About the Board

Corporate Objectives

Each year, the Southern Health and Social Services Board identifies several key business areas where it intends to focus its efforts - these are called our Corporate Objectives. These objectives assist Departments/Programme Commissioning Groups in planning for the year ahead and we will monitor progress towards achieving these through our performance management system.

Corporate Objectives 2007/08

Aim

2007/08 will be the final year of tranistion towards the new HPSS structures with the Board being integrated into the regional HSSA with effect from 01/04/2008. The aim of the Board during this period of tranisition will be to continue to work to achieve improved health and social wellbeing for our population, tackle health and social inequalities and improve the quality and range of services within the resources available.

Corporate Objectives for 2007/08

1.To plan to deliver the targets set out in Priorities for Action 2007/08 and to respond to local priorities.

Key Deliverables against this objective will include:

Achievement of at least 95% of PfA targets for 2007/08.
Shifting the focus of commissioning from ill health and treatment to health promotion and prevention through the development of the Southern Investing for Health Partnership's (SIHP) Health Improvement Plan 2007/08 and other mechanisms.
More responsive hospital services measured by the delivery of maximum waiting times for assessment, diagnostic and treatment services for emergency and elective care.
Improved service effectiveness through commissioning initiatives that provide alternatives to hospital-based care across all programmes of care and provide a basis for the further development of effective demand management strategies (e.g. ICATS, Case Management, new approaches to unscheduled care demand through MCN, Facilitating Earlier Discharge)
Better support and outcomes for people with chronic disease or long-term conditions.
Better life chances for children, including children with disabilities and the protection of their rights and interests.

2.To actively promote community and user empowerment and extend involvement in health and social care planning, delivery and performance management.

Key Deliverables against this objective will include:

To continue to develop the Board's process for user involvement and public engagement through implementation of the Board policy.
To support Local Commissioning Groups (LCGs) and pilot Community Commissioning Associations (CCAs) in their "shadow" year to develop effective processes for engaging with and involving local communities in planning and priortizing services that are responsive to local needs.
Ongoing promotion of Person Centred Planning, measured by number of staff trained, number of plans offered and number of plans provided.
Increasing the number of people using direct payments and implementation of an "In Control" pilot.
To continue to actively promote Children's Service Planning, Wraparound, SIHP, Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) and other partnership groups as vechicles for user involvement.
To continue to improve how we communicate with, and make information available to, users and the public.
To promote an appropriate range of self management approaches for people with chronic disease.
To suport 11 GP Practices through the SHSSB Service Improvement Project in working at promoting and improving their patient engagement.
To continue to promote the ongoing development and quality of patient experience for those who use General Medical Services.
To consult on and finalise the Board's Race Equality Strategy.

3.To sustain our successful partnerships with statutory and independent sector organisations to deliver improved health and social wellbeing.

Key Deliverables against this objective will include:

To agree the SIHP Health Investment Plan 2007/08 and secure implementation through the participation of Partners.
To work with LCGs to develop a continuity plan that maintains and develops partnership working arrangements through the transition period.
To continue to implement the shared objectives of Children’s Services Planning.
To continue to explore the potential for joint funding across the range of statutory partners for effective multi-agency commissioning.
To extend the Wraparound ethos of partnership working to mainstream children’s services.
To take forward the implementation of health promotion strategies and other plans through established area wide partnerships.
To work in partnership with local District Councils to progress the concept of community plans.

4.To improve decision making and ensure effective and equitable use of HPSS resources.

Key Deliverables against this objective will include:

The achievement of HPSS cash and non cash efficiency targets set for the Southern area local health and social care economy linked to service modernization and redesign.
To ensure that the Board continues to meet its financial targets.
To continue to develop and improve the range and quality of management information to support the Boards commissioning decisions.

