Views from leaders in the partnership

Leaders from the members of Bristol Health Partners talk about what they value in the partnership.

Steve West, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of England

“To meet the continually rising demand for health and social care services we need to innovate for the future. This will mean challenging ourselves to re-think what we do and how we do it. Bristol Health Partners remains unique in the UK for joining up so many of the city’s institutions looking to improve and promote the health of the city’s population. We are seeing some very promising developments in public engagement and innovation through the Heath Integration Teams.”

Robert Woolley, Chief Executive of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

“The NHS faces very significant challenges as demand for our services grows and the financial climate becomes even tougher. Our focus going forward will be to work even more closely with our community partners in health and social care with the aim of reducing the overall cost of healthcare in our city, whilst continuing to improve the quality of care we provide. Thanks to Bristol Health Partners we are already working together to improve health and service delivery in Bristol by integrating, promoting and developing Bristol’s strengths in health services, research, innovation and education.”

Mary Backhouse, Chief Clinical Officer, North Somerset CCG and Jill Shepherd, Chief Officer, Bristol CCG

“The commissioners are encouraged by the progress made this year in aligning Health Integration Team priorities, and the innovative work done by these groups, to the known health needs of our populations, addressing these through innovative service change. As we move into the development of our longer term Sustainability and Transformation Plans, we look forward to reviewing the role and contribution of Bristol Health Partners.”

Becky Pollard, Bristol City Council’s Director of Public Health

“Bristol City Council became an official member of Bristol Health Partners last year, adding an extra dimension to the partnership. Bringing organisations and key professionals together through the partnership’s Health Integration Teams is generating tangible benefits for residents by driving service improvement, collaboration and the translation of research into practice.

“I was particularly impressed in how Health Integration Teams collectively responded to the draft West of England joint spatial plan. The Supporting Healthy Inclusive Neighbourhood Environments (SHINE) team highlighted evidence of the impacts on the health and wellbeing of the population due to spatial location and development patterns. This has the potential to positively impact on the choices that people will, or will not, be able to make in terms of adopting a healthy lifestyle.

“We are keen to support the work of these teams to strengthen links between academics and those delivering front line services and drive better health outcomes for people of Bristol.”

Jonathan Sandy, Dean of Health Sciences at the University of Bristol

“Bristol Health Partners has achieved much since inception, but the real strength is becoming apparent in developing major bids, such as the Biomedical Research Centre ambition and projects such as Reach West. The need to manage all partnerships has never been more relevant and Bristol Health Partners are pivotal in this management.”