The Northumberland Health and Well-being Board met to discuss the Thriving Together annual review, and the Healthwatch Northumberland annual report. The board was also scheduled to review its forward plan for the 2025/26 council year.

Thriving Together Annual Review

The Health and Well-being Board was scheduled to receive a presentation on the annual review of Thriving Together.

Thriving Together's core missions are:

• Making sure the smallest voice in the third sector is heard by developing strategic links at a local, regional and national level.
• Building the capacity of the voluntary sector by acting as a conduit to funding, training and other tools to help the VCSE¹ thrive in Northumberland for the benefit of residents.
• To be a trusted source of local support, services and advocacy, championing long-term, positive change for volunteers, organisations and the people they serve.

Thriving Together operates a number of networks including:

• Women's Network (Women's Workshop)
• Warmer Northumberland Partnership (Citizens Advice Bureau/NCC)
• The Green (Northumberland Green Hub)
• Learning Difficulties (spLinter Group)
• North Northumberland Network (NNVF)
• Ageing Well (Age UK)
• Food Aid (West Northumberland Food Bank)
• Prudhoe (Prudhoe Community Partnership)
• EDI (Being Woman)
• Veterans (TT)
• Employability (NCC)
• Financial Wellbeing (TT)
• Culture (Novo Theatre)
• VCSE Inequalities Task Force (TT)
• HAF Providers (TT)

Thriving Together has received funding from:

• Solid Foundations - £1,272,900
• Multiply - £563,900
• Adult Education Budget - £408,964
• NHS Health and Wellbeing Fund - £65,000
• Population Health Management - £250,000
• Assura - £10,000
• Healthy Communities - £44.242
• Volunteer Skills Passport - £72,000
• PfPP - Hello Hirst - £100,000
• Nourish - £25,000
• NEICP - £26,416
• HAF - £20,000
• CTW - £38,112
• MECC - £50,000

Thriving Together's next steps are:

• Volunteer Passport - continuation and expansion of pilot
• Communities First - launch of micro-grants
• Identifying future bids to NECA and other funders to build further capacity in the sector
• Continue to build on strategic relationships with NCC and others to influence and amplify the voice of the sector

Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Report

The Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Report 2024–2025 was scheduled to be presented.

Peter Standfield, Chair of Healthwatch Northumberland, stated that Healthwatch Northumberland set out to hear more from users of health and social care services in Northumberland whose voices have been heard less often in the past.

Lorraine Hershon, Chair of Adapt (NE), stated that Healthwatch Northumberland has gained respect from health and care providers and commissioners through its partnership approach to working.

Healthwatch Northumberland's vision is that the people of Northumberland have their health and social care needs met and their experience of using services heard and understood by those responsible for commissioning and providing services.

Healthwatch Northumberland's mission is to ensure that the people of Northumberland can give their views and are involved in and can influence decisions made about their health and social care.

Healthwatch Northumberland's values are:

• Listening to people and making sure their voices are heard
• Including everyone in the conversation – especially those who don't always have their voice heard
• Analysing different people's experiences to learn how to improve care
• Acting on feedback and driving change
• Partnering with care providers, Government, and the voluntary sector – serving as the public's independent advocate

Healthwatch Northumberland supported more than 2150 people to have their say and get information about their care, and currently employs six staff supported by 12 volunteers.

809 people shared their experiences of health and social care services with Healthwatch Northumberland, and people came to Healthwatch Northumberland over 10,000 times for clear advice and information.

Healthwatch Northumberland published 22 reports about the improvements people would like to see in areas like health visiting, women's health and care homes, with the most popular report being on health visiting services.

In 2024/25, Healthwatch Northumberland received £200,000 in statutory funding from Northumberland County Council.

Healthwatch Northumberland worked with other Local Healthwatch across the region to understand the difficulties people face when accessing dental care, with over 3800 people sharing their views.

Healthwatch Northumberland was approached by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) for insight into health inequality barriers to people accessing its services, and highlighted lack of awareness about services as a key issue, especially for people with English as an additional language.

