Case studies

This case study shows the excellent work that public health in local government is doing to commission for quality and best value across all areas.

Across Hampshire, commissioning has been joined up by creating a commissioners group for the local councils, CCGs and NHS England. It has help maintain integrated services and led to the development of an improved digital offer and specialist services. This case study forms part of our sexual health resource.

Halton Health Hub allows local residents to arrange appointments for their ophthalmic, audiology and dietetics needs.

Organised focus groups with vaccine hesitant residents.

The public health team has contributed to a five year integration strategy bringing together a wide range of adult health and care services. An important public health role is to identify high-risk population groups whose needs impact significantly on both health and social care services, thereby revealing a mutual interest for both NHS and county council to develop integrated improvement and prevention services.

Wakefield Connecting Care programme, which incorporates the BCF, is a partnership between the CCG and the council, working closely with NHS providers and the voluntary and community sectors.  A key element of the programme is establishing integrated care hubs – care closer to people’s homes through integrated teams based around GP practices.

Somerset County Council and Somerset CCG have been developing joined up care for several years, and this has accelerated through initiatives such as joint commissioning, an integrated data system, and the BCF programme.  A model for ambitious, whole-system reform is now being developed

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the CCG are moving jointly towards an integrated outcomes-based adult community health and social care service. This aspiration now also includes mental health services and early thinking has started for children’s services

Hertfordshire based its work on topics jointly agreed as priorities rather than just what the public health team thought was important. Projects with too many barriers or dependencies were put back while higher priority and more deliverable projects were prioritised.

How public health became involved When based in the PCT, public health was central to both NHS strategic planning and joint planning with the council. This role was maintained when it transferred to the council, with public health taking the lead for several aspects of the BCF and wider integration.