Vanguards in Action - Solihull Vanguard Together for Better lives

We've been exploring the work of the Vanguard streams. For many sites, just beginning on their journey, their work sounds aspirational, a dream rather than a reality. But today we want to show you how this is not a theoretical project and that many great and very real new services are emerging.

The work of the Solihull Together for better lives partnership of local health and social care organisations to improve urgent and emergency care has already create an integrated system that combines preventative services with rapid access to primary, social and specialist care both in and out of hospital, enabling people to take better control of their lives.You can view the complete programme of developed services  here

This great video brings to life the work of this Vanguard site

Integrated Community Teams have been introduced in Solihull. This is enabling staff to work together more effectively and efficiently across organisational boundaries so that patients and service users get the care and support they need, when and where they need it. The aim is to meet the health, social and emotional needs of patients, whilst also helping them to be as independent as possible, reducing avoidable admissions to hospital and care homes.

There are two phases to the project.

Phase 1: launched on 1 July 2015 is focusing on restructuring community nursing. Community matrons have been brought together with community nurses and staff from the Single Point of Access (SPA) service to form integrated community teams. There are six teams in total, 2 within each of three areas of the borough: Shirley, Central and Rural Solihull, and North Solihull, and each one linked to a number of GP practices. They deliver community nursing services to patients in their own home, including people who are at the end of their life. They also provide a rapid response (within 2 hours) to provide urgent care and support to those at immediate risk of an admission to hospital.

Phase 2: Further work is now being done to integrate community nursing, primary care, social care, mental health and other services.We particularly like the supported integrated discharge team and you can read more about this here

So its early days on the Vanguard journey but its going to be an exciting and eventful ride - so buckle up now, make contact with your local Vanguard site and lets be part of this ........ I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have every confidence that you; FabNHSStuff sharers and collaborators, are going to be key in disseminating and implementing new ways of working and amplifying the speed and impact of innovation and service redesign from the Vanguard 'know how" - you're the final piece in the Vanguard jigsaw puzzle.