We work closely with our local partners to provide seamless care services
Leeds Teaching Hospitals is one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and delivers patient care, training and research in partnership with a wide number of organisations.
Within the National Health Service we work in partnership with other NHS Trusts in the region, many of whom refer patients on to us for specialised procedures. We also have outreach services on their sites as well as sometimes running clinical services – for example renal dialysis units we have outside Leeds.
Local Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England commission our services and fund them on behalf of the patients in their locality. Find out more about the NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group.
We work closely with the Department of Health, and colleagues in other NHS organisations providing a range of services from ambulance transport to the supplies we need on a daily basis.
As one of the national leaders in training students in medical, nursing, dental and associated careers we have a strong partnership with the University of Leeds as well as other universities and colleges in the city and across the region.
Links with Leeds City Council are strong on a wide range of fronts, particularly with regard to working together to ensure continuing care for patients who are leaving hospital but need support in the community. We also work closely with the council on education, career development, economic and commercial development and regulation, as their Scrutiny of Health Committees have an important role in overseeing our services and ensuring they are accountable.
We’re part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) a collaboration of six NHS trusts who deliver acute hospital services to 2.6 million people across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. WYAAT is part of the wider West Yorkshire and Harrogate and Care Partnership and gives a strong consistent voice within the Partnership. Its vision is to provide a region-wide efficient and sustainable healthcare system that uses innovation and best practice to benefit patients. Working together helps the trusts deliver the best possible experience and outcomes for their patients – one of the main reasons why WYAAT exists.
We also work closely with Leeds Hospitals Charity and many partner charities on fundraising, research projects, delivery of care and sharing learning. Our wide range of partners in the voluntary, independent and private sector help to contribute to the development of the Trust and services we deliver.
We are a founding partner of Leeds Academic Health Partnership, comprising all of the city’s NHS organisations, three universities and Leeds City Council, as well as regional and third sector members. Leeds Academic Health Partnership works to solve some of the city’s hardest health and care challenges, by uniting our city’s academic strengths with those of the health and care system and industry partners to accelerate the adoption of innovation.
International partnerships
Our long-standing expertise in cancer treatment attracted interest from the prestigious King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between us which formally recognises joint working, sharing knowledge, training and educational exchanges and commissioning agreements.
This is a mutually beneficial collaboration as the King Hussein Cancer Center prepares to undergo a large expansion programme with the opening of a new wing.
We are actively looking to develop new international partnerships to build our reputation as a world-class healthcare provider.
Building on this platform, we have developed further international partnerships and frequently host, attend and speak at world-leading healthcare conferences. We also welcome visitors to our hospitals to showcase our ground-breaking work and facilities.
An initial contract with the Ministry for Health in Malta to train medical physicists has been highly successful. We have signed an additional contract for this, as well as a nurse training programme. Both are vital to the development of a new cancer hospital in Malta.
Our expert scientists and technicians commissioned three of the LINAC radiotherapy machines at the new hospital. This involved a multi-disciplinary team from the Trust working at the Maltese hospital for a number of months.
There are historic links between Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Malta through the eminent and pioneering surgeon Sir Berkeley Moynihan who spent most of his career at Leeds General Infirmary.
He was born in Malta and a bust to commemorate his achievements is on the stairwell in the Gilbert Scott Building.
To mark this historic link, we have created the Leeds Moynihan Surgical Fellowship and the first Maltese doctor commenced her one-year placement in January 2020. The present Lord Colin Moynihan has been very supportive of the new fellowship, and gave his consent for the name of the family to be used in the title.
In 2019 we welcomed a group of nurses from Jamaica, known as Global Learning Practitioners, to our Critical Care Units.
The project provided enhanced critical care skills training for the nurses, enabling them to complete five months of clinical placements and then return back to their original hospitals to implement positive changes in practice and eventually open up more critical care beds.
It was a great platform for creating a long lasting relationship with the Jamaican Ministry of Health and globally showcasing critical care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
Leeds Health and Social Care Hub
The Leeds Health and Social Care Hub brings together a community of experts to improve healthcare in the region for patients.
Members of the public, private, and third sector organisations, including NHS, local government, universities and other health organisations will work to address challenges including tackling health disparities and improving employment opportunities in the sector. This will ensure DHSC’s principal offices in Leeds are embedded in the region’s growing health industry and continue the work to make Leeds a national and international hub for the healthcare industry.
Partners and Priorities
The partners include Leeds City Council, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, NHS England, West Yorkshire Integrated care System, University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network, Leeds Health and Care Academy, Leeds and York Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust.
The project will focus on three main areas:
- People and Talent: Making the health sector in the region the employer of choice for many local people from all communities.
- Health and social care economy: Working together to develop Leeds as a location of choice for health and social care businesses, particularly innovative businesses and those in the digital health and medical technology sectors.
- Policy and collaboration: Bringing together the experience and insight of all partners to address health and care policy challenges with a focus on health disparities.
Talent, jobs and the economy
The aim is to position Leeds as the natural choice for professionals looking to pursue a career in health and social care spanning local government and public and private organisations, as well as for start-ups seeking to establish or expand their base in the city. This will help to retain and develop talent, all while providing a boost to the local economy. It will also promote the health and social care sector as a career of choice for local residents and graduates, so that workforces reflect the communities they serve.
This will build on existing successful collaborations across different organisations and sectors, for example, in 2019 Leeds Teaching Hospitals partnered with Leeds City Council and a local charity to deliver information on employment, connecting residents living in Lincoln Green and other disadvantaged communities in Leeds with job opportunities. It resulted in 49 people starting a six-week employability programme and 29 people successfully securing employment at St James’s Hospital.
The Hub will act as a focal point for healthcare activity in the region, making Leeds the city of choice for organisations and businesses. For example, the new West Yorkshire Innovation Hub has been set up to ensure residents can benefit from new innovations. It recently launched 10 innovation schemes including breast cancer surgery, cancer screening uptake in minority communities and a special programme to support older people with cancer.
Case study: Lincoln Green employment and skills project
Leeds Teaching Hospitals is one of the biggest employers in Leeds with six hospitals across the city. An anchor institution – well placed to provide employment opportunities for people living in the area.
Leeds City Council collaborated with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Learning Partnerships and a local charity to deliver information sessions and innovative employability courses, aimed at connecting residents living in Lincoln Green and other disadvantaged communities in Leeds with job opportunities. The project has been a great success: 49 people started the 6-week employability programme and 29 people successfully secured employment at St James’s Hospital.
The learning from the Lincoln Green project has been taken and used to help the Narrowing Inequalities through Health and Care Careers programme which expands the model across different partners, and different careers.
Since the pilot in 2019 there are a number of individuals that have taken advantage of the development opportunities to progress from the initial facilities technician (ward housekeeper / porter) roles to clinical positions.
Due to the success of the pilot programme, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has committed to support three programmes a year.
Get involved in the Leeds Health & Social Care Hub
If you are a member of staff working for one of the partners, a business or innovator, you can get in touch via [email protected]