Sara's Leadership Blog for October 2025
Hello, since my last blog it feels like we’ve moved rapidly into autumn from what was a hot and dry summer – where we talked about heatwaves and hosepipe bans. But that’s all behind us now.
What is still with us unfortunately is a period of significant social unrest with protests and counter protests causing some of our staff and service users to feel unsafe in their own communities.
It is important that we keep talking, especially with colleagues in your team and do reach out to those you trust. We’ve asked our team managers to create space in their teams to discuss what is happening too. We don’t always know what someone else is going through, nor do we have all the answers and we won’t always get it right. Which is why I am grateful that our equality and inclusion colleagues have been actively setting up opportunities to do this with staff across the Trust so we listen and learn. We will continue to promote the range of support that is available and support the reporting of hate crime and discrimination.
Leeds Place Provider Review
I have now taken over as senior responsible officer of the review of the statutory health and care providers in Leeds, following the departure of Prof Phil Wood as Chief Executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
The review is nearing its conclusion, and I will be reviewing a draft report with my fellow chief execs in the coming weeks. The report will set out recommendations on how we can strengthen the provider partnership in Leeds to deliver better outcomes for citizens at a neighbourhood level and ensure we have resilient and sustainable models of care for the future – which include greater integration with primary and social care.
It will also help us to establish the right governance to enable delegation of functions from the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) as they work towards implementing the new blueprint for ICBs.
Leeds at forefront of ‘neighbourhood health’
Leeds’ application to be part of the first wave of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme has been successful, along with West Yorkshire neighbours Wakefield and Bradford District and Craven. The programme is part of implementing an integrated neighbourhood health system – articulated as ‘Hospital to Community’ in the 10 Year Health Plan published earlier this year.
It will initially focus on targeting adults with or at risk of multiple long-term conditions. Building on work already started in the city, in line with the Leeds ambitions and the Leeds Health and Wellbeing plan, the programme will be testing:
- Neighbourhood Health Hubs – what processes, culture, assets, and team relationships are needed to operate in an integrated way in existing co-located buildings or virtual hubs.
- Integrated working – understanding what core components are needed to further develop multidisciplinary teams and co-ordinate care to targeted populations.
- Single and multi-neighbourhood providers – developing our understanding of how to organise integrated care under future new contractual and financial incentive arrangements, working closely with colleagues in general practice.
An update on NHS at regional level
Since I last blogged the ‘Model Region Blueprint’ for NHS regional teams has been published. It sets out a high-level mandate for the seven regions of England – with ours being the North East and Yorkshire region – and articulates their purpose, core functions and activities.
The regional teams, which will be part of NHS England’s transition into the government’s Department of Health and Social Care, will have three key objectives:
- To provide strategic leadership of regional health systems,
- To performance manage and oversee local commissioners and providers, and
- To have a regional approach to improvement, support and intervention.
Two positive projects to report
At our September Trust Board meeting we heard about two interesting projects kicking off across Leeds.
Firstly, the Neighbourhood Proactive Care Project aims to transform care delivery in Leeds by coordinating health and care provision to provide proactive, integrated, and person-centred care, closer to home. This should address issues of fragmentation, poor communication, duplication, and avoidable hospital or care home stays.
Using the ‘Leeds Data Model’ to identify at risk populations, including those with mental illness, it aims to deliver the following:
- Care coordination and case management
- Consistent care planning
- Out-of-hours support
- Falls prevention and proactive frailty management
- Integrated mental health and long-term condition support.
Our Older Peoples’ leadership team, the Physical Health Team and Community Mental Health Transformation Programme teams are embedded in this project. They will enable closer integration with community mental health services and Older Peoples’ services provided by LYPFT.
Secondly, the Long-Term Conditions and Mental Health Project (previously known as SEISMIC) focuses on the development of alternative integrated models of care to improve the health outcomes of people with three specific long-term conditions, one of which is mental illness.
This project focuses on getting people into, or to retain, or return to their employment by identifying those at risk, providing additional support through multi-disciplinary teams and joint care planning.
The Burmantofts, Harehills & Richmond Hill Primary Care Network has been identified as a potential pilot site along with Seacroft.
Productivity in healthcare
At September’s Trust Board Meeting we heard about the increasing focus on productivity in healthcare.
Productivity is a measure of outputs relative to inputs. In healthcare, it can be summarised as the amount of activity the NHS delivers (appointments, scans, etc) for the inputs used in delivering that activity (on staff, consumables, buildings, etc). Broadly speaking, increasing the volume of outputs by more than the volume of inputs leads to productivity growth, or maintaining output but with fewer inputs.
This matters because improving productivity is now a key priority for the NHS, made clear in the 10 Year Health Plan, which states improving productivity as the central goal for the reforms set out.
We will be monitored and held to account through the National Oversight Framework league tables – the first of which was published in September. LYPFT was ranked positively – read more about it on our website.
How we measure productivity starts at the front line of health care where activity is recorded. So, if its not captured on our systems, effectively it didn’t happen. We’ll be talking more about this with staff in the coming weeks.
Winter Plan – how you can help
The Trust Board signed off our Winter Plan last month.
Now, more than ever we know that effective resilience will only be achieved during the winter period through effective system and partnership-working with our NHS, social care, third and voluntary sector partners, with the public, with the people that use our services, and with our staff.
We’ve all got a role to play in keeping well over winter – and one of those is making sure everyone who is eligible receives their vaccinations.
Here’s Sarah, one of our Nursing Associates, who’s being a ‘Flu Fighter’ as part of our staff vaccination campaign.
Reasons to be Proud
Baton of Hope
We were very proud to be a part of the Baton of Hope tour of Leeds – which took place on World Suicide Prevention Day in September.
This is a national campaign aimed at raising awareness of suicide, encouraging more open dialogue to tackle the stigma that exists which prevents people from getting the help they need and ultimately reducing lives lost to suicide. The tour through Leeds was organised by Leeds City Council and Touchstone, and we were very proud to be allowed to host the Baton at the Becklin Centre and carry it on to its next stop on the tour.
A range of colleagues across the Trust coordinated our contribution which included a project for service users and staff at the Becklin to create an archway of hope through messages using arts. This was led by Arts and Minds and the Recovery college and on the day our Trust Chaplain James held a brief service.
Myself along with Steve Taylor (pictured in the middle below) from our Digital Team carried the Baton in what was a very emotional and powerful experience.
Bringing the sunshine indoors!
Last month the Shine and Thrive staff roadshows came to an end after a summer of activities that really lifted the spirits of hundreds of staff across the Trust. Well done to Tracey, Sarah and Amy in the People Engagement Team for bringing the sunshine in.
Sprucing up our sites
Staff and service users have been working together to improve our outdoor spaces. The Courtyard at Asket Croft now includes new planting areas, with plans for produce like onions and beans. And the Estates and Facilities Team revamped The Quad at St Mary’s Hospital, creating a peaceful green space for all. Here they are in action . . .
Waiting well project gets national recognition
Our Adult ADHD team and the Leeds GP Confederation have been shortlisted for a Health Service Journal Award for their ‘Waiting Well’ project – offering support to the thousands of people waiting for an ADHD assessment. Good luck for the finals in November!
Trust Values in Action: Team and individuals of the month
I’m always proud to celebrate the incredible work of our teams and individuals who go above and beyond to deliver compassionate, high-quality care.
We’re publishing a round up of all these fabulous folks on a monthly basis. The latest round up can be found here on our website.