In September last year I wrote that August had been a month where the sector had been faced with “a plethora of government announcements, initiatives, funding cuts and consultations” and we all seemed to agree on our anxiety that if we blinked we would miss a new policy announcement or a key piece of news. I’m not sure quite how much the policy announcements have slowed this summer and we have seen significant world events such as famine in Africa and the United States seemingly on the edge of bankruptcy be sidelined by lurid tales of phone hacking.
However the overall pace of change for us at CVS and for our members and those who use all our services appears to be relentless. The changing health and social care agendas continue to dominate. Just in the last few days we have seen:-
- City of York Council being to consult on the future of care for the elderly. You can find out more about how to take part in the consultation here. http://www.york.gov.uk/health/Services_for_older_people/eph. This is a significant change and we know many of you will want to have your say. I am sure this will be a hot topic for the relevant health and social care forums.
- The Independent Review of Health Services in North Yorkshire and York published its findings to make recommendations for the future commissioning of services within a sustainable financial framework to ensure future financial balance. Many of you contributed to this work. The strategic recommendations from the review can be found below but include redesign of the model of care so that patients are treated according to their level of need and shifting care from the hospital to the community sector. There are also specific recommendations relating to a stronger role for voluntary sector providers in contributing to integrated provision of community and primary care services, mental health services and preventative work. To find out more go to http://www.yorksandhumber.nhs.uk/reports_and_publications/north_yorkshire_and_york_review/
And finally on health issues some of you have been asking for more information about the Transition Board, the interim arrangement prior to the new Health and Wellbeing Board for York. I am pleased to say that fellow Board Members Pete Dwyer and Rachel Johns will be guests at our Voluntary Sector Strategic Forum on 13th September 2011 to join me in answering your questions. More information available here. http://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/content/voluntary-sector-strategic-forum
For CVS last week saw the announcement of the Transforming Local Infrastructure Fund, which was first discussed when the current government came into power and consulted on many months ago. This is said to be the final funding round for our type of organisation so it is crucial that we use this funding to truly transform our organisation and the services we provide. This will mean working with groups we know, finding more of those we don’t know, and establishing their needs in this ever-changing environment. We will work with appropriate partners to deliver the right services, in the right place in and in the right way. Please read more about this important piece of funding and tell us how it could be used to enable you to access better infrastructure support. http://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/content/transforming-local-infrastructure-fund
We are still working with City of York Council to develop a Service Level Agreement for the additional funding to the sector for 1st October 2011 to 31st March 2012 so please bear with us on this and we will release details as soon as possible.
As always please get in touch if there is anything you would like to talk about. We have just updated our Comments, Compliments and Complaints Policy which can be found here http://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/ycvs-policies but we’re equally happy to take your comments by phone, email, fax, letter or tweet!
