Our Priorities
Partners across the Integrated Care System have agreed on four priorities, where we will focus our efforts to achieve healthier futures for everyone in our area.
Partners across the ICS are working together for healthier futures. To help us do this, we have agreed four strategic priorities for 2022-2030 which inform all of our work.
Priority 1: Ensure our children are ready to enter education and exit, prepared for the next phase of their lives
We want to help local children get the best out of their education during their formative years. This includes making sure that every child is ready to start going to school, when they reach the right age to do so, and supporting children’s physical and mental wellbeing so they can have a positive experience whilst in school.
We want to reduce the number of young people aged 16 and 17 who are not in education, employment or training. We are also working to reduce inequalities for children – giving every child the best possible start in life, regardless of their personal circumstances or background.
Priority 2: Create an environment to give people the opportunity to be as healthy as they can be
We know there are lots of different factors that will impact a person’s health during their lives. This includes health behaviours such as diet, infrastructure including access to public transport, socio-economic factors like wealth and level of education, and availability of green spaces and clean air. Together, these factors make up the environment that affects a person’s ability to live a healthy, happy life.
As a partnership of Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations, local authorities, and NHS partners, we want to improve both opportunities for better health that the NHS provides and wider factors that impact health.
Priority 3: reduce poverty through better employment, skills and housing
Poverty has a severe negative impact on people’s ability to live as healthy and happy a life as possible. That’s why we’re committed to reducing poverty, through better employment, skills and housing.
Together, our partnership as an ICS employs thousands of people across the local area. As a group of large employers, we recognise that we have a direct role to play to treat our staff well. We are also working with wider partner organisations on the economy, housing, employment, and health.
Priority 4: Promote early intervention and prevention measures to improve mental health and wellbeing
The mental health and wellbeing of our local people is as important to us, as their physical wellbeing. That’s why we’ve committed to promoting early intervention and prevention measures to improve the mental health of local communities. By focusing on early intervention and prevention, we can help people improve their mental wellbeing before their mental ill health becomes more severe.
As part of this work, we’re working to improve the mental health of children and young people – reducing the number of young people in our area who need to be referred to mental health services. We’re also working to improve people’s understanding of the things they can do to support their own mental health and wellbeing, and increase awareness of how and where people can get help when they need it.
To learn more about our work towards healthier futures, use the buttons below.