Health and Wellbeing Boards
The Health and Social Care Bill (2011) currently establishes Health and Wellbeing boards as committees in upper-tier local authorities, responsible for encouraging integrated working and developing Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and joint health and wellbeing strategies. National organisations representing the membership of Health and Wellbeing boards came together in July 2011 to develop a set of operating principles for the new boards.
The principles are intended to be used flexibly, becoming part of the Health and wellbeing boards self-assessment process.
A briefing to set out these operating principles has been produced and endorsed by the NHS Confederation in conjunction with other national representatives of Health and Wellbeing board members; the Royal Society for Public Health, the Local Government Group, the Royal College of GPs, the British Medical Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. The briefing sets out how strong collective leadership, proper engagement with local people, a clear sense of shared priorities and joint working to tackle key issues such as health inequalities can help foster strong working relationships and a strong base for improving health and wellbeing across local populations.
The principles are:
1. Collective leadership to improve health and well-being across the local authority area, shared decision-making and ownership of an open and transparent decision-making process
2. Empowerment and involvement of local people in decision-making to achieve democratic legitimacy and accountability
3. A focus on addressing health inequalities by ensuring quality, consistency and comprehensive health and wellbeing services are commissioned and delivered
4. The best possible use of combined resources by identifying key priorities for health and local government commissioning and developing clear plans to improve local health and well-being outcomes in the short, medium and long term
The full briefing can be downloaded here: Operating Principles for Health and Wellbeing Boards
RSPH [] is intending to provide a seminar at a cost of £50 per delegate on this subject. Those wishing to attend should register their interest with Gina Mohajer gmohajer@rsph.org.uk (tel 020 7265 7327)
