Decision details

LBBD Public Health were asked to put together a best practice evidence review, as part of the work for both the BHR Transformation Children and Young People’s, and Older People and Frailty Transformation Boards, to outline why this is a key area of focus for BHR, provide headline BHR data and outline best practice for interventions in these areas. The Board will be asked to discuss how local partners should be working as an integrated care system in these areas to improve outcomes for residents.

Public Health Officers delivered a presentation based on the Best Practice Evidence Review Report written for the BHR Children and Young People’s Transformation Board. The Joint Commissioning Board had asked the Transformation Board to prioritise the three areas of ‘Best Start in Life’, ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ (ACEs) and ‘Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities’ (SEND) due to their potential to significantly improve health outcomes for children and young people living in BHR.

Officers asked the Board, having considered the report, to discuss the following questions:

·  The next steps and quick wins across the three priorities of Best Start in Life, ACEs and SEND; and

·  The opportunities for joint commissioning and the role the Health and Wellbeing Board would play.

The Board agreed that one of the next steps would be to get different parts of the system to agree to invest in one pot in order for joint commissioning to work, as this seemed to be a key barrier. The Board’s role was to challenge partners to go back to their governing bodies to get permission to go outside of normal spending restrictions and obtain the commitment for joint commissioning. Board members stated that it was important to identify clear shared benefits of joint commissioning, present evidence for return on investment and create a good understanding of what each element of the system was responsible for commissioning. A potential ‘quick win’ was to build on the ‘early years intervention’ initiative. Finally, rather than trying to deliver all three priorities at once, the Board felt that officers should consider initially prioritising one area, namely ‘Best Start in Life’, and delivering it well.