Lambeth Together is a partnership of the voluntary and community sector, the NHS, Lambeth Council, and others, focused on improving health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities for people in Lambeth through an integrated health and care system.
Our partnership was established in 2017 to improve ways of working across our organisations and with our communities to meet health and care needs across our borough and to plan and coordinate services focused on our local population. In the summer of 2022, we formally became part of the South East London Integrated Care System(ICS), which has been formed in response to the Government’s Health and Social Care Act 2022.
This was an important milestone in our evolution as a partnership, as we continue to work together to plan and manage the services for which we are responsible. Working together, we coordinate care across our borough to remove unhelpful divides between hospital and community-based services, physical and mental health, and health and social care. Making services more joined-up, easier to access and better suited to people’s needs will help people get the right care and support in the right place, as early as possible and help our population achieve better health in the decades to come.
Why Lambeth Together?
In the past, divisions between hospitals and family doctors, between physical and mental health and between NHS and Council services have meant that too many people experience disjointed care. By joining together locally, we can better support people’s health and wellbeing and their experience of care. Integrating care also makes sense for services that are facing growing pressures. We are all living longer, so people are more likely to need help for illness, or several illnesses, over their lifetime. Lambeth also has a growing population, so it’s likely that more people will need to use health services in future.
Helping people with their own health and wellbeing, so they stay well for longer, is better for everyone.
Ensuring people have easy access to care when they need it, benefits patients, staff and carers. Having
teams that work together across organisations to understand what matters most to people also transforms our staff’s experience, enabling them to focus on each individual in a unique way.
Lambeth Together – who we are
There are many different organisations involved. These include:
- community voices, like Healthwatch Lambeth, Black Thrive Lambeth and Patient and Public Voice Members of our Board
- voluntary and community services such as Age UK Lambeth, Thames Reach and Certitude
- and public bodies like Lambeth Council, NHS South East London Integrated Care Board, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Lambeth GP practices
You can read more about our partners and our leadership, including our Board members, here. As we come from a diverse range of organisations, with different systems and workplace cultures, we recognise it’s important to work in a similar way as much as possible. We’ve developed a vision and a commitment to working together, which includes behaviours that we call the ‘Lambeth Together Way’. To find out more about our commitment to working together, read or watch a video of our pledge.
We have prioritised eight population groups and health issues where we will work together to improve health and wellbeing and the way that we plan and manage services. We call these our ‘Delivery Alliances’ and our Programmes.
Lambeth Together Delivery Alliances and Programmes focus on population groups and health issues where we will work together to improve health and wellbeing. They are responsible for bringing together our partners and people with lived experience to plan and manage initiatives that will join-up services, improve outcomes and address inequalities.
Lambeth Together – Alliances and Programmes
Children and Young People Delivery Alliance
Supporting children and young people in Lambeth to grow up healthy and happy.
Living Well Network Delivery Alliance
Supporting adults in Lambeth who are experiencing mental illness or distress.
Neighbourhood and Wellbeing
Delivery Alliance
Improving the health and wellbeing of adults by working together in local neighbourhoods.
Homeless Health Programme
Improving health outcomes for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, (including rough sleepers and refugees).
Staying Healthy Programme
Promoting the health of the Lambeth population and supporting
communities to maintain good health and wellbeing.
Learning Disabilities and Autism Programme
Improving outcomes and support for people who are autistic
or have a learning disability.
Substance Misuse Programme
Reducing the harms caused by substance misuse and supporting those using substances to access the right help to meet their needs.
Sexual Health Programme
Improving people’s sexual and reproductive health and enabling people with HIV to live and age well, across Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham.