New five-year plan to improve Black Country healthcare unveiled
The five-year plan to help improve health outcomes for people across the Black Country has been revealed.
The NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) has published the local NHS Joint Forward Plan, describing how NHS organisations in the Black Country will work together with other partners, including local authorities and the community and voluntary sector, to arrange and provide services to meet the needs of local people.
It sets out the challenges, health needs and strategic priorities for the Black Country over the next five years to help make the Black Country a healthier place, with healthier people and healthier futures.
To help inform the plan, a public conversation exercise took place in January, which aimed to give staff, partner organisations, people and communities across the Black Country an opportunity to have their say on what is important to them.
Five priority areas have now been set out in the plan, which are improving access and quality of services, community where possible and hospital where necessary, preventing ill health and tackling health inequalities, giving people the best start in life and best place to work.
Mark Axcell, chief executive officer for the NHS Black Country ICB, said: “We know that our health is determined by our own health behaviours and lifestyles, the places, and communities we live in, and the way in which we use health services.
“In our Joint Forward Plan, we have set out the priorities we will focus on over the next five years to improve health outcomes, but we know health can’t do it alone.
"That’s why we’re working in partnership in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, and Wolverhampton to address the wider determinants of health, including income, employment, education, skills and training, housing, and crime.
“This plan is just the start of our journey and I look forward to bringing the plan to life and making a real difference in the health of people living locally.”
The launch of the Joint Forward Plan comes as the Black Country ICB celebrates its one-year anniversary.
Saturday, July 1 marked 12 months since the ICB was formally established, replacing the NHS Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group (BCWB CCG) back in July 2022.
Since then, the Black Country ICB has been responsible for planning and arranging healthcare across the Black Country.
Mr Axcell said: “The launch of our Joint Forward Plan is timely, as we also celebrate the one-year anniversary since the ICB was established.
"In the last 12 months we have already achieved a great deal by working in partnership with organisations in the health and care sector.
"These include the launch of dedicated Acute Respiratory Hubs offering same day, face-to-face GP appointments for children and young people with respiratory symptoms, and virtual wards which are freeing up hospital beds by enabling suitable patients to be monitored from the comfort of their own home.
"We also opened a system control centre that monitors demand on urgent care services across the Black Country in real time.
“However, there is no question that this is a challenging time for health and care services.
"There is positive progress being made to recover from Covid-19, to respond to urgent and emergency care pressures, to support our valuable workforce and to improve our financial position.
“We will continue in our efforts over the next five years to make the Black Country healthier.
"These include a shared care record, ensuring that direct care is improved through access to the right information, and the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, which will open its doors to new state-of-the-art facilities in Spring 2024.
"There will also be improved access to diagnostics and elective care through community diagnostic centres and an increase in theatre capacity, resulting in a further reduction in waiting lists.”
For more information about the plan, go to blackcountry.icb.nhs.uk/about-us/our-priorities/our-5-year-joint-forward-plan
