The work of the voluntary and community sector has been instrumental in supporting the ongoing development of our priorities and has helped to inform our Integrated Care Partnership strategy and five-year NHS plan.
Aims
There are more than 5,500 community and voluntary sector organisations in South West London.
Building on what we learned during the pandemic, the Alliance will help us reach into communities and design solutions to help reduce health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of local people.
The Alliance aims to:
- be a link between local voluntary and community sector organisations and other partners within our ICS
- share valuable insight and information to support and promote shared learning and collaboration across the different partners
- be a strategic partner within the ICS and support the transformation of health and care services for local people
Leadership group
The Alliance is guided by a leadership group which includes representatives from the six community and voluntary sector infrastructure organisations in South West London:
- Croydon Voluntary Action
- Kingston Voluntary Action
- Merton Connected
- Richmond CVS
- Community Action Sutton
- Wandsworth Care Alliance
It also includes six chief executives of local community and voluntary sector groups, bringing expertise in mental health, children and young people, long term conditions, frail/old people and workforce development
The leadership group brings together the NHS and local voluntary and community organisations to commit to new ways of working between sectors and establishes a framework for collaboration that:
- recognises the interconnectedness of the sectors, as we are serving the same population
- is reciprocal and understanding of our different organisational cultures and contexts
- embrace preventative ways
- is based on conversation at an early stage to allow the sharing of needs/problems/issues and the development of shared solutions
The Alliance Director, appointed in April 2023, sits on the Integrated Care Partnership Board and is invited to join discussions at the Integrated Care Board, alongside senior leaders from health and care.
Read the director’s presentation to the Integrated Care Partnership meeting in July 2023
Several borough events have brought together leaders from across the NHS and local voluntary and community organisations to plan and develop the Alliance.
Next steps
The Alliance is working on its structure, and identifying community and voluntary sector organisations that can sit on different partnerships in South West London.
The leadership group aims to expand to include representatives from smaller organisations and grassroots groups.
We are developing a memorandum of understanding with the Alliance to formally agree how we will work together.
More information
For more information, email South West London Voluntary and Community Sector Alliance Director Sara Milocco.
