Sara Munro's Leadership blog June 2025

June is upon us and, while the weather might not be heating up, the pace of change certainly is, with ongoing announcements at a national level continuing regarding the future of the NHS.

The blueprint for all Integrated Care Boards has now been published, which sets out how ICBs will focus on strategic commissioning. There is an expected limit of £18.76 to be spent per head of the population in each region.

Significant activity is underway in West Yorkshire to design a new ICB within these constraints, and for West Yorkshire ICB this is expected to result in a 45% reduction in staffing. As more detail emerges on the expectations of our ICB colleagues we must all be mindful of how unsettling this continues to be for them.

This is all moving at breakneck speed and the full implications for LYPFT are still emerging. The repeated message is that the aim is to avoid duplication of functions that are already done by local providers.

The next missing pieces of the jigsaw we expect to see fall into place include a blueprint for regional teams, and of course the long-awaited 10-year plan for the NHS which is now expected early July.

With the system in flux and the pieces shifting, we have a unique opportunity to help shape how the puzzle comes together, building a system that works better for the people of Leeds.

Where the pieces meet – the Leeds Provider Partnership

In the health and care landscape in Leeds, no single piece completes the puzzle on its own. It’s through partnership that we build a stronger, more connected system – one that truly works for the people we serve.

The launch of the Leeds Provider Partnership on 30 May at St George’s Church brought together over 100 representatives from organisations across the city, including many from LYPFT. I was pleased to attend and see first-hand the collective energy and shared commitment to improving health and care in Leeds.

It was a valuable moment to harness that collective will and set a clear direction for how we’ll work together to drive meaningful change.

One example already making a difference is the Active Recovery pilot, which brings local authority, NHS staff and others together to plan hospital discharges and support people once they’re home.

Leeds has a strong tradition of partnership, but we know we must go further to make programmes like this the norm. The current review will explore what the provider partnership could look like and is due to report back in September.

Hearing David’s story at our board meeting

Keeping our work people-centred is essential – which is why the stories shared at our Board meetings matter so much. They remind us of the care, dedication, and impact our staff bring every day.

At May’s Board meeting, Peter Johnstone, Head of Operations in our Learning Disabilities Service, shared the story of David, who recently moved into Sledmere Lane, a supported living bungalow in Leeds. David, who has severe learning disabilities, had been cared for by his devoted mother. As he got older, they worked with our team to plan his long-term care.

It was a big and emotional step for the family, but with excellent support from the team, David made a smooth transition. His mother said, “I was convinced we did the right thing, and he has settled in well,” while David himself said, “I want to live here for the rest of my life.”

The service’s mission, “Support for who you are, support for who you want to be”, shines through in this story. A huge well done to Peter and his team.

Our priorities for 2025-2026

As the sea of change flows around us, we remain steadfast in our commitments set out in our five-year strategy. The exec team and other senior leaders have been out and about engaging with management teams across the breadth of our services, sharing LYPFT’s 14 priority areas for 2025-26.

They are:

1. Delivery of our financial efficiency programme,

2. Delivery of workforce efficiency programme,

3. Delivery of our inpatient quality transformation & improving patient flow programme,

4. Reducing mental health emergency department attendances and delays,

5. Delivering a transformed community mental health service,

6. Improving the quality of our children and young people’s mental health services,

7. Improving the quality of our perinatal services,

8. Implementing the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment.

9. Deliver our health equity priorities,

10. Implement outcome measures across all care services,

11. Implementation of quality and culture dashboards,

12. Develop and agree our future facilities management model across our Private Finance Initiative (PFI) sites,

13. Procure new electronic patient record system, and

14. Delivery of key People Plan (workforce) priorities.

These 14 priority areas contain our “must do” actions for the year ahead – and are part of our journey to achieve our five-year strategy. But they don’t come at the expense of all the great development work that’s going on.

An update from our care services

With unprecedented demand for inpatient mental health services following the pandemic, we set our sights high on improving the flow of patients and reducing out-of-area placements for adult acute and psychiatric intensive care patients. I’m delighted to report that, as a result, our service users are now half as likely to require an out-of-area placement, and we’ve saved £1.58m in the process.

I’m pleased to report that the 1-hour response rate for the Acute Liaison Psychiatry Service (ALPS) in the Emergency Department has improved, reaching 68% at the end of April. Our colleagues are in the process of relocating back to St James’s Hospital and are looking forward to better integration with the Emergency Department and improved response for people in mental health crisis.

Aspire, our Leeds Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, provides support to people experiencing their first episode of psychosis. We’re working towards more people being seen within the two-week target.

The refurbishment of Oasis Crisis House continues to make improvements to this accessible, relaxed, homely and therapeutic environment. Before the works can be completed, there will be a temporary 10-week closure, and we’re working closely with partners to manage disruption. When the service reopens we can look forward to an increased bed capacity from five to six, a fully accessible bedroom, and a one-to-one support space.

I’m delighted to report that we have seen a steady and continued upward trend in assessment standards within 4 and 24 hours in our Crisis Resolution Intensive Support Service. In the West Locality there’s been a whopping 47% increase in assessments completed within the 4-hour target window.

Reasons to be proud

Celebrating our people is so important in the current context and I have many reasons to be proud.

Soul-soothing sounds

We’ve had an incredible start to this year’s live music at The Becklin Centre. Colleagues have been organising music performances for service users and staff – bringing joy, connection and creativity to our inpatient settings. We’re very fortunate to be able to enjoy these sessions.

Commended individuals

We’re celebrating plenty of achievements by our colleagues this month, including:

• Richard Wylde, Deputy Director of Improvement, for achieving a distinction in his Certified Professional in Patient Safety certification showing a high proficiency in patient safety standards.

• Nasser Mohammed from our Health Informatics Service received the Skills for Health Bronze Apprentice of the Year award for his unwavering dedication and outstanding contributions to healthcare through his Infrastructure Technician Apprenticeship.

• Brouch Boggon, Mental Health Practitioner in our CREST service, not only completed the Leeds Marathon in an impressive 5 hours, 34 minutes and 3 seconds, but also raised £665 for her chosen charity SARSVL.

• Tom Marten won LYPFT’s Individual of the Month for consistently demonstrating integrity, reliability and a strong commitment to his colleagues. He recently cleared and set up an entirely new office space at Linden House, all whilst managing his Recruitment Team Manager duties.

Team of the month

March was a particularly demanding month for Ward 4 at The Becklin Centre, with a number of incidents needing the team to pull together to support each other. The team responded with exceptional professionalism, resilience and compassion, supporting each other and maintaining high standards of care under immense pressure.

There’s some really nice reactions to this news on Facebook:

“Such a great team! With the best receptionist ever!”

“Well done all of you, you all deserve it”

“Fabulous staff”

…A massive well done to all involved!