A far-reaching strategy to improve the health of people in Derby and Derbyshire has been agreed by partners.
Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Strategy has been developed by Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Partnership.
This is a new organisation created in July 2022 and made up of organisations including NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), local councils, NHS care provider organisations, Healthwatch and Derby and Derbyshire Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector Alliance.
The strategy was agreed by Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Partnership's board in April and this week it received its final approvals on Thursday 15 June from Derbyshire County Council's cabinet and on Wednesday 14th June from Derby City Council's cabinet.
The strategy sets out three "key areas of focus" for health, council and community organisations:
- Start well – To improve overall care and reduce inequalities in health, social, emotional, and physical development of children from birth to age five.
- Stay well – To improve prevention and early intervention of the three main clinical causes of ill health and early death in the Derby and Derbyshire population - circulatory disease, respiratory disease and cancer.
- Age well and die well – To enable older people to live healthy, independent lives at their normal home for as long as possible. This will prioritise health and wellbeing, help people in a crisis to remain at home where possible, and maximise a return to independence following a worsening of health or crisis events that results in emergency or urgent care, or hospital admission.
In addition, the strategy aims to tackle health inequalities, which are avoidable, unfair differences in health between different groups of people.
The strategy has been developed using insight, feedback and information gathered from health organisations, local authorities, Healthwatch and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Alliance.
More than 200 people from partner and community organisations, as well as the public, have taken part in discussion groups about the three key areas of focus during May.
Their feedback will be now used, together with input from other organisations, to develop projects and changes that will fulfil the aims of the strategy.
Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Partnership is jointly chaired by Cllr Carol Hart, Derbyshire County Council cabinet member for health and communities, and Cllr Alison Martin, Derby City Council cabinet member for integrated adult care and health.
Cllr Hart said: "Integrated care is not a solution in itself but it allows us to develop new ways of working, use new technology and maximise the skills of our workforce to create new opportunities to collaborate and work together.
"We’ve been working together for many years to improve the health and wellbeing of Derbyshire residents and through our shared local commitment and the work laid out in the strategy, we will continue to do all we can to do our best for Derby and Derbyshire."
Cllr Martin said: “This strategy is the first step in making changes towards joined-up health care in Derby and Derbyshire. The Council will be working in partnership with the NHS, the Integrated Care Board and the voluntary sector to focus on not just immediate health care but on lifelong health care for individuals.
"A key aim is to try to combat health inequalities, which are a significant problem in Derby. Although much of this is due to economic inequality, it is important that health services are delivered equally for everyone.”
John MacDonald, chair of NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, said: "Many people in Derby and Derbyshire live for a long time with long-term conditions. There are stark differences in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy between local populations.
"Through this strategy we will therefore aim to increase life expectancy and healthy life expectancy and reduce the inequalities experienced between populations."
Read a summary version or a full version of the strategy on the Joined Up Care Derbyshire website.