Healthier Futures News – May 2024
May 28, 2024
Dear colleagues, 
Welcome to the May edition of our Healthier Futures Newsletter.
Here you will find stories sharing the success from across our place-based
partnerships, our NHS provider collaboratives and our frontline health and care staff.
In this edition we are recognising the increasing role of community pharmacy
in supporting our community’s health needs, we have some great reminders
of our achievements through recently acquired awards and we showcase the
work of our collaboratives and place-based partnerships.
As we enter a new financial year, I am reminded of our challenges across
health and care, including:
• Restoration and recovery from COVID-19 – whilst significant progress has
been made to reduce waiting list backlogs, we need to ensure that we continue
to recover services and address existing health inequalities in access.
• Urgent and emergency care pressures – whilst we are one of the better
performing systems for delivery of the four-hour accident and emergency
target, urgent and emergency care remains our most pressured area. The
demand for services at peak times, particularly in the colder months, is
exceeding the capacity which we have.
• Out of hospital care demand – whilst we have improved access to out of
hospital services, the demand for out of hospital services including primary,
mental, community services and social care is continuing to increase as a
result of a growing ageing population and chronic disease.
• Workforce – we know that we have significant challenges including an ageing
workforce, recruitment and retention challenges, and that looking after the
health and wellbeing of staff is a key priority.
• Finance and efficiency – our system is facing significant financial challenges
which can only be addressed by partners working together to deliver
increased productivity, transforming and redesigning services to drive
improved outcomes and make better use of resources. It is key that we
focus on being financially stable so that we have the resources needed to
focus on prevention to address the health inequalities affecting our most
disadvantaged people and communities.
Despite these we have much to be proud of and together we remain
committed to driving forward our plans for integrated care that meets the
needs of our diverse population. NHS partners have recently published a
refreshed Joint Forward Plan and as an Integrated Care Partnership we
are refreshing our Integrated Care Strategy. We recognise that there are still
challenges to be overcome, but we are confident that by working together,
we can continue to make progress towards our shared goals. The future
opportunities are limitless as we continue to strengthen our relationships
across the health and care sector and across a broader perspective, with other
public services that benefit the Black Country population, we are confident we
will see these opportunities delivered.
Finally, on behalf of the partnership, I want to express our best wishes
to Professor David Loughton CBE, Group Chief Executive for The Royal
Wolverhampton and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trusts, who retired at the end of
April.
Professor David Loughton CBE has dedicated much of his life to improving
health services locally and his success can be put down to his passion, drive
and ability to deliver. His leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and
the work he has done to transform local services such as pathology are just
two examples of the immense contribution which he has made. I’m sure you
will join me in wishing him a long, healthy and happy retirement as he has
more than earned it.
To read May’s newsletter, click here.
With best wishes,
Jonathan Fellows
Chair, Black Country Integrated Care Partnership
Chair, Black Country Integrated Care Board