Bristol Health Partners: five years of achievement

The first Bristol Health Partners partnership agreement was signed in April 2012, with a lifespan of five years. It’s been extended for another year while our future direction is mapped out, but it’s a good moment to reflect on what Bristol Health Partners has achieved during that time.

Health Integration Teams (HITs)

20 Health Integration Teams have emerged, focusing on clinical pathways, system change, public health and mental health.

More than 600 people have been involved in HITs, from more than 50 organisations in the region.

They are responsible for at least:

• £1,275,000 savings for our city’s two acute NHS trusts
• £19,495,057 in income to the city’s health system through research and service development
• This breaks down as £3,041,188 for service development and £16,453,869 in research funding
• More than 60 new projects to increase health gain and improve service delivery in Bristol

11 HIT workstreams and 9 HITs themselves have been accelerated or supported with additional, strategic funding from Bristol Health Partners.

17 out of 27 successful project applications to NIHR CLAHRC West’s two calls were linked to HITs.

The HIT model was evaluated by NIHR CLAHRC West, with a paper published in BMC Health Services Research in June 2016.

Attracting £58 million in large-scale research investment

Our partnership was pivotal in bringing large scale, long-term research investment to our city.

NIHR CLAHRC West, worth £22 million over five years committed by NIHR and health-related organisations in the West, was achieved because of the collaborative relationships and HITs developed by Bristol Health Partners.

The successful Bristol bid for an NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, worth £21 million over five years, again used the Bristol Health Partners network to cement its success.

SPHERE (a Sensor Platform for HEalthcare in a Residential Environment) was awarded £12 million by EPSRC, with a total investment so far of £15 million. The SPHERE bid drew on the networks created and fostered by Bristol Health Partners.

Communicating and engaging

Bristol Health Partners was instrumental in making the first Bristol Health and Care Awards a reality.

Our support was vital to make Healthy City Week Bristol 2015 and 2016 happen.

More than 64,000 people have visited our website since its launch in April 2013.

We have run a range of events, including:

• 4 HIT conferences, bringing together hundreds of collaborators
• TEDMED Bristol in 2013
• The Festival of Health in 2014
• The health strand of the Festival of the Future City in 2015
• Stand and pop-up university session at NHS Expo 2015
• An apple a day exhibition in 2016
• Various health, data and technology events
• Cross-city region workshops and think tanks on health, workforce and sustainability

Influencing beyond our city

Our partnership has inspired other similar partnerships around the UK, including:

• Leeds Academic Health Partnership
• South East Wales Academic Health Science Partnership
• Surrey Health Partners

Our work has also been cited in national and international policy documents, including:

• The Dementia HIT was a global case study in the London Health Commission’s Better Health for London report
• The Improving Care in Self-Harm (STITCH) HIT was given as a best practice example in the Department of Health’s national suicide prevention strategy progress report
• Through the Supporting Healthy Inclusive Neighbourhood Environments (SHINE) HIT, Bristol’s commitment to health in its neighbourhood planning formed part of the World Health Organisation (WHO) report to inform the UN’s New Urban Agenda

Attracting high profile visitors

Visitors who have come to find out more about Bristol Health Partners and our Health Integration Teams over the five years include:

• Felicity Harvey, Director General for Public and International Health, Department of Health
• Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health
• Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department of Health

Developing city-wide assets

Creating a local inventory of health related data sources and systems through our Local Digital Health Research & Development Group, with a view to improve health, care and services through research.

With our partners People in Health West of England and other local health networks, developing and supporting a unique, cross-sector approach to patient and public involvement.

Our website and email newsletter bring together the latest news and events in the health and care sector in our city – nowhere else does this.

Creating, developing and supporting a culture of co-operation and collaboration, bringing together the right people regardless of organisational affiliation.

Adding value by joining up evidence with practice, building our local knowledge networks and workforce capability.