East Sussex HWB SDP priority

Date

What we will achieve

We will continue to deliver our agreed whole system action plans on cardiovascular disease (CVD), Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD), healthy ageing and frailty and mental health prevention, and monitor progress on a quarterly basis through the Health Outcomes Improvement Oversight Board, with a deep dive into one priority area each quarter.

We will ensure that the health outcomes improvement and learning are used to inform ICT implementation and address variation in outcomes.

March 2026

Improved outcomes for the population

Q1 progress summary

56% of GP practices in East Sussex are now signed up to deliver NHS Health Checks (target 88% for 2025/26). This is supported by training opportunities and a new monthly dashboard showing invitations for the health checks and take up.  

A range of planning work has been taken forward to support Healthy Ageing in East Sussex. This includes a falls prevention action plan for 2025/26, the Age Without Limits Action Day in Hastings & Rother; a Stay Strong, Stay Steady, Stay Independent community falls prevention awareness campaign; and the ‘Full of Life Festival’ celebrating international older people’s day on 1 October. Investment in infrastructure to support a coordinated approach to Age Friendly communities in Hastings and Rother is being taken forward in partnership with Hastings Borough Council and Rother District Council.

Work is being taken forward exploring the role and positive impact of peer support and personal resilience in mental health and wellbeing to understand how we can best support outcomes. This includes reviewing best practice and a survey for VCSE organisations and schools to understand more about what is already being offered and delivered around peer support.

An improvement project was launched in April 2025 to reduce variation in lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) prescribing across primary care, to help reduce cholesterol and the risk of Cardiovascular Disease. Two educational webinars were delivered, and all East Sussex practices have signed up to the project, which is expected to significantly increase LLT prescribing.

East Sussex HWB SDP priority

Date

What we will achieve

We will continue to strengthen the strategic stewardship role and vision of the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) through completing our programme of development sessions aimed at growing a deeper shared understanding of our population health and care needs and strengths, and understanding how well we are working together as a system to improve outcomes.

Building on the work on system stewardship in 2024/25, we will ensure our East Sussex Health and Care Partnership is operating effectively across our system at Place, with accountability to the HWB for our strategic planning and operational collaboration in our local communities.

March 2026

A clear focus and approach across all partners.

Q1 progress summary

The informal HWB development sessions continue to be a successful way to grow relationships and a shared understanding of the issues and challenges affecting the East Sussex population. Progress with the sessions is being made to plan. The session held in June focused on the JSNA theme of the importance of the life course, and the JSNA theme for the following session in September is reducing health inequalities. We remain on target for completion of the initial programme by March 26, geared around our JSNA themes and building towards the refresh of our HWB Strategy in 2026/27. The summary briefings with the key messages from the sessions held so far is published here: East Sussex in Figures – Data Observatory – JSNA – JSNA: Health and Wellbeing Board briefing notes

Our East Sussex Health and Care Partnership has agreed actions to proactively respond to recently announced national and local changes that affect the context for how way we strategically collaborate as partners, and what we need to prioritise together, including ICB/system reform and a significant reduction in capacity, as well as increasing financial and service pressures.

East Sussex HWB SDP priority

Date

What we will achieve

We will continue to enhance support to parents and carers and families to enable the best start in life and ensure service improvements, including pathway and service redesign, are effectively implemented to improve the health and wellbeing and life chances of children and young people.

March 2026

Improved experience and increased opportunities to support our most vulnerable families.

Q1 progress summary

Feedback from schools and parents in the first year of the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) project (16 East Sussex schools) has been collated to inform year 2 which will run from June 2025 – March 2026 (10 East Sussex schools).

To support improved access to information and support, a pilot of the ‘Dimensions’ tool is planned to run to February 2026 in 13 East Sussex schools, to provide a personalised profile and information about self-care, local services and support to children and young people across a range of emotional and mental health issues.

East Sussex HWB SDP priority

Date

What we will achieve

We will implement integrated delivery of community mental health services and a wider range of earlier mental health support for adults of all ages and people with dementia, through delivering functional Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams (NMHTs) and ensuring their alignment with emerging Integrated Community Teams, in line with the Sussex-wide approach, as well as improving access and outcomes in supported accommodation and capitalising on opportunities presented by the planned opening of the new Coombe Valley Hospital.

March 2026

Reduced reliance on specialist services and improved population health and wellbeing

Q1 progress summary

Neighbourhood Mental Health Team (NMHT) implementation has continued at pace. A soft launch date for NMHTs is planned for 10 November 2025, and all NMHT core team staff are expected to be using a new shared client record system.

A successful bit for local external funding will support a feasibility study to be undertaken, looking at possible options to deliver a community dementia hub within the Lewes area.

