The Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Partnership for Better Health is a West of England AHSN initiative which aims to support local voluntary sector organisations, as well as our member organisations in the health and care system, in order to improve health and wellbeing outcomes across the region.
Who is the programme for?
The Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Partnership for Better Health programme is for VCFSE organisations and health and care sector providers / ICS systems in the West of England.
Programme aims
The aims of the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Partnership for Better Health programme are as follows:
- To bring together health and care providers and VCFSEs and support the discovery of new opportunities to work together; focussing on place-based and smaller community of interest VCFSEs and start-ups and challenging care and health providers to think outside the box
- To foster an environment that will enable community organisations to develop new relationships
- To provide access to advice, training and mentoring
Programme structure
We are now in the final delivery stage of the programme:
Delivering learning sessions and supporting the VCFSE sector in the West of England
Through our VCFSE Partnership programme, we aim to help voluntary organisations understand the new ICS structure and what good partnership working can look like, navigate the complex NHS landscape and stay up to date with the latest news and opportunities available.
Explore our free resources, trainings and events here.
Supporting ICS systems in the West of England
Alongside this, we continue to liaise with the Integrated Care Systems in the West of England to identify future unmet needs and opportunities for VCFSE collaborations. Tailored support packages will be co-planned and created as required; drawing on our experience in supporting innovators and the adoption and spread of good ideas. It is likely that any packages of support will also include input and guidance from knowledge partners that specialise in supporting the VCFSE sector.
Background to the VCFSE Partnership for Better Health
In July 2022, a new health and care bill will come into force, giving Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) statutory status, with the aim to deliver more integrated and better joined up health and social care services.
NHS England recognises that much greater collaboration is needed between services at a more local, geographical level, in order to improve health and care outcomes, reduce health inequalities, enhance productivity and support social and economic development.
The value that the voluntary sector can bring to this, through its place and neighbourhood knowledge and expertise, is increasingly understood.
The reform provides an opportunity for voluntary organisations to work with their local ICS to improve the health of individuals in their communities through better integration of services that meet the individual needs in a more flexible and person-centred way. The focus on local integration also has the opportunity to have an impact on deep health inequalities, that exist in different population groups, by working at this level.
For further advice and guidance or an exploratory chat about your project, please email weahsn.innovation@nhs.net.
Scoping phase engagement events – July 2021
At the beginning of this programme we hosted two engagement events to begin scoping the needs of health and care providers and the VCFSE sector in the West of England. If you are a VCFSE organisation interested in accessing the post event information from the engagement event held on 8 July 2021, you can find this information here. If you are a health and care provider interested in accessing the post event information from the engagement event held on 14 July 2021, you can find this information here.
About us
The West of England AHSN creates cross-sector partnerships, bringing together the health service community, industry, higher education, research bodies, patients and the wider public, in order to improve health and wellbeing outcomes in the west of England.
