We are proud to have been recognised for involving patients and the public in our work, by receiving the top award of a ‘Green Star’ rating from NHS England.

Phil Mettam, Accountable Officer for NHS Vale of York CCG, said: ‘We would like to thank everyone involved in helping us achieve this rating. It has been a great effort across the sector, built on the foundations of good partnership working.

“The award reflects our approach to commissioning which has always tried to be inclusive and patient focussed with as much co-production as possible.”

The 2019-20 rating has been awarded after scores were achieved from five assessment criteria including: providing good governance, annual reporting, day-to-day engagement practice, feedback and evaluation, and a commitment reducing health equalities.

The rating is prepared for annually as part of the national CCG Improvement and Assessment Framework (IAF), using the Patient and Community Engagement Indicator to assess how well a CCG has involved the public and demonstrated a commitment to supporting continuous improvement in public participation.

Some of the work that contributed to the Green Star rating includes:

• Helping maternity users have their say, and become involved in improving and developing services
• Working with young people who have mental health conditions to put in place support mechanisms
• Improving services for wheelchair users through our regular user forum
• Supporting people to be part of an ageing well community
• Listening to our LGBT+ community and rolling our training and awareness sessions
• Engaging with young people with disabilities and their families and embedding coproduction
• Partnership working and focusing on population health to reduce health inequalities

Annual reports are a way in which we can showcase how we involve our community in the work that we do. You can view more infromation about our public engagement in our NHS Vale of York CCG Engagement Annual Report 2019-20.

For more information on the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Improvement and Assessment Framework (IAF) visit: https://www.england.nhs.uk/participation/involvementguidance/ccg-iaf/