The annual awards, held in London last month, named the partnership winners for its joint delivery of a winter plan that reduced hospital admissions and ensured people were able to return home at the safest, earliest opportunity.
The project took a collaborative approach to funding, using it in innovative ways to test out new ways of working, such as having dedicated welfare rights and social workers within mental health settings and running bespoke training events with care homes.
Sian Thomas, Partnership Director for OneWolverhampton, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award. It is a real testament to the hard work that has been done to identify the gaps, think outside the box and come up with innovative ways of ensuring we get people back to the place they call home, as safely and quickly as possible.
“For us to do this we had to work in a truly collaborative way, with pooled resources and shared decision making to support a city wide approach that had not existed previously.”
Rachael Murphy, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Head of Adult Social Care and Health Partnerships, said: “Winter is always a challenging time across health and social care, with many services experiencing increased demand. We decided to take a different approach which delivered closer joint working to better support the needs of individuals and manage demand across the system.
“As a result, we were able to significantly reduce ambulance handover delays and ensure people were able to get home more quickly.”
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said: “This award is testament to the hard work of colleagues across the council and health to deliver improved services to the people of our city, and I would like to congratulate everyone on this achievement."
OneWolverhampton is a place based partnership made up of health, social care, voluntary and community organisations. Using a population health approach, they focus physical and mental health and wellbeing, working collaboratively to help reduce the widening gaps in health inequalities across the borough.
To find out more and to view the full list of winners visit The MJ Awards 2024.
