Primary care
Primary care covers GPs, pharmacists, dental services, opticians, NHS walk-in centres, mental health trusts and ambulance trusts. The principle primary care authority covering the borough is the Newham Primary Care Trust.

At the highest level of the Newham Primary Care Trust, the Board takes advice and delegates decision-making powers on healthcare delivery issues to an Executive Committee. This in turn establishes sub-committees that also exercise delegated decision-making powers in specific agreed areas.

These cover areas such as commissioning health services, medicines and prescribing, the delivery of Primary Care services and ensuring the Trust abides by national standards. Many of these sub-committees do not include community or voluntary sector representation.

HIMP Sub-committee
An exception is the Health Improvement and Modernisation Plan (HIMP) sub-committee, which includes representatives of the Black and Ethnic Minority Community Care Forum, voluntary and community sector organisations and service users. The core functions of the sub-committee include:

• Development of the Health Improvement and Modernisation Plan
• Progress monitoring of the delivery of the Health Improvement and Modernisation Plan
• Co-ordination of health improvement work across partner organisations
• Allocation of earmarked funding relating to health improvement (e.g. the PCT's Health Improvement Fund)

The Health Improvement Fund has a steering group that includes voluntary and community sector representation.

HIMP Sub-committee Working Groups
The HIMP sub-committee has a series of working groups and eventually there will be one for each of the chapter headings of the Health Improvement and Modernisation Plan. At present, the following Working Groups have been created and have community or voluntary sector representation:

• Diabetes Working Group
• Carers Working Group
• Cardiovascular Disease Working Group
• Child & Adolescent Mental Health Working Group
• Patient & Public Involvement Working Group
• Learning Difficulties Health Task Group
• Maternity Services Liaison Committee (Maternity Working Group)
• Sexual Health Working Group

There are also plans for a Cancer Working Group in the future.

For minutes of Working Groups, where they are publicly available, click here

Social Services and Health - Working Together
The Health and Social Care Act 2001 placed a 'duty of partnership' between health and social services agencies. Health and local authorities, together with partner agencies, are required to assess the service needs of local people and compare this with existing services. They were first asked to produce Joint Investment Plans for older people from April 1999 as part of the Better Services for Vulnerable People initiative, and for adult mental health services from April 2000.

Over a rolling programme, Joint Investment Plans should set out how shortfalls in services will be met by identifying the investment and reinvestment needed to reshape services. They would facilitate greater integration between the NHS, social care, housing and other key agencies.

From April 2001, Joint Investment Plans for learning disabilities and welfare to work for disabled people were introduced.

Partnership Boards

In Newham, the duty of partnership has led to the creation of the following Partnership Boards:

• Learning Disabilities Partnership Board
• Mental Health Partnership Board
• Older People's Partnership Board
• Disabilities Partnership Board

Each includes voluntary and community representation. For minutes of Partnership Boards, where they are publicly available, click here

Health and Neighbourhood Renewal
From April 2002, a package of central government money for Newham, called the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, became the responsibility of a new body, the Civic Partnership. This brings together representatives from other joint working bodies, local business, the Community Forums, tenants and residents groups and the voluntary sector. The Partnership aims to use the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund together with existing statutory funding to deliver better health, education and housing in the borough. It has identified six priority themes, one of which is Health & Social Care.

To deliver improvements in services within these priorities, there are also six Local Action Partnership Boards, comprising agencies, businesses and organisations that deliver services in Newham. The one responsible for Health & Social Care is the Newham Health & Well-being Partnership Board. This includes voluntary and community representation.

In September 2003, a series of short-term service delivery groups were set up by the Civic Partnership. These Renewal |Workstreams will commission work to meet identified problems and gaps in existing service delivery, in the following Newham Health & Well-being Partnership Board priority areas:

• Pathways for People with Chronic Illness
• Mental Health
• Infant Mortality

These Workstreams do not have automatic voluntary sector representation.

Each Renewal Workstream has a named ‘Champion’, whose role is to support their workstream, to act as a point of contact with partners, to speak on behalf of the workstream and enable co-ordination of plans and policies. This role is not a permanent one and can be taken on by different members of the workstream at different times during the process. Currently, the Health and Well-being Workstream Champions are:

• Pathways for People with Chronic Illness - Monica McSharry, Newham NHS Healthcare Trust
• Mental Health, Eve Drayton-Hill, LBN Social Services
• Infant Mortality, John Hayward, Director of Public Health, Newham Primary Care Trust

All enquiries to Renewal Workstream Champions should be addressed via:

Dave Ellis or Colin Boxall
SDP Regeneration Services Ltd
399-401 High Street
Stratford
London E15 4QZ

Tel:020 8519 7790 Email: enquiries@sdp-ltd.co.uk

In the absence of proper voluntary sector presentation, Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium is organising a series of 'shadow workstream' groups to mirror the activities of the Renewal Workstreams.

A guide to the Civic Partnership structure and jargon has been produced by the Aston-Mansfield Community Involvement Unit and can be downloaded here.(warning - large file - 1.16 Mb)