5.To lead service improvement and workforce modernisation to ensure and improve the quality of health and social care provided to our population

Key Deliverables against this objective will include:

To continue to ensure that implementation of Board-wide Flagship Reforms, as set out in the Southern Area Reform, Modernisation and Efficiency (RME) Plan 2005/06 – 2007/08, achieves service improvement with specific emphasis on;

enhanced COPD services
delivering on the recommendations of the Bamford Review and specifically redesigning acute mental health services through provision of crisis response/home treatment services
progressing the Board’s Learning Disability Strategy including resettlement of at least 10 people from specialist hospitals in 2007/08; ensuring appropriate accommodation is developed for further resettlement in 2008-2010; developing community infrastructure to provide appropriate person -centredservices to people with a learning disability.
continuing to develop intermediate care services across the Board and ensure timely discharge from hospital for elderly people.

Supporting existing and emerging Managed Clinical Networks and working with them to enhance commissioning decisions.Ongoing implementation of local plans for hospital modernisation as set out in the Boards Developing Better Services Strategic Context.

To develop and implement plans for the provision of out of hours services for the Mourne community.

Further progress against Board Strategies for Care of Older People, Mental Health, Visual Impairment, Learning Disability and Dementia.

To continue implementation of the Family Support Strategy.

To finalise the audit of the Trust Care Management Review Action Plans within the Boards area and continue to work with Trusts to take forward the recommendations of the review.

To continue to implement the Community Pharmacy Strategy and rollout the local implementation of the Pharmaceutical Services Improvement Programme.

To work closely with Trusts to progress the Action Plan to address the issues raised by the Birthrate Plus Report - April 2005 and the implications for professional practice of the NICE guidelines on maternity services.

To recruit and support 11 GP Practices through the Service Improvement Project to improve their quality of care. The focus will be on 2 strands in particular - patient access and patient engagement.

6. To enhance public and service user safety and manage risk effectively in the transition period.

Key Deliverables against this objective will include:

To have identified and introduced 3 measures known to save lives, in collaboration with the Southern Trust and the Regional Safety Forum.
To implement the recommendations of the RQIA governance report.
To further develop emergency planning preparedness working closely with new Southern Trust, Primary Care, voluntary agencies and other statutory bodies including District Councils, ensuring attainment of at least ‘moderate compliance’ with Civil Contingencies Framework and the Emergency Planning Functions Directions.
To continue updating the Southern Area Pandemic and Avian Flu Plans as new information becomes available.
To implement the regional strategy for the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections.
To promote high standards of infection control in General Practice (both medical and dental) and commission/provide training as appropriate.
To implement the DHSSPS ‘Safety First’ framework action plan ensuring that safer, high quality care is included as a standing agenda item for Board meetings.
To implement the agreed action plan from the Child protection Inspection and from the Regional Overview report.
To review and revise the Boards performance management framework, including how the scheme of delegation is monitored, to reflect new Trust structures and take account of emerging HSSA processes.
To continue to implement Governance processes within the Board.To support the development of robust clinical and social care governance arrangements across the Family Practitioner Services, through:

-engaging independent practitioners and their staff in training;

-through the development of adverse incident reporting systems; and

-through the assessment of practice governance arrangements.

To work with the DHSSPS, and with local stakeholders, to ensure implementation of recommendations arising from the Shipman Enquiry.
To continue to implement the Boards' ICT Strategy, Records Management Strategy and ICT Training Strategy.

7. To ensure the organisation and its staff are prepared for and supported through the implementation of RPA changes to HPSS systems and structures

Key Deliverables against this objective will include:

To support Board staff to continue to deliver on core organisational objectives through the transition period, providing appropriate training and development opportunitiesand initiatives to maintain staff wellbeing.
To ensure ongoing communication with staff about the changes and how their individual and corporate roles may be affected.
To provide a strong foundation to support and maximize the effectiveness of new commissioning systems and processes into the future by working with LCG members to develop appropriate needs assessment, service capacity/demand and financial information that will inform commissioning decisions for 2008/09.To work with emerging CCAs to explore initial areas for local commissioning and support them in accessing and developing relevant information systems for effective commissioning of both health and social care services.