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On 16 November 2020 Newcastle City Council approved the foundations of the Collaborative Newcastle agreement.

The initial governance structure and legal agreement between four key health and social care organisations in the City was presented to the Cabinet by Councillor Karen Kilgour.

The new framework brings together four anchor organisations (Newcastle City Council, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, Newcastle and Gateshead NHS Clinical Commissioning Group and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation) and will push forward work to fully integrate the city’s health and social care system and create better outcomes for residents.

“Newcastle is a proud and great city, a city that lead, that is innovative and always looking forward. But, as with other cities across the North, we also have high levels of deprivation and health and social care inequalities. The North has also disproportionately been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and we have seen how quickly our vulnerable residents can tip into food and financial poverty.” Councillor Karen Kilgour, Cabinet member for Health and Social Care, Newcastle City Council.

The legal agreement is one of the first of its kind in the country and will provide the partners with the power and leverage to make significant changes across the health and social care system in Newcastle. From commissioning to delivery, independent living to hospital admissions, every level of the health and social care spectrum will be part of the agreement.

The Collaborative Newcastle agreement is also the catalyst for creating a single identity that staff from across all four anchor organisations will be part of, bringing everyone together with a shared vision and ultimately greater health and wellbeing for all Newcastle residents.

“It is only by working together that we can truly tackle head on the real challenges that hold people back and address the widening health and social care inequalities that so many face.” Councillor Karen Kilgour, cabinet member for Health and Social Care, Newcastle City Council.

The Legal Agreement was also discussed by Newcastle’s City Futures Board – formerly the city’s Wellbeing for Life Board – on 17 November. The partnership board includes Newcastle City Council, the NHS in Newcastle, Healthwatch, the Voluntary and Community Sector and both the city’s Universities.

The City Futures Board is also Newcastle’s COVID Recovery Board and is shaping both economic and public health recovery from the pandemic, the work of Collaborative Newcastle will be a huge part of this recovery.

Photo caption – Councillor Karen Kilgour, cabinet member for Health and Social Care at the opening of Allendale Court, a unique residential care setting in Newcastle.