As you will be aware, the Leeds health and care system is already under intense pressure due high demand.  We are entering a period of industrial action and further cold weather, which we anticipate may add further pressure to the system.  We fully appreciate the right of colleagues to take industrial action, and many of us would sympathise, but we are keen to alleviate the impact of industrial action on our client groups and teams who already find it hard accessing support from health services. We are working closely with health partners in seeking to maintain safe services at this difficult time.

We will share more detailed relevant information as it is confirmed, but just wanted to highlight that currently there is Royal College of Nursing action scheduled for 15 and 20 December, and action by ambulance unions on 21 and 28 December.   All partners are committed to doing their best to maintain safe levels of service but some of this may impact on the ways in which the people you support access care. It will be Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (St James and the LGI) and Leeds Community Healthcare that are most affected, in that workers in those organisations are taking action, though the impact will be felt citywide.

We would ask you to do all you can to support system partners at this time and in advance of this period by being aware of these dates and providing information and support. For example, care and supported living homes are being asked – if they have people in hospital – to take them back as rapidly as possible, and reimbursement for additional staffing costs/transport is being arranged and journeys supported by community transport options may be able to be explored.

There may be other actions that would help minimise risk to people on these days that you may wish to consider, such as ensuring the people you support are registered on priority services list which applies to anyone of state pension age; who is disabled, has a long-term medical condition, is recovering from an injury, has a hearing or sight condition, a mental health condition, is pregnant or has young children, or has extra communication needs (such as if they don’t speak or read English well, or would struggle to answer the door or get help in an emergency).

We appreciate the huge pressure that all partners are under and remain extremely grateful to you for all the work that you and your teams carry out day in day out on behalf of the population of Leeds.

Sent by Forum Central on behalf of the System Coordination Group (Health Silver)

Please do feel free to get in touch with us at hello@forumcentral.org.uk

 

We’ve also included some links and comms shared across city partners:

• https://www.leeds.gov.uk/campaign/cost-of-living for support and practical help on financial support, health at hubs, heating, warm spaces, water, jobs, housing, health, food – emergency foods.
• https://winterfriends.org/resource-area/
• Ofgemhttps://www.ofgem.gov.uk/get-help-your-supplier-priority-services-register

• Leeds Health and Care Workforce message: Working together – Leeds has prepared for winters pressures:
• For those of us working in health and care, usually at this time of year our attention turns to managing winter pressures and the impact these have on our services, our patients and ourselves. This year is different, for many reasons, and we all recognise that the challenges we are currently facing are the most significant we have ever experienced.

For the past two, nearly three years, we have seen so much change in our health and social care system in Leeds. Many people hoped that, once the intensity of the pandemic had subsided, we would be able to get back to some kind of ‘normal.’ However, most of us working in the system knew that things were likely to get harder coming out of the pandemic and the reality is that demand is higher and the pressure feels intense.

We wanted to reassure you that, across Leeds, we are working together as a partnership to support the people of Leeds and the workforce to get through this winter.

In Leeds, our greatest strength and our most important asset is our people. We saw through the Coronavirus pandemic how individuals, families, communities, workforce and organisations across Leeds came together to achieve amazing things and do the best for one another. Thanks to you all, we’ve kept services running for our patients, our residents and our communities. As we emerge from the pandemic into a cost-of-living crisis, and with significant pressures across the whole system, we are once again reminded of the importance of working together.

As city leaders we are committed, more than ever, to working together as the Leeds Health and Care Partnership to do the best we can for the people of Leeds and our shared workforce. Here are just a few examples. We are working together to

• Find innovative ways to improve our patients’ experience e.g. investing together in additional residential care, community therapies and reablement services to improve the ability to discharge patients and reduce demand on hospital beds.
• Create extra capacity in our hospitals by opening up more wards
• Increase General Practice capacity, circa 1,000 appointment a week, for those practices with acute demand or capacity problems
• Develop and deliver a number of initiatives and interventions which seek to address the workforce shortage, in terms of attraction and retention. The Leeds City Resourcing Group (LCRG), working on behalf of all H&C employers in Leeds, has been established to proactively improve the way we attract and recruit new staff, particularly nurses, care workers and social care staff.
• Support the people of Leeds and our staff with the cost-of-living crisis by developing the Together Leeds website
• Share messages that help the public stay well, and that encourages them to choose the best service for them if they become ill (for example, Together We Can – https://togetherwe-can.com). With COVID and flu expected to significantly impact our services, much work is also being done to increase take up of winter vaccinations. We are using our intelligence to target our communications messages so that they have the biggest impact.
• Keep our workforce well by promoting flu and COVID boosters to anyone working in health and care and promote the importance of looking after yourself, e.g through the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership staff wellbeing hub wystaffwellbeinghub.co.uk and the Mental Health & Wellbeing Training – Leeds Health and Care Academy

We know that the next few months are going to be extremely tough, in Leeds and around the country. In these times of pressures, it is more important than ever that we listen to you. Throughout this year we have been championing our Team Leeds Hearts and Minds programme, where we have heard from over 1,000 of you – the biggest workforce engagement programme we have ever delivered in Leeds. We will continue to work with you to ensure we can support you in looking after your own health and wellbeing. All of our Leeds based organisations have support services set up to help you. Remember your safety, health and wellbeing will always be our top priority.

Voluntary Action Leeds