Healthwatch Northumberland gathered feedback from women across Northumberland to help shape the women's health strategy as part of the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board's 'Big Conversation'.

Healthwatch Northumberland worked with North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and Local Healthwatch to understand people's experiences and expectations of its services.

Healthwatch Northumberland worked with the Adult Social Care People's Panel to advise about improvements needed to public information about adult social care on the council's website, and attended training for social care staff to give their experience of using services and especially on how Carer's Assessments are carried out.

Healthwatch Northumberland gave valuable insight to the Growing Healthy 0-19 Service Northumberland, who formed an action plan based on Healthwatch Northumberland's recommendations.

Healthwatch Northumberland took its Annual Event to Berwick-upon-Tweed, bringing together 25 health, social care and voluntary sector organisations into a lively information market place for local people.

As part of its Enter and View programme, Healthwatch Northumberland visited care homes in Northumberland owned and run by HC-One, and published a report after each visit, which included recommendations to the homes and their responses.

Following increased concerns from people in Northumberland about audiology (hearing) services, Healthwatch Northumberland worked with Newcastle Hospitals, ensuring they were aware of patient feedback, and brought the concerns to the attention of both the Integrated Care Board and Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which required Newcastle Hospitals to do an improvement plan.

Healthwatch Northumberland developed relationships with farming communities in West Northumberland, ensured its cost of living information booklet was distributed widely across the county, hosted a focus group for unpaid women carers, worked with the Fishermen's Mission Seafit Programme, Northumberland County Council's Health Trainers and charities such as Prostate Cancer UK and Liver Trust UK, to bring health and wellbeing support to fishermen and their families at Amble Harbour, and started to engage with refugee and asylum seeker communities in Northumberland.

Healthwatch Northumberland provided support to Gwen, who contacted them with concerns about the attitudes she and her relative experienced at a local hospital, contacted a local GP practice about a registration form for new patients on its website that had next of kin as a mandatory field, contacted the hospital trust delivering the screening programme after Michelle contacted them because she was worried about making a health screening appointment, provided detailed information to David about eligibility for the RSV vaccine, and spoke to the audiology department at The Freeman Hospital and Northumberland County Council Adult Social Care after Serena contacted them about audiology services for her husband.

Healthwatch Northumberland's volunteers have given 491 hours to support its work.

Healthwatch Northumberland will focus on GP access, dentistry, and adult social care in the future.

Health and Well-being Board Forward Plan

The Committee was scheduled to review its forward plan for the 2025/26 council year.

Forthcoming items included:

• Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment report
• IHE: Tackling inequalities through employment update and commencing Best Start in Life work programme
• Alcohol Strategy (with Balance attending for wider discussion) deep dive
• Inequalities Plan
• The Northumberland Children and Adults Safeguarding Partnership (NCASP) annual report 23-24
• Annual Report of Principal Social Worker (Adults)
• Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy – starting and growing up well
• Mental Health Strategy
• Health Protection Assurance report
• Northumberland Tobacco control Partnership
• Health Impact Assessment
• Healthy Weight Alliance Annual Update
• Sexual Health Strategy
• Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy – Whole Systems annual review
• DPH Annual Report – Rural and Coastal Health Inequalities
• Physical Activity Strategy

Regular reports include:

• Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy Refresh Thematic Groups – Update
• Public Health Annual Report
• Child Death Overview Panel Annual Report
• Healthwatch Annual Report
• Northumberland Childrens and Adults Safeguarding Partnership Annual Report
• Annual Report of Senior Coroner
• Annual Health Protection Report
• Tobacco Control
• Healthy Families Plan
• Healthy Weight Alliance
• Mental Health
• System Transformation Board Update – Annual progress Report
• Annual Report of Principal Social Worker (Adults)
• Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment Update

The Northumberland County Council Health and Wellbeing Monitoring Report 2025-2026 noted the Better Care Fund 2025-26 Narrative Plan, and the Northumberland Dementia Strategy.