The Harrow Health & Care Executive (HHACE)

In the joint Covid response in Harrow [HHACE] allowed us to work through areas of concern across all partners with joint solutions often achieved.

HHACE member

About the partnership

1. The Harrow Health and Care Executive (HHACE) is a weekly meeting of system leaders first established in February 2020.
2. Initially setup to support partnership development, HACE played a crucial role in managing Harrow’s response to the pandemic including as the Borough Silver Command.
3. Subsequently, HACE has focussed on both unblocking key operational challenges and transforming services to meet the needs of the people of Harrow.

What has gone well

1. HHACE has attracted and engaged a broad membership including Acute, Community and Mental Health Providers; Local Authority Public Health, Adults’ and Community Services; Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector leaders; and Harrow’s Primary Care Clinical Directors.
2. Continuous learning and reflection is an integral part of HHACE meetings which enables the forum to be responsive, evolve in line with changing needs, and be resilient to changes in membership.

Challenges experienced and overcome

1. Making it real for professionals and communities – establishing HHACE as a decision-making forum able to commit collective funding and resourcing to key priorities such as addressing inequalities.
2. Bringing together all partners as equals to identify and address the challenges of partnership working, ensuring that operational issues are addressed, and that learning is applied to broader transformation.

Results

1. HHACE has significantly strengthened partnership working across the borough. In a formal one year ‘reflect and review’ process 100% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that ‘I believe HHACE has been effective in improving joint-working over the last 12 months’. This has enabled: improved trust and relationships between partners; rapid mobilisation of support when needed most; and rapid resolution of issues through joint solutions.

What made the difference

1. Each meeting is opened with a reminder that the purpose of the meeting: to bring together system leaders to make decisions on behalf of the people of Harrow.
2. Virtual meetings on MS Teams enable broad attendance from across the system.
3. Co-chairing arrangements and strong Council attendance mean the meeting feels like a joint enterprise, rooted in Harrow as a place.
4. Actions are reviewed and closed weekly and standing items are agreed to ensure key messages are communicated clearly outside the virtual room.
5. VCSE-led and focused items are regularly on the agenda ensuring a strong VCSE voice as part of decision-making.
6. Representation: Major NHS Trust are all represented in the room at a very senior level and PCN Clinical Directors regularly attend and contribute.