Building system-wide strategy and local delivery across a complex integrated care footprint
Integrated Care Board and four Local Authorities — ongoing multi-level engagement
The Challenge
The Black Country presented a complex challenge: four local authorities operating within a single Integrated Care Board footprint, each with different levels of parent-infant provision and different priorities. The need was both strategic — to develop a coherent ICB-level approach — and highly local, with each authority requiring bespoke support tailored to its own context.
Consultancy Support Recipient
What We Did
What we did — at ICB level
- Developed a parent-infant relationship strategy across the Black Country (currently in print)
- Established a new governance structure to bring greater focus to babies and parent-infant relationships at strategic level
- Supported commissioners to develop a business case for specialist parent-infant relationship provision
- Contributed to whole-system monthly strategic meetings to share best practice across localities
What we did — Dudley
- Developed a parent-infant relationship pathway with practitioners, services and families
- Supported the development of a parent-infant relationship introductory training programme, subsequently rolled out across other Black Country areas
What we did — Sandwell
- Supported the development of a perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships needs assessment
- Mapped parent-infant relationship services across different levels of need
- Provided support for the Start for Life Programme Lead
What we did — Walsall
- Created an Infant Mental Health pathway and outcomes framework
- Mapped existing parent-infant provision
- Developed a parent-infant pathway
- Identified strengths, gaps and opportunities for stronger connections across the system
What we did — Wolverhampton
- Conducted service mapping and gap analysis of parent-infant relationship pathway provision
- Delivered whole-system workshops and a conference to develop a parent-infant relationship strategy
- Supported the Start for Life programme team in public health
What Changed
- A shared strategic framework at ICB level, with governance structures to sustain it
- Each of the four local authorities now has tailored pathway or strategy development underway, reflecting their individual starting points
- A training programme developed in Dudley, now spreading to other areas — demonstrating the value of cross-authority learning
This may be relevant to you if you are
- An Integrated Care Board seeking to develop a coherent parent-infant relationship approach across multiple local authority areas
- A local authority within a larger ICB footprint that needs bespoke support alongside a shared strategic framework
- A system that needs to move from isolated pockets of provision to a joined-up, sustainable offer