The Board received an update from Amy Gibbs Independent Chair of Tower Hamlets Together (THT) which can be abridged as set out below:

The Board:

v  Noted as the people of Tower Hamlets, understand what is needed to improve health and wellbeing in the borough. The Council, the NHS and Community organisations in Tower Hamlets need to be better at listening and collaborating with people to make sure health and care services better address people’s needs. Therefore, THT had organised three events to look at (1) how information is shared and how much power there for local people to change things; (2) the work with and for all the people of Tower Hamlets to create meaningful improvements in health, wellbeing, and equity. Through bringing together health partners, local authorities and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, with residents, patients, and service users to improve how we plan and deliver care and support services. The outcome of these discussions will form the basis of a report to the Health and Well-Being Board.

v  Noted that in regard to the Better Care Fund (BCF) that THT following discussions with residents and stakeholders had agreed that effective performance management of the BCF works best in a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of services and are prepared to be open with each other. In an open culture, it is also possible to learn from mistakes. It will also help in getting a vital understanding of other organisations’ performance drivers, risks and how they link in with local government. With the Health Well Being Board taking a lead in promoting and modelling this.

v  Noted that THT had considered the implications of the reduction in NEL ICB running costs and the implications for local clinical leadership roles. It is therefore important that options are identified for local funding to sustain the team of multi-disciplinary clinical leads that are in place to support transformation and deeper integration.

v  Noted that the THT has also considered the Better Care Fund in relation to 2023-25, which is a total pooled fund of £57m and the plan is due by 28 June. This is not new money and THT needs to deliver against 5 national metrics, including a new one on the number of falls in the community and existing ones on avoidable admissions into hospital, number of discharges to normal place of residence, proportion of over 65 still at home 91 days after leaving hospital and permanent admission to residential and nursing care homes. The BCF offers the opportunity for better joint oversight, joint delivery against joint metrics, financial benefits, and improvements in outcomes – Therefore it is important to review the overall logic and impact of the schemes. As well as ensuring that there are robust financial governance about how the BCF is being spent and monitored.

v  Noted that THT had considered the North East London (NEL - HCP) Health and Care Partnerships strategy that highlights six crosscutting themes which are part of a new approach for working together across north east London.

v  Noted that the strategy sets out how they will improve quality and outcomes and the key areas that need to be secured as foundations for integrated working. The development of the strategy is a truly collaborative process involving colleagues from across NEL - HCP who despite the challenging timescales had come together to share their expertise and insights with THT.

v  Noted that the THT will be involved in the NEL-HCP “Our Big Conversation” which is about listening to the people in the communities and understanding their views about health and care in north east London. This will help the NEL-HCP focus on what matters to residents and to collaborate with them to improving quality and outcomes and tackle health inequalities.

v  Noted that following discussions with REAL, the charity run by and for disabled people, THT has acknowledged that within the Borough the most is not being made out of co-production and  generally the focus is on informing, education or consultation and  there remains an imbalance of power, knowledge and skills between decision-makers and people who use the services.

v  Noted REAL set THT a number of challenge and to report back to the Health and Wellbeing Board on the actions including how co-production works best e.g., how to make decisions about when to use co-production.

v  Noted that THT is looking to develop the relationship with the Health and Well-Being Board (e.g., how to make sure that there is no duplicating), and that both boards are doing specific functions linking with each other where appropriate.

v  Noted that to facilitate this the Independent Chair is in discussions with the Health and Well-Being Board support team about a more formal way to report to the Board (e.g., a written report and with a frequency of the reporting process that what works best for the Health and Well-Being Board Members).