3 North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups announce appointments to strategic leadership team

The three North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby CCG, NHS Harrogate and Rural District CCG and NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG, today announce two appointments to their shared senior leadership team.

Wendy Balmain has joined the team as Director of Strategy and Integration. Wendy previously served as Director of Transformation and Delivery for Harrogate and Rural District CCG where she was responsible for delivering health care commissioning for the CCG and led work to integrate community and adult social care services. Wendy brings extensive experience across health and social care both at a national and local level to her new role. As Director of Strategy and Integration she will be responsible for primary care transformation and commissioning, including implementation of primary care networks, and will work closely with partners across North Yorkshire to expand integrated service models.

Simon Cox has been appointed permanent Director of Acute Commissioning. Simon has been serving in this role temporarily since January 2019. Prior to this he served as Chief Officer of NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG. Simon started his career as a practitioner in operating theatres in Leeds General Infirmary and brings thirty years of NHS experience to his new role. As Director of Acute Commissioning he will oversee the relationship with acute providers across the three North Yorkshire CCGs including commissioning and performance. He will also support transformation and service redesign initiatives ensuring that acute care best serves the needs of North Yorkshire.

Both Wendy and Simon have commenced in their new roles. Amanda Bloor, Accountable Officer for the North Yorkshire CCGs, said: “I am delighted that we have secured such talented senior leaders to work alongside me as we transform the way we deliver for the people of North Yorkshire.

“Wendy and Simon are the first directors to join the team which will provide strategic leadership for the three North Yorkshire CCGs, replacing director positions which were previously replicated across the CCGs. This ‘scaled up’ approach will enable us to work strategically with our partners as well as achieve consistent decision making across North Yorkshire for the people we serve.

“Both Wendy and Simon bring a wealth of health care and leadership experience and decades of public service to their new roles. They are committed to retaining the local focus of our work, delivering for local people, while enabling us to share good practice across North Yorkshire. This will enable us to make the most of our combined resources and contribute to better health outcomes for our community.”

In September 2018 the three CCGs’ Governing Bodies voted to introduce a shared senior leadership team across the three organisations. Recruitment is under way for three remaining positions on the new team:  Director of Vulnerable People, Director of Corporate service, Governance and Performance and Chief Nurse. Announcements will be made once appointments have taken place.

For further information contact the Communications Team at hardccg.media-enquiries@nhs.net or 01423 799300.

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Behavioural services in Scarborough – statement

Following extensive clinical and
managerial discussions between York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and
NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) regarding
children and young people’s behavioural services in Scarborough, the Trust made
the decision that it is no longer the appropriate provider for this specialist
service.

In December 2018 the Trust informed the
CCG of this decision and supported the CCG in identifying alternative
specialist mental health providers for these services.

These providers have now
been lined up by NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG and families will be written
to and informed of the new arrangements for their child as soon as contract
arrangements have been finalised.

A small number of
children will be referred back to their GP to discuss future care options.

The behavioural
services included in the new provision will include children and young people’s
autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnostic
assessments, as well as referrals for behavioural problems where there may also
be health concerns to be addressed. These services will continue to be provided
in Scarborough.

The majority of Community
Paediatric and Children’s Therapy services provided by York Teaching Hospital
NHS Foundation Trust are unaffected by these changes and will continue to be
provided in Scarborough.

Dr Peter Billingsley, NHS
Scarborough and Ryedale CCG Associate Chair, said: “The decision of our local
Trust has given us an opportunity to bring forward plans for developing more
specialist and tailored services for some of our most vulnerable children and
their families, and we will continue to do this over the coming year in
partnership with North Yorkshire County Council and others.

“Ultimately, our
ambition is to reduce waiting times and speed up diagnosis so we can help more
families in Scarborough and Ryedale.

“The Trust is working
closely and very positively with the CCG and the new providers to minimise
disruption and make sure all of the children who are on the caseload now, and
who have been referred in more recently, will be transferred safely and
communications will be going out to all those families over the next couple of
weeks.”

Across North
Yorkshire, clinical commissioning groups are facing similar issues and over the
next 12 months the CCGs will be working together to review all behavioural
service models, alongside partners including GPs, the local authority, children
and their families to see how services can work better together to develop a
robust and sustainable model and reduce the waiting times for these behaviour
services going forward.  

In the meantime
children and their families should continue to access health services through
their GP as required, and if parents and families require information or advice
they are requested to visit the NHS website when seeking assistance in
addressing behaviour concerns at https://www.nhs.uk/

Parents, families or
carers can access North Yorkshire County Council services for advice,
information and support which includes the Healthy Child Programme (Health
Visitors and School Nurses) by visiting the websites below for details:

There are also a
number of charities which provide useful information and support around
children’s behaviour issues:

If there are any other identified health needs or concerns then families should contact their GP for advice, support and onward referral as required to other core health services which can address these health needs.

