Network Strategies

Network Structure - Delivering programmes at sub-regional level

Currently the Public Health Network Business plan for 2009 – 2010 has four key enablers that support PCT’s and partners by facilitating innovative ways for closer engagement and collaboration across Lancashire.

  • Supporting commissioning
  • Delivering programmes at a sub-regional level
  • Building and developing the public health workforce
  • Creating a positive health environment

Delivering programmes at a sub regional level.

The delivery programmes listed below will provide a dedicated work stream resource to promote collaboration and avoid duplication:-

  • Alcohol
  • Healthy Weight
  • Sexual Health
  • Tobacco Control

They will provide a conduit for two way communications between the Department of Health, North West regional tier and the localities. Providing enhanced topic specific activity across the Network by generating and utilising evidence based practice and intelligence to underpin decision-making. The delivery programme will support the Network and its key stakeholders by working in partnership to identify opportunities for collaboration which compliment rather than duplicate activity.

Additional work streams could be added, if resources are identified, allowing a flexible and responsive approach to emerging public health priorities.

Each Stream will provide through appropriate structures a mechanism to:-

  • Provide a strategic perspective on all topic related activity inline with national strategy and policy
  • Provide strategic leadership to ensure consistent and co-ordinated responses in the given topic area
  • Encourage and support leadership in public health, with partners and key stakeholders
  • Oversee and support the development of local service delivery
  • Improve, share and establish topic specific evidence base and appropriate dissemination
  • Identify promising practice across topics, to test and evaluate the evidence for effectiveness and to share where appropriate
  • Provide a focal point for implementation of the specific recommendations from national and regional policy
  • Act as a conduit to source, secure and co-ordinate resourcing for topic specific activity
  • Ensuring that communications, CPD, workforce issues and supported commissioning activities are appropriate across the work streams

This will enable the Network to evidence the value of working collaboratively and setting collective partnership actions that enhance topic specific delivery and support the main components of public health.

Each work stream will have a dedicated Co-ordinator supported by the Network Delivery Programme Manager who will take responsibility for co-ordinating the development and delivery of a detailed work plan. These work plans will be developed in partnership with all key stakeholders at a national, regional and local level. Details of the individual work programmes will be available on the Public Health Network website www.clph.net

Engagement and Influence

Network Chief Executive Lead - Ian Cumming Chief Executive NHS North Lancashire

The Network chief executive lead acts as a champion for sexual health service development and provides a reporting mechanism.

Network Director of Public Health lead - Dr Arif Rajpura the DPH from NHS Blackpool

The network has a nominated DPH Director of Public Health lead – DR Arif Rajpura from NHS Blackpool sits as the network chair and acts as a champion for sexual health.

Network Clinical Reference Group

In addition to this the network is looking to establish a clinical reference group for the Network to provide a much more robust link, support clinicians/providers and influence future developments.

Communication

Communication has been identified as a key development area, to aid communication and improve access to information it was agreed to look at further development of the CLASH (Cumbria and Lancashire Action for Sexual Health) and the Best 2know websites ( these will continue to operate on a C+L footprint). This could potentially involve service users and offer the opportunity for those who feel they have risked a STI to carry out a self -assessment on line. www.clashonline.co.uk   www.best2know.co.uk

Accountability

The Lancashire Public Health Network Programme Manager (Sexual Health) is responsible to the Sexual Health Network development group, DPH lead and accountable to the Lancashire Public Health Network Director.

Performance Monitoring

The Network is part of the Lancashire Public Health Network and is responsible for the delivery of the Choosing Health, Sexual Health Targets. A major focus of the Network activity is facilitating performance monitoring across the patch. Information systems whilst developing in sexual health are poor with little investment and therefore performance monitoring and management is problematic for commissioners as well as providers. The Network links activity across Lancashire and provides localised intelligence to the SHA and Department of Health (DOH).

Collaboration

The Network is linked to the Lancashire Public Health Network with the Sexual Health Network Programme Manager who is employed by Central Lancashire PCT managed by the Public Health Network Director to ensure economies of scale and provide peer support. The programme Manager will link with the other three enabler leads to provide additional support around commissioning, workforce, intelligence and communication leads in the Public Health Network. There are also established links with the other two North West Networks (Cheshire & Merseyside and Greater Manchester), SHA, NCSP (National Chlamydia Screening programme), HPA (Health Protection Agency), Teenage Pregnancy Structures and the Cumbria and Lancashire Commissioning Pathology Network.

Structures

The following diagram provides an overview of the operational framework for the network. The original Cumbria and Lancashire Sexual Health steering group will be replaced by a Sexual Health Network development group which will oversee the Network developments and will constitute a nominated lead from each of the PCT’s and the three TPP (Teenage Pregnancy Partnerships). These will be supported by a new clinical reference group and a nurse leads group. In addition to this there will be co-opted representation from partners in alcohol and substance use services, the Voluntary and Community Sector.

The Sexual Health Development group in conjunction with the local sexual health structures and the regional tier would then identify the actions for the Network work programme. The local groups providing the zonal framework in which the network operates. Actions will be delegated as appropriate to the Network priority task groups and the nominated task lead which will on the whole be time limited groups. In addition to this some tasks may be referred for development at a regional level.

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Network Structure