Linking with our SDP plans and partnership work to improve health outcomes, work has begun on evidence building and developing recommendations in the area of peer support and personal capital, recognising the benefits and impact for promoting positive mental health.

Work is also underway with the East Sussex Older People’s Mental Health Needs Assessment which includes compiling and analysing data, completing literature searches and starting qualitive data collection.

East Sussex HWB SDP priority

Date

What we will achieve

We will support the move to a neighbourhood health service that delivers more care at or closer to home through our five Integrated Community Teams (ICTs) across East Sussex. In line with ICTs across Sussex, this will focus on providing proactive, joined-up care for people who require support from multiple services and organisations; improved access to local health and care services and, improving the health and wellbeing of our population through an asset-based approach.

March 2026

In year plan delivered.

Q1 progress summary

Our 5 new ICT leadership groups continue to meet bi-monthly in our 5 ICT footprints to develop the day-to-day joint management, planning and coordination for each ICT with good attendance from across system partners. This includes developing joint ICT action plans based on three key aims; improving access, providing integrated proactive care, and a joined-up approach to prevention.

Working across Sussex we’ve supported the development of the draft Sussex Neighbourhood Health Framework and wider plans to deliver neighbourhood health. This includes using the learning from the work over winter 2024/25 to identify people who would benefit from proactive care due to falls and medicines risks, to start to outline plans for winter 2025/26 and establish multi-disciplinary proactive care teams working at neighbourhood level around groups of people with a high risk of admission to hospital. A risk stratification tool has been procured to support teams across primary, community and social care to do this in conjunction with using our Sussex Integrated Dataset.

East Sussex HWB SDP priority

Date

What we will achieve

We will continue to embed efficiency and process learning from transformation programmes into ‘business as usual’ to further strengthen efficient hospital discharge processes, supported by digital automation, with a long-term funding plan for discharge capacity

March 2026

More people will be able to be discharged safely to a community setting.

Q1 progress summary

Whole system collaboration continues to focus on improving hospital discharge and reducing the number of people who remain in hospital after they have no clinical need to stay due to their complex onward care needs. Actions include supporting people to stay active whilst in hospital and minimise deterioration in health and wellbeing, establishing hubs to better coordinate the transfer of care, two Social Work Teams supporting ‘discharge to recover and assess’ beds and a discrete scheme commissioned to help people arranging and paying for their own care.

As of June 2025, the number of people categorised as no longer having a medical reason to be in an acute hospital is steadily improving in East Sussex, with the recent NCTR numbers at ESHT hospitals being consistently below 200. Although this is still very high, it mirrors the 2023 ‘summer’ levels. Alongside good multi-disciplinary and system working, it is in part dependent on continuing to have the right levels of bed capacity in the community.

Funding allocations have been agreed until the end of Quarter 2 2025/26. Despite a reduction in Discharge To Assess (D2A) beds, overall performance continues to improve. This is reliant on our health and care system investing in the right type of support to respond to people’s increasingly complex needs appropriately after being in hospital.

East Sussex HWB SDP priority

Date

What we will achieve

We will finalise, agree and implement our shared vision for the housing sector in East Sussex set out in the East Sussex Housing Partnership Strategy and mobilisation plan, with a strong focus on health, housing and care as part of a strategic partnership framework that complements the borough and district housing authority strategies.

March 2026

A clear ambition for all partners

Q1 progress summary

Work is continuing to support the agreement of a finalised place-based East Sussex Housing Partnership Strategy. The draft Strategy has now been published for public consultation in July – August 2025 supported by an online survey. The partnership strategy will complement the individual strategies in each of the local housing authorities and provide a framework to strengthen partnership working in the context of devolution and local government reorganisation. The recent public sector spending review included several announcements to support investment in affordable housing, improve housing standards and homelessness prevention. Further information and local funding allocations are expected in the autumn.

The East Sussex multiple compound needs health needs assessment* has now been published, including homelessness, poor mental health and substance dependency support needs. The findings and recommendations will guide future partnership work, including our programme supporting rough sleepers and links to Integrated Community Teams and Mental Health Neighbourhood Support Teams. Work is also underway to strengthen links with homelessness prevention activities and the work of landlords to support community development as part of the Adult Social Care Prevention Strategy.

A pan-Sussex response was submitted to the recent national consultation on supported housing regulations. The response highlighted the importance of supported housing as an alternative to temporary accommodation and enabling discharge from acute health and care settings.

*Multiple compound needs (sometimes also described as severe and multiple disadvantage) describes the experience of having several support needs linked to social exclusion, usually three or more of the following: housing, substance misuse and mental health needs, engagement with the criminal justice system (specifically probation) or experience of domestic abuse, and the multiplying effects of these needs in combination.