The Health and Wellbeing Board met on Monday 07 September 2026 to discuss progress on the Joint Carers Strategy and the Sutton Health and Care Plan. Key discussions included noting the progress made in delivering the Joint Carers Strategy and agreeing to proposed changes for the coming year, as well as noting the update on the Sutton Health and Care Plan.

Progress in the Delivery of the Joint Carers Strategy

The Board received an update on the progress made in delivering the Joint Carers Strategy 2025-30. Significant progress has been made over the past year, with the establishment of the Carers Partnership Board (CPB) being a key achievement. This board, which includes representation from across the partnership, voluntary sector, and carers themselves, aims to ensure that carer voices are heard at all levels of decision-making.

Progress has been made across the four key priorities of the strategy:

• Priority 1: Carer Identification and Recognition: This has involved collaboration with St George's, Epsom and St Helier Hospitals (GESH) on their Carers Charter, strengthening local carer identification and recognition. Well-being check-in calls for identified carers post-discharge from hospital have also been implemented.
• Priority 2: Assessing Carer's Needs: This priority is linked to the Adult Social Care (ASC)/Care Quality Commission (CQC) Improvement Plan. There has been a significant increase in the percentage of completed Carers Assessments, exceeding the target. Direct Payments take-up has also doubled. A new workflow has been built within ASC systems to automatically create a carer back-up or contingency plan during the assessment process.
• Priority 3: Supporting Carers: Work has focused on addressing gaps in carer support, identifying best practices, and exploring collaboration with the Sutton Health Alliance, Primary Care Networks (INTs), and the Community Charitable and Faith Sector. A newly formed Respite Care Task and Finish group has been established to gather feedback on respite care. Several prevention pilots directly supporting carers have been awarded funding, including the Thursday Club, ASKI, and the Sutton Carers Centre's CARES Project.
• Priority 4: Young Carers: Collaborative work with Young Carers has led to co-production activities with Young Carer Ambassadors, a survey of local schools to understand young carers' needs, and the addition of an online, young carer self-referral system to the Sutton Council website. Two Young Carers have joined the Carers Partnership Board. The Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which includes statutory responsibilities for schools to support young carers, is also being integrated into local plans.

The Board noted the progress made and agreed to the proposed changes and focus for the coming year, as set out in the work plan. An update on this strategy will be brought back to the Board in approximately a year's time.

Sutton Health and Care Plan

An update was provided on the delivery of the local health and care plan for 2026/27. The Sutton Health and Care Plan 2025-2028 sets out how system partners will work together to improve the health and wellbeing of Sutton residents. The plan's priorities include neighbourhood working, prevention, proactive care, supporting people to remain independent at home, children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and the role of the charity, community and faith sector.

Progress has been made in several key areas:

• Neighbourhood Working: Sutton's four Integrated Neighbourhood Teams are operating, and Neighbourhood Leadership Groups are being formalised to provide local accountability and coordination.
• Frailty: The Frailty workstream is focused on delivering a whole-system frailty model, with a proactive care approach in place for frail residents. Early evidence suggests that proactive care plans have significantly reduced unplanned care, including A&E attendances and emergency admissions.
• Access to Healthcare Services (Primary and Secondary Care Interface): The GP Access workstream aims to ensure residents can access timely advice, assessment, and treatment through primary care. While routine appointments are generally met within two weeks, the focus is now on achieving 92% same-day access for clinically urgent needs.
• Hospital to Home: This programme aims to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, support timely discharge, and help residents recover and remain independent at home. Services such as the two-hour Urgent Community Response service and Virtual Wards are in place, and the Transfer of Care Hub coordinates discharge planning.
• SEND: Work is ongoing to address the Area for Priority Action identified in the joint Ofsted/CQC local area SEND inspection, focusing on strengthening joint risk management and improving dysphagia support for children and young people.
• Healthy Hearts: Community-based approaches are being expanded to identify risk earlier, improve prevention, and provide more joined-up care for people with cardiovascular disease.

The Board noted the update on key elements of progress against the Sutton Health and Care Plan. Future workstreams will focus on Mental Health, Palliative Care, and strengthening partnerships with the Charity, Community and Faith sector.

Healthwatch Report

Imran Choudhury, Strategic Director of Public Health, mentioned that the Healthwatch report, which gathered opinions from 12,000 local people on the NHS 10-year plan, would be brought back to the next meeting in November for a formal response. Pete Flavell from Healthwatch provided a brief overview of the report's findings, noting both positive aspects and concerns, and confirmed that formal letters had been sent to relevant organisations requesting responses. The report's data is being analysed at a neighbourhood level. The future of Healthwatch itself was also discussed, with uncertainty surrounding upcoming legislation but a commitment to ensuring continued engagement services, potentially under a new organisational name.