Voices Partnership on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
You will not have to do anything outside your normal day-to-day routine and can speak to women as and when you attend groups yourself. The feedback you provide will help inform our work and improve maternity services across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Search for updates via the hashtags #PanStaffsMVP or #PanStaffsMTP on Twitter.
You can also join the Maternity Voices Partnership via its Facebook group page – search for ‘Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Maternity Voices Partnership’.
We’re working to enable you and your family to take control of and manage your own health and wellbeing so that health and care services can be there when you really need them.
Priorities and projects
We want to simplify and connect services to ensure we have a local health and care system that promotes independence and wellbeing
We’re working to create a ‘think family and community first’ culture so that you and your family are able to live independently and manage your own care needs
We want to ensure you are able to access information that supports wellbeing and healthier lifestyles
We are seeking to reduce the risks to your wellbeing by improving where and how you live.
Aims and outcomes
We’re determined to reduce the risk of falls by supporting you to maintain and regain your independence and reduce the need for more complex care – helping to cut the risk of a visit to A&E and being admitted to hospital
By supporting you to maintain good health or improve your wellbeing, we hope to see a reduction in the number of people who need health or social care support
We’re seeking to reduce the level of diabetes, obesity and heart disease in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent by working with you to avoid or reduce the risks of developing these conditions
We’re also working with local government organisations, the Beat the Cold charity and EON to bid for money to address the cost of heating energy inefficient and cold homes.
Resources
Mental Health
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Summary
We’re committed to ensuring that older people, adults, young people and children in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent are supported whether they find themselves in need of help in a mental health crisis, or whether their day-to-day mental health and wellbeing is affected. We’re working in a collaborative way to ensure your mental health and physical health needs receive equal priority and also ensure you receive help and support closer to your home and family.
Priorities and projects
Children and young people will not be unnecessarily admitted to hospital, while children with an eating disorder will receive a responsive service; furthermore we want to see a greater number of children and young people accessing mental health services when they need them
You will experience services that are built around your needs, with mental health and physical health services working alongside primary, community and social care
We have an ambition of zero suicides
We will ensure you do not have to go out of the area to receive in-patient care as we aim to have enough beds across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
If you are in mental crisis we want you to be able to access support 24/7 and ensure you know where you can access this support.
Aims and outcomes
We want to increase the number of psychiatric intensive care beds and reduce significantly the number of patients being sent out of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to receive care
We are committed to providing seven-day-a-week child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
We are expanding crisis and home treatment teams to ensure more people are treated in their own home, avoiding inpatient stays
We are committed to reducing the number of people who take their own life or experience self-harm
We want to reduce the number of people who frequently attend A&E with mental health concerns and also reduce the number of frequent callers to ambulance services
We’re developing a 24/7 intensive outreach service that includes support to young people with eating disorders.
We’re developing health and care services that work in a fully joined up way across 23 localities in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, with a number of hubs providing GP services and other teams delivering more specialist care. We’re also seeking to redesign local community hospitals and develop more effective end of life services.
Priorities and projects
We’re introducing Integrated Care Teams (ICTs) across 23 localities in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent that bring together general practice, community and mental health services, alongside social care professionals and the voluntary and independent sector – each team will serve 30-70,000 people and be based around neighbouring GP practices
We’re developing high quality, sustainable GP services based on an average registered population list of 10,000 people
We’re redesigning Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent’s six Community Hospitals to reduce the variation in how beds are used – this will be supported by Integrated Care Teams
We’re developing an end-of-life service that ensures equal access to consistent clinically appropriate care and services built around your needs.
Aims and outcomes
We want ICTs to enable you to remain independent for longer by reducing the need to attend or stay in hospital – four early adopter ICT sites are located in Leek/Biddulph, Lichfield/Burntwood, Longton/Meir and Stafford, with more to follow across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
We’re working to develop sustainable general practice services that provide extended access to your doctor and enable GPs to spend more time with patients with greater need
We want to remove the variation in the use of community hospital beds
We’re committed to providing greater support for people approaching the end of life, carers and those wishing to plan in advance for their own end of life care.
We’re working with health and social care provider organisations, as well as the voluntary sector across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to deliver our three core priorities of sustainability, transformation and developing a future workforce.
Priorities and projects
We’re developing a number of new recruitment initiatives, including UK/international recruitment, retention and flexible working, while also improving how temporary staff are used
We’re supporting local health and social care services to become more joined up
We’re helping to transform our ‘primary care’ workforce (staff providing the first point of contact in our healthcare system), while also delivering Health Education England’s ‘Facing the Facts, Shaping the Future’ workforce strategy
We’re also focusing on developing our future health and care workforce by widening participation, for example nursing apprenticeships, and generating new opportunities, including training hubs and working more closely with the voluntary and independent sector.
Aims and outcomes
We’ve developed a Together We’re Better Workforce Strategy which takes a system wide approach to workforce development, recruitment and retention
The Redeployment Service has generated £3.6m of savings to date and stopped 150 people from being made redundant across health; local government organisations have recently joined the process
We’re working to implement new roles to address skills gaps and patient needs more effectively and efficiently
A Domiciliary Care Strategy has been developed and work is taking place across the system to address workforce gaps
We’re developing a Careers Hub to encourage employees considering leaving the profession to receive advice, guidance and signposting
We’re developing flexible apprenticeships for end of life, therapies and frailty care to enhance the quality of the service offered.
