Health and care work best when we shape them together

A blog by Kirsteen, Lead for Personalisation, It’s All About People Personalisation Programme

It’s National Co-production Week and we’re in the middle of a full-blown summer heatwave - two things that have got me reflecting on where we were this time last year.

The weather in July 2024 was much more sensible, that’s for sure. We were also celebrating a major milestone: the official launch of Our Shared Agreement at the It’s All About People Conference 2024.

At its heart, Our Shared Agreement is built on a simple but powerful belief:

Health and care work best when we shape them together

And when I say ‘we’ I mean everyone - the people who use services, and the professionals who provide them.

Fittingly, Our Shared Agreement and the Five Foundations that underpin it were co-produced from the very beginning. And this spirit of collaboration - of professionals and people learning, exploring, and innovating side by side - is still the beating heart of this growing movement.

And it’s a movement that’s starting to take root here in Lincolnshire. Over the past year, we’ve seen Our Shared Agreement:

• referenced in key strategies
• embedded into learning and development programmes
• used as a marker of quality improvement
• featured in the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board’s People and Communities Involvement Report 2024-25
• included in the Director of Public Health’s 2024/25 report
• and adopted as a core part of the Mental Health, Dementia, Learning Disability and Autism Alliance

It’s also been a joy to engage with an ever-growing number of health and care colleagues and services, and members of the public, who are sharing how they’re bringing Our Shared Agreement to life in their everyday work and lives.

It’s clear this movement to work together has never been more needed.

With the NHS 10-Year Plan about to be published - and as we navigate the growing challenges across health, social care, and the voluntary, faith, community and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector - putting people’s voices and lived experiences at the centre of everything we do must be our top priority.

Ensuring co-production is at the heart of all we do

Co-production is at the core of everything we do in the It’s All About People Personalisation Team.

Every-One

We’re proud to work hand-in-hand with Every-One, a Lincolnshire charity that shares our passion for strategic co-production and making people’s voices central to shaping health and care.

The latest Every-One Co-production News – June edition is packed with real-life examples of co-production in action and current opportunities to get involved. It’s a great read if you want to see what meaningful collaboration really looks like.

WATCH the video below, to hear Vicky Thomson, Chief Executive of Every-One talk about the importance of good co-production to health and social care provision and the value it can bring.

Lincolnshire ICS Co-production Framework and Principles

We’ve also been playing a key role in developing the Lincolnshire Integrated Care System (ICS) Co-production Framework and Principles - and it goes without saying that this framework has been co-produced too.

This practical guide is designed to support organisations, services, staff, and people with lived experience in embedding co-production into everyday practice. It covers essential areas including:

• Why co-production matters now more than ever
• The benefits of co-production
• Making co-production happen: Things to consider
• Commissioning with people, not for them
• What to consider when making co-production happen
• Types and levels of co-production participation
• Co-production models
• Examples of co-production in Lincolnshire
• Where to go for support

We’re excited to be launching the framework soon, alongside a set of user-friendly tools and resources, all of which will be freely available on the It’s All About People website.

Watch this space, and join us in putting co-production into practice, together.

Co-production in action

We’re currently working with Beckie McConville, one of the Heads of Integrated Community Partnership at Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group, to embed personalised approaches into the HPV vaccination programme at Lincoln University.

Listen to Beckie talking about how important it’s been to work alongside the students when designing the programme, and the potential pitfalls they were heading into if they hadn’t included them right from the start.

This summer, we’re hitting the road — and coming to you!

Instead of hosting a big conference, the Personalisation Programme Team is teaming up with some of our amazing It’s All About People Champions to visit health and care settings across the county.

We want to hear directly from you - the people making real change happen every day.

How are you bringing Our Shared Agreement to life?

How are you embracing co-production in your work?

This is your chance to share what’s working, inspire others, and learn together.

We’re coming your way, so let’s talk, listen, and grow together.

Got a story or experience you want to share ahead of time? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at lhnt.itsallaboutpeople@nhs.net ​