Health Management and Policy Alert

Physical health checks for people with a severe mental illness

Race Equality Foundation -
Between 2021 and 2024, the Race Equality Foundation conducted a series of projects to understand in greater detail whether Black African and Caribbean people with severe mental illness (SMI) were aware of and accessing physical health checks (PHCs), an NHS intervention to detect and treat early signs of physical ill health. This work identified several barriers and challenges to the uptake of PHCs which are summarised in this report. It also suggests that awareness and understanding of PHCs within voluntary sector organisations should be improved.

• Report
• Race Equality Foundation - publications

People power: lessons from the health care response to the Grenfell Tower fire

The King's Fund - 

This report examines the health and care response to the Grenfell Tower disaster, how survivors, bereaved families and wider communities stepped in to make their voices heard, and the lessons health and care services across the country can learn.

• Report

More than the sum of our parts: an evaluation of local mental health alliances

Centre for Mental Health - 

The voluntary sector plays a vital role in supporting people with mental health difficulties. Yet, insecure funding and a lack of meaningful collaboration can inhibit voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations from providing the mental health support that people depend on. This report explores how bringing local stakeholders together – including VCSE organisations, NHS commissioners and providers of health and social care, and experts by experience – can lead to more effective and equitable support for people living with a mental illness.

• Report
• More detail

Partners for change

New Philanthropy Capital -
This report argues that, following the general election, charities and funders should be a key partner in delivering the new government’s plans to revitalise the country and can help tackle social challenges such as health inequalities. It includes eight recommendations for putting the partnership between government and charities on a strong footing, nine recommendations in priority policy areas where civil society and government can work together for change, and recommendations for charities and funders on how to support effective partnerships.

• Report
• New Philanthropy Capital - publications

Commissioning community champions: lessons from a pandemic

The King's Fund - 

This report, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, explores how community champions can support communities, what supports the commissioning of community champions, and what might contribute to their sustainability.

• Report
• More detail

How community providers, alongside wider system partners, can support people living with frailty

NHS Providers - 

This briefing highlights the benefits of supporting people with frailty in the community at every stage of the frailty care pathway, while considering the risks to be managed. It shares examples of good practice, and explores some of the barriers to further progress, looking at what can be done to address these and ensure people with frailty receive the right care at the right time in the right place.

• Briefing
• Press release 

 

Transforming power relationships in partnership working

The King's Fund - 

The Healthy Communities Together programme – funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK – has been running since 2020. The programme works in five areas of England to develop partnerships between local statutory and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations that work to improve the health and wellbeing of local communities. This long read examines a recurring theme in the work of these partnerships – how to address power imbalances.

• Long read
• The King's Fund - publications

Exploring and understanding the VCSE sector in provider collaboratives

NHS Confederation - 

The NHS Confederation wanted to better understand the way voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations are working with provider collaboratives. The aim of the project, commissioned by NHS England, was to gather insight, elicit learning and share examples of collaboration in action. This was explored at an online learning event hosted by Lord Victor Adebowale, chair of the NHS Confederation, in partnership with NHS England and independent consultant Jessie Cunnett, and forms the basis of this report.

• Report
• More detail

Snowballs and eels: a rapid review of national funding for cross-sector partnership building in health and care in England from 2019 to 2022

National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) -
This report considers the results of a rapid review of the national funding available for cross-sector partnership building in health and care over the last three years. Considering the longer term, it finds that since the launch of the 42 sustainability and transformation partnerships in 2016, through to the placing of integrated care systems (ICSs) onto a statutory footing in July 2022, much progress has been made. It concludes that external funding and support for the voluntary and community sector (VCS) continues to have a part in supporting local partnerships to develop and thrive and play a full role in ICSs.

• Report
• NAVCA - publications

Actions to support partnership: addressing barriers to working with the VCSE sector in integrated care systems

The King's Fund - 

This report (commissioned by the NHS England Voluntary Partnerships Team) provides an overview of the key actions required to tackle barriers and challenges to better partnership working between integrated care systems (ICS) and the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

• Report