Lewisham People’s Partnership was set up in May 2023 to ensure a comprehensive and structured approach to enabling patients and communities to shape decision making by Lewisham Health and Care Partnership.

The group meets every two months with a wide range of representatives from the voluntary and community sector and individuals invited to participate.

If you would like to receive information about Lewisham People’s Partnership please contact LHCPcommunications@selondonics.nhs.net

Background and context

Lewisham Health and Care Partnership consists of the organisations and people who are working together to change health and care in Lewisham for the better. These include Lewisham Council, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Hospital Trust, One Health Lewisham, General Practice,  Healthwatch Lewisham and SEL ICS.

Our pandemic response highlighted the importance of local relationships in improving outcomes and showed the strengths of Lewisham’s people and communities, including significant levels of civic energy, a willingness to get involved in supporting better health and wellbeing for all, and the potential to engage in new ways.  However, it also highlighted the ongoing inequalities across Lewisham and the complexity of or local systems which can challenge our ability to engage effectively with our many and diverse people and communities.

In December 2021, Lewisham Health and Care Partnership started work on co-developing a new model of engaging with people and communities in Lewisham.

It involved individuals, communities, voluntary organisations, patient representatives, community champions, Lewisham Healthwatch, young mayors, health fellows along with members of Lewisham Health and Care Partnership.

In May 2022 recommendations were approved by the Lewisham Health and Care Partnership Board agreeing to a new, shared model of engagement and to the establishment of a formal and public subcommittee of the Lewisham Health and Care Partnership Board – Lewisham People’s Partnership – to enable local people and communities to be supported in exercising power as equal partners in future change.

Engagement objectives

Lewisham Health and Care Partnership is committed to delivering the overall purpose of our shared engagement approach which is to:

  • Support people and communities to exercise power by creating the conditions where all individuals can contribute equally.
  • Build trust through purposeful and consistent efforts to foster relationships and act on the feedback received.
  • Enable participation by focusing on reducing current barriers (including around language, resources and culture, to engagement.
  • Work together to achieve more with what we have recognising the limits on the funding, time and capacity available.

Lewisham’s People’s Partnership objectives

  • Be an equal partner within Lewisham Health and Care Partnership and a key part of the leadership structure.
  • Empower local people and remove the power imbalances that exist between statutory bodies and citizens and communities.
  • Make sure Lewisham Health and Care Partnership is engaging with people and communities in line with our shared model of engagement.
  • Make sure that local people are involved in Lewisham Health and Care Partnership’s work from services design to delivery and have the evidence to show this,
  • and that lived experiences and the needs of Lewisham residents drive local partnership decision making.