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Website for colleagues working within Harrogate and Rural District CCG, Harrogate District NHSFT, North Yorkshire County Council, Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHSFT and Yorkshire Health Network (and member GP Practices)

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Our new alliance, working together with you in Harrogate district!

Local health and social care partners are working together to improve how community health and social care is provided for adults in the Harrogate District.

Harrogate and Rural Alliance (HARA) brings together the NHS commissioners (who buy health services) and service providers, together with North Yorkshire County Council (which has responsibility for public health and adult social care).

From 30 September, community health and social care services will be linked to local Primary Care practices, with community nurses, therapists and social care practitioners, working together to respond to people’s needs.

Harrogate District is one of the first places in England to bring together community services for adults in this way, from the doors to the hospital through people’s front doors into their homes.

Together, Alliance partners spend over £100m in our local community, working with hundreds of different service providers in the wider public sector, the voluntary sector and independent care provision. At the heart of the Alliance are nearly 300 community health and social care colleagues, who are responsible for approximately £50 million of prevention, care and support services.

The five organisations who are leading this work are:

  • Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT) which provides acute services and a range of community service across the district;
  • NHS Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group (HaRD CCG), the body which buys most healthcare services delivered in the district;
  • North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) who commission and provide social care services;
  • Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), the local specialist mental health provider; and
  • Yorkshire Health Network (YHN), which represents GPs and primary health care services across the district.

Chris Watson, who will lead the new service, said: “What unites us is a passion for well-being in our communities. We believe that by working as one team, we can provide a better service; one that is more responsive and easier to use; and which makes the most of the resources we have. Most of us live and work in the area, so it really matters that we get it right.”

Richard Flinton, Chief Executive, North Yorkshire County Council said: “We welcome the launch of the new service and commend the hard work and collaboration which has enabled these improvements for Harrogate District. We are working together because we know it is the right thing to do and we hope these innovations will provide better outcomes for the people we serve. These developments are firmly in line with the NHS long term plan and our own local priorities for health and social care and keeping people well, supported and safe.”

Peter Banks, Director, Yorkshire Health Network said: “We are one of the first places in England to deliver a truly integrated health and social care service. Our new approach will put primary care at the centre of service delivery and enable a true partnership between health and social care, as well as wider colleagues in the care provider, voluntary and community sectors. We will have prevention, early intervention and recovery at the heart of our shared service, with the aim of staying well for longer.”

Steve Russell, Chief Executive, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Today sees the exciting next step for colleagues and communities across Harrogate District who have been working together collaboratively for some time. We know that today is just the latest step forward and look forward to continuing to build on the foundations put in place to help us work together across Harrogate District in the months and years ahead for the benefit of our population.”

Amanda Bloor, Accountable Officer, Three North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (including Harrogate and Rural District CCG), said: “This is an invaluable opportunity to think differently about how we best meet the health and social care needs of local people. We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with fellow commissioners and service providers to break down the barriers which get in the way of people receiving the best prevention and care possible. This is a welcome innovation for the people of Harrogate District and we know that by thinking and acting differently, we will be able to improve the experience of local people.”

Colin Martin, Chief Executive, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Mental Health is just as important as physical health in the work of the Alliance. In the new model colleagues from Harrogate District’s specialist mental health services provider will take an equal role in ensuring that a person’s holistic health, care and wellbeing needs are met. This is a welcome reflection of the increasing awareness of the importance of both physical and mental health in an individual’s wellbeing and we are pleased to be standing shoulder to shoulder with local health and social care partners in the new service.”

The new approach has been developed in collaboration with wider partners, including people who use services, carers, other public, voluntary and community and independent service providers. The Alliance will continue to evolve following the launch this autumn and will build on these strong local partnerships to develop and improve the services which are delivered with and for local people.

For more information about the Alliance see our briefing document - Harrogate and Rural Alliance - briefing document - summer 2019