We’re utilising the latest digital technology to deliver new models of health and care across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. By supporting in the transformation of local health and care services, digital has the power to help people to live healthier lives, manage their own health and wellbeing and reduce the demand on local services.
Priorities and projects
We’re excited to lead on the introduction of Your Care Connected, a new digital shared care record linking NHS and local government organisations to benefit patients and health and care professionals
We want to develop a set of digital standards enabling efficient and equal access to health and care
We want to see an improvement in frontline health and care services through the use of innovative apps and digital technologies
We are seeking to establish a robust, future proof and state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure
We’re developing a Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent informatics network that will share best practice and improve services.
Aims and outcomes
We’re working to ensure health and care information is available to health and care professionals as and when they need it, regardless of their location and organisation
We want to fully utilise digital technologies so you can manage your own care, including your families, friends and carers
We’re working to best use digital technology to improve efficiency and care coordination
We want to see a more proactive healthcare management system in place that really works for you.
Health and Care in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
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We know we need to think differently, be innovative, and work together to change health and care services so that Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can become the healthiest places to live and work.
We are on a journey to improve services and ensure they are clinically and financially sustainable for the future.
Your feedback is helping us to develop future proposals for service change.
You can find out more about our work through this section of the website.
Find out more
What is This About? provides more information on our work to improve health and care services
Listening Exercise – find out more about the listening exercise held in 2019 and the feedback we received
Our Journey provides more information about the steps we have taken and the timeline for what will be happening next
News & Documents– stay up to date with the latest news on our transformation work or read more detailed information in our publications
Areas of focus:
Simplifying local urgent and emergency care
New vision for local health and care focussed on high quality community based care (including maternity, mental health and planned care)
How we can embrace and fully utilise new technology and ensure the buildings we deliver services from are fit for purpose
Reviewing the use and function of the community hospitals in South Staffordshire
Exploring what ‘integration of health and care services’ really means for local people
Identifying additional priorities to deliver clinical and financial stability
Get Involved – help inform our work, by joining our Local Representatives group or People’s Panel
See our contact us page for information on how to get in touch with us.
Organisational Development and Leadership
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Summary
We want to develop leaders who have the skills and resilience to work in an integrated health and care system that more effectively supports local people. We’re working with other Together We’re Better programmes to ensure frontline staff are fully engaged and have the tools and techniques they need to continuously improve care and evidence their practice. There is also the need for enhanced partnership working and joint accountability.
Priorities and projects
We want to identify and develop aspiring talent, ensuring as many excellent candidates as possible have the opportunity to fill senior level vacancies
We’re supporting Together We’re Better’s engagement of health and care professionals
We want to develop leaders who are engaging and committed to empowering their staff to be the best that they can
We are continuing to support compassion recognition schemes.
Aims and outcomes
We’ve successfully bid to become an early adopter pilot for the NHS Leadership Academy’s High Potential Scheme, which is aimed at identifying talented members of our workforce to succeed in senior roles
An innovative Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Leadership Programme is proving to be a great success in seeking to address imbalances in BAME representation in leadership roles at every level, with all available places filled
An NHS compassion recognition scheme is in place across NHS trusts in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, with hundreds of staff having received praise from colleagues and service users.
Staffordshire Stepping Up Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Leadership Programme
Our partners are working closely together to achieve this transformation through a series of work programmes. Each programme is clinically-led and focussed on its own aims and objectives to ensure local people have access to high quality, sustainable services for the future.
Priorities and projects
We’re supporting Together We’re Better’s five capital priority projects – Outwoods health and care campus in Burton, additional bed capacity in our acute hospitals, Longton South, urgent care and detoxification, and maternity and neonatal
We’re seeking to reform and upgrade our estate to support the transformation of local health and care services
We’re working to identify surplus land and housing opportunities
We’re supporting the development of new models of care through new Community Hubs
Aims and outcomes
We are committed to delivering the right services, in the right places, that are locality focused and offer fully joined up health and care services
Our approach is one of prevention and wellness, developing resilience and reducing the future cost of care with a clear focus on housing
We’re working with other Together We’re Better programmes to ensure changes are made to the way we work, enabling savings to be made in the efficient use of our estate
We will continuously review of our long-term estate, ensuring Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) properties are fully utilised
We want to use our estate flexibly to ensure it is being fully utilised, including seven day working
We want to address and reduce the backlog of maintenance, duplication and underutilised estate.
One Health and Care is a confidential digital shared care record for people living in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. One Health and Care brings data together from the different organisations involved in health and social care. It allows doctors, nurses and other registered health and social care professionals directly involved in patient/client care to view relevant information in order to provide better and safer care. The One Health and Care system go live begins early 2020.
Partner organisations
When you visit any of the organisations listed below, or use services provided by them, staff directly involved in their care will have access to the important information from health and social care records.
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent GP practices
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
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About One Health and Care