Agenda item

The Leader was aware in her role as Chair of  Health and Wellbeing Board, that organisations in Haringey and Islington have been working ever more closely together to address the health and care needs of the population. Service redesign, through integrated working, as this approach enables better provision of services in the future.

Health and care organisations in Haringey and Islington wanted to formalise this approach and were doing so by signing up to the attached Haringey and Islington Wellbeing Partnership Agreement (Appendix 1). At this stage, the agreement sets out the reasons for working collaboratively and the ways in which this may be done. It sets commitments to increased collaboration and timescales for achieving these milestones.

A formal commitment to the Partnership Agreement was needed from the respective borough’s decision making bodies and it was envisaged that any decisions arising from the Islington and Haringey Wellbeing Partnership Board, which is an informal body, would be taken back through the decision making structures of partner organisations.

RESOLVED

To agree that the London Borough of Haringey becomes a signatory of the Haringey and Islington Wellbeing Partnership Agreement which was attached as Appendix 1.

Reasons for the Decision:

The statutory Health and Wellbeing Boards in Haringey and Islington have been meeting in common for over 8 months and have agreed to meet as a single joint subcommittee from June 2017. The demographics, health and care needs of the people of the two boroughs are similar and benefits have been identified in tackling the challenges facing health and social care systems together. The Boards have also supported the development of a Partnership Agreement between partner health and care organisations in Islington and Haringey in order to better address service improvements.

The Partnership Agreement sets out the governance structure for health and care partners, working together, to deliver: better health and care services, to reduce inequalities and improve health and wellbeing outcomes for the people of Haringey and Islington. This agreement includes formal commitment to the Islington and Haringey Wellbeing Partnership Board which will be the forum through which system wide partnership working will be taken forward and will interact with a range health and social care groups to enable better delivery of services through closer working.

Community involvement is also a key factor of the governance structure and it includes a ‘community reference committee’ to ensure engagement, co-production and assurance of user involvement in service redesign. Local stakeholders are being supported to co- produce the stakeholder input to the Wellbeing Partnership governance arrangements.

A formal commitment to the Partnership Agreement is needed from the respective borough’s decision making bodies and it is envisaged that any decisions arising from the Islington and Haringey Wellbeing Partnership Board, which is an informal body, would be taken back through the decision making structures of partner organisations.

This governance structure could also enable partners, in future, to work together towards the full collaboration of an accountable care system. Such sharing should build the base for future delegation of powers to the Partnership.

Alternative options considered

No other formal partnership arrangements with other boroughs have been considered at this time. Haringey and Islington councils are both facing similar health and care issues in their populations, are neighbouring boroughs and this agreement would build on the existing positive history of joint working between these boroughs. Not taking forward a partnership agreement would impact on the focus and structure of the organisations working together to tackle health inequalities and also mean that services such as education, housing, planning, which have a real impact on people’s health and wellbeing, are not fully involved in a much needed wider approach to meeting the health and care needs of both borough’s populations.