Our partnerships

Spectrum values and invests in joint working, with partnerships in many different forms. We draw on our combined expertise and resources to deliver high quality services and identify innovative ways to reduce health inequalities and improve people’s health and wellbeing. Our partnerships can be operational, strategic and collaborative, operating at a local, regional and national level.

National strategic partnerships

We work closely with NHS England (NHSE), UK Health Security Agency (UK HSA), Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), Home Office and Ministry of Justice (MoJ), as a trusted partner and innovative provider. We help to trailblaze new initiatives and lead on national pilots or research programmes, giving a valued VCSE perspective on new approaches.

We are involved in the national NHS Reconnect programme, a care after custody service to improve continuity of care for people on release, so that any treatment or health gains achieved whilst in prison or other secure environments can be continued in the community.

Integrated Care Systems

At a regional level, we deliver healthcare services across several Integrated Care Systems (ICS’s). For example, we are part of West Yorkshire ICS (WY ICS).

ICSs are geographically based partnerships which bring together organisations that look after health and care needs, improve people’s health and reduce inequalities. This includes NHS partners, local authorities and a range of community service providers.

These larger partnerships look at how health and wellbeing improvements can be made on a regional basis.

Through this network, we contribute to a number of specialist partnerships and initiatives, such as the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit and Root Out Racism pledge.

At a local level, we are actively involved in Wakefield District Health & Care Partnership (WDHCP), which works to improve the health and wellbeing of local people across the district, by reducing health inequalities, providing continuity of care and improving services. This is one of five local partnerships which are part of WY ICS. Our chief executive Dr Linda Harris is a member of WDHCP board and jointly leads the Wakefield Workforce Alliance.

We also work closely with local authority public health strategic partnerships, through our substance misuse and sexual health services.

Delivering services in partnership

To ensure we support our patients in achieving the best possible health, our approach works to provide our patients with seamless healthcare services and wellbeing advice, bringing together a range of complementary skills and experience.

In our Health & Justice Services we are the lead healthcare provider of primary care services in secure environments, including prisons. Our partnership approach involves other expert providers for some specialist aspects of our services, such as podiatry, optometry, physiotherapy and mental health.

In the North East we work together under the partnership brand of Reconnected to Health. In Liverpool, our prison healthcare service is known as Better Health Liverpool.

Substance Misuse Services are multi-disciplinary teams in which we provide expert clinical services. We work alongside other partners to manage and reduce the harmful effects of drug and alcohol misuse, to individual and communities.

These services also involve close working relationships with strategic drug and alcohol partnerships such as North Yorkshire Adult and Young People Drug and Alcohol Partnership Group and Safer York Partnership Board.

Within our integrated Sexual Health Services, we carefully select our partners to provide additional, complementary expertise for some elements of the overall service.

In community based Primary Care, our Tieve Tara Medical Practice is a member of Connexus, a confederation of GP Practices. Working together in partnership through this network helps to ensure general practice has a voice in key areas of local healthcare planning and initiatives, including mental health and urgent care.

Research partnerships

Our research service sees us working with others on a range of studies, evaluations and clinical trials. We also work closely with regional clinical research networks (CRNs) such as the Yorkshire CRN and National Research Institute.

Membership bodies

Spectrum is an active member of Social Enterprise UK (SEUK), the UK’s membership body for social enterprises and the voice for social enterprise. We contribute to an SEUK health and wellbeing specific network, working together to create an environment in which social enterprises can thrive. The network evidences the difference that social enterprises are making, demonstrate solutions and influence decision makers.

As an employee led organisation with an elected staff council, we are members of the Employee Ownership Association. This is a not-for-profit, politically independent organisation which works with its members to champion, promote and provide insight into the business case for employee ownership.

We have links with educational institutes such as the Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of GPs, and other professional bodies. We uphold the principles of these organisations, which encourage trained and skilled staff to contribute to national competency framework reviews, as well as training and development programmes that are designed to improve patient care.