The partnership Tower Hamlets integrated safety huddle has been shortlisted for a national award. Juliet Usiade, senior liaison mental health nurse practitioner at the SE Locality Community Health Service, explains how the partnership huddle is helping service users.

What is the Tower Hamlets Integrated Safety Huddle? 

The huddle was set up to promote coordinated and service user-centred care, and it supports early identification of adults who are at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.

The huddle enables us to plan care and provide an oversight of local safeguarding concerns and enquiries.

Who is the huddle helping? 

The service users supported in the huddle are adults with complex physical and mental health issues.

Sometimes, social services may bring service users to the huddle with safeguarding concerns which have been raised.

How does it help service users? 

The huddle is reassuring for service users, as it can support them in having positive health and social care experiences. From a clinical perspective, the huddle also ensures teams can understand the often complicated backstories of service users.

Why is the partnership approach important? 

We all have one common goal, which is to improve the care and experiences of service users. To achieve this, we complement each other’s work through interdependence and co-production – making service user experiences very enriching.

Which partners are involved?

Integrated Safety Huddle partners are ELFT Community Health Services, Tower Hamlets adult social care, Neighbourhood Mental Health Team and Tower Hamlets Homecare.

National recognition

The huddle was shortlisted in the Best Use of Integrated Care and Partnership Working in Patient Safety category of the HSJ Patient Safety Awards.
The awards ceremony was due to take place on Monday, September 18.