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Survey: Expectant mums, new parents asked how they wish to receive information about their pregnancy care choices

Expectant
and new mums in parts of Yorkshire and the Humber region are being asked for
their views on how information about their pregnancy and childbirth care
options should be shared with them and their families.

The Humber, Coast and Vale Maternity Voices Partnership Group is a network of
independent, parent-led groups which bring together women and their families
with healthcare professionals, clinicians and NHS managers responsible for
maternity services in the areas of Hull, East Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire,
North East Lincolnshire, Vale of York and Scarborough and Ryedale to develop
local maternity care.

The group wants to hear from mums-to-be and new parents in these areas about
how they wish to receive information about the options available relating to
the care they receive during pregnancy and childbirth – for example, where they
can give birth.

The Maternity Voices Partnership Group has created a survey on the subject, and
is encouraging mums-to-be and new parents to share their views so they can
determine the best way to share this important information with them in the
future.

The survey, which runs until Friday, 31st May 2019, can be viewed at: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/hcvchoices

Ruth Prentice, Independent Chair of the Humber, Coast and Vale Maternity
Voices Partnership Group, said: “Maternity Voices Partnerships are here to
enable all women and their families to have a say in their local maternity
services. We are keen to hear how new and expectant mums would like information
about their choices relating to the care they receive during pregnancy and
childbirth to be shared with them.

“If you have a few spare moments please complete the survey to help us
understand how you want to receive this important information. The survey takes
just five minutes to complete and the responses are anonymous. The findings
from the survey will be shared with local organisations to help improve
maternity services in the local area.”

Sallie Ward, Humber, Coast and Vale Local Maternity System Midwife, said: “Your
views are integral in helping maternity care providers and commissioners
deliver improvements to maternity services in the Humber, Coast and Vale area.
So if you’re pregnant or have recently had a baby, we’d be extremely grateful
if you could take a few minutes to complete the survey.”

For more information about the work of Maternity Voices Partnerships, visit: www.nationalmaternityvoices.org.uk

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NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG moves towards North Yorkshire merger

North Yorkshire’s three clinical
commissioning groups (CCGs) have agreed to merge.

The decision was ratified during a meeting in public of the Governing Bodies which represent NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby CCG, NHS Harrogate and Rural District CCG and NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG, meeting as a ‘Committee in Common’.

A detailed formal proposal will be
submitted to NHS England by 30 September and should it be approved, the three
CCGs will begin operating as a single, statutory organisation from 1 April next
year.

NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby CCG
Chair, Dr Charles Parker, said the proposed merger represents “a great
opportunity to improve healthcare for the people of North Yorkshire”.

NHS Harrogate and Rural District Chair, Dr
Alistair Ingram, said: “A single commissioning voice will make it easier to
reduce some of the health inequalities we see across the county and there will
be less duplication and bureaucracy.”

NHS Scarborough and Ryedale CCG Associate
Chair, Dr Peter Billingsley added: “Importantly, the governance model that will
be introduced will still allow there to be strong local leadership and patient
engagement, ensuring each area of North Yorkshire will continue to have a
strong clinical voice and patients’ views are represented.”

The proposed merger comes on the back of
reviews carried out by each of the three North Yorkshire CCGs last year, with
Amanda Bloor, formerly the Accountable Officer for Harrogate and Rural District
CCG, subsequently appointed the Accountable Officer across the three North
Yorkshire CCGs in December.

A shared executive leadership team is set
to be implemented soon.

The
proposal to merge has the unanimous backing of the three CCGs’ Council of
Members / Clinical Representatives (made up of local GPs and practice managers)
and the Local Medical Committee.

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Self-care on the agenda at Filey health and wellbeing day

Filey Surgery and its
patient participation group have joined forces to organise a self-care health
care day at the town’s Evron Centre in John Street.

It takes place on Friday
10 May between 11am and 3pm; entry is free and refreshments are being provided
by Filey Tesco.

Local organisations
and services offering help and advice on a number of self-help health related
issues will be represented, including Carers Resource, Age UK, Alzheimer’s
Society, NHS weight management, Slimming World, Bike About Filey, Otago
Strength and Balance, Everyone Active, Filey Lions Club and Filey Tennis and
Bowling Club.

There will also be
self-care help and advice from Filey Surgery, with everyone welcome.

Filey Surgery Practice
Manager, Carolyn Liddle, said: “I want to thank our patient participation group
for helping to pull this event together and the organisations who are kindly
supporting it.

“This is a great
opportunity for people to find out more about how they can take care of
themselves or make changes to their lifestyle to improve their overall health
and wellbeing.”

The event in Filey is also supported by NHS
Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

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