By Rebecca Mear, Voscur CEO:
On March 24th I went to London to attend a VCSE sector roundtable with NHS England on the NHS Ten Year Plan. I had attended our Bristol-level strategic Voice and Influence networks where VCSE communities had explored the NHS Ten Year Plan, and felt able to reflect what those networks – Communities of Place, of Practice, and for Equalities – had shared.
However, between the roundtable being booked and the event taking place, seismic changes were announced by Keir Starmer; changes so major they risked completely throwing the whole session into disarray.
In fact, these changes were announced on the same day, March 18th, that we held our incredible VCSE Alliance annual event. Voscur is the host of and part of the collaborative leadership of the BNSSG VCSE Alliance, working with the Integrated Care System across the region to promote the central role of the VCSE sector in the creation of conditions for real wellbeing, and health, to happen. As we were coming together as a collective to celebrate all that the VCSE Alliance has achieved so far, we were hit by myriad of changes being announced nationally. ICBs were to be told to reduce their staff headcount by 50% by Christmas, on top of the 30% they have already been reduced by. And then, suddenly, NHS England was to be abolished completely, we heard.
(BNSSG VCSE Alliance annual event)
Although these news items were shocking, and our thoughts went instantly to our collaborators in these NHS institutions, the VCSE sector gathered for the event soldiered on – as the VCSE sector tends to do. That’s the thing about the sector: they find ways to continue, to be there, year in and year out, from and for their communities.
Since then, the VCSE Alliance for BNSSG has tabled a letter of support to our colleagues in the Integrated Care Board. The challenges facing them as leaders and employees of institutions doing valuable work, and ultimately as humans facing uncertainty and insecurity, feel immense.
And so it was with trepidation that I arrived in the NHS England premises near Waterloo, unsure what the message would be.
(BNSSG VCSE Alliance annual event)
Our roundtable explored a range of issues facing the VCSE sector, and ultimately our discussions came back to what the VCSE sector can offer if we remove system blockages, address power imbalances and empower people to take action.
Most tellingly of all were the final summaries provided by two directors of NHS England, Ben Jupp, the Director of Intermediate Care and Neil Churchill Director for People and Communities.
Ben used the analogy of weaving, referring to the warp and weft: that the NHS puts down the warp and the community sector finds ways to weave the weft. By this he meant the NHS providing a framework and the VCSE organisations on the ground making real change happen within that framework. Ultimately, he asked, how do we collectively create conditions for the growth of non-medicalised health? He recognised that NHS commissioners aren’t best placed to understand who is best placed to do great work in communities and that commissioners need to avoid squeezing out the weft e.g. the value that VCSE organically brings through localised support.
Neil Churchill echoed Ben’s thoughts, noting that it was clear that it needs a stronger partnership with the VCSE sector is required to approach the challenges of the upcoming period. He too recognised that there is a risk that the NHS crowds out community action by parachuting in or trying to reinvent wheel of VCSE sector; or slows it down with too much bureaucracy. He felt that the new NHS Ten Year plan will show a more integrated, local, people-focused approach with a clear partnership agenda and implementation plan.
He noted it will be necessary to overcome the hoops that people have to jump over in order to work with the NHS – such as data sharing or the challenges caused by single year funding. Neil called on us to look at the published plan and then move at pace to solve problems together.
I left feeling glad to have had this insight, and it’s an important one to share: that the VCSE sector is seen as crucial to riding the waves of upcoming turbulence. Yes, we need to work collaboratively to achieve a shift in how money is invested; to allow for the shift ‘upstream’ in truly preventative, holistic, community-led innovation, services and initiatives. Yes, our colleagues in the NHS will be subject to job insecurity and face personal and professional challenges. Yes, it all feels overwhelming complex to the point of being brittle and fragile. Yet ultimately, our community sector is here, providing services led by the community, for the community – and the opportunity in the complexity is there for us to build upon, and potentially, unleash the radical change for real wellbeing and health creation that we all want to see.
