18 March 2021 – Mental Health Network – governance during the COVID-19 pandemic webinar

There was a discussion around partnership working. GGI research during the pandemic revealed the following:

• ‘Good relations got better and bad ones got worse’
• COVID-19 made partnerships more intentional
• Heightened focus on moving upstream
• Shift in ‘centre of gravity’
• Faster pace; better communication
• Momentary pause on inter-organizational competition

Overheard during the webinar:

“Partnerships have improved but we were building on a strong foundation, especially with the local mental health trusts. We discuss what collaboration means for them and what partnership looks like, which will lead to further collaboration. It feels like a sense of déjà vu and there can be layers of bureaucracy where it is not needed and the kind of partnership discussions potentially needed in some places haven’t happened.”

“Within ICSs the acutes have generally dominated but during COVID the mental health and community trust has enhanced our impact in the system and shown what the mental health trusts can deliver. This has included setting up COVID red wards, setting up emergency hub and community hospitals as surge hubs and vaccine hubs.”

“The pandemic has been a live exercise in partnership working and for a trust that has in the past been slightly insular it has helped developed strong partnerships. This has been real and tangible, rather than a future-looking exercise or abstract discussion. […] It has built strong partnerships due to the fact it was operational straight away and there has been opportunities to test as you work. During this period the mental health profile has risen, and we’re keen that we don’t lose some of the great partnership working which has taken place.”

“We have a dashboard of people taking up the vaccine by protested characteristics. In the past week our data for vaccine uptake showed: white British: 81%, Asian British: 68% and black British: 42%. We have used staff stories and peer-to-peer discussions to help dispel the myths. We have set up dedicated sessions for people with learning disabilities and their carers, with a wide range of fun and therapeutic approaches to allow time and space for people to engage around vaccines.”

“Staff retention has improved over the past few months but I don’t want to be complacent as there is a real sense that people have wanted to make their contribution during this time but that this may wane as the pandemic eases.”

These meetings are by invitation only. For further details, visit our website https://www.good-governance.org.uk/events/

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about these webinars, please contact: events@good-governance.org.uk