Glossary

All Age Continuing Care (AACC) is an umbrella term that covers different types of continuing care for adults, children, and young people. This includes NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the use of digital technology to create systems capable of performing tasks that would previously have been done by a human. NHS services are implementing new and innovative AI technology in a number of ways to help improve patient care.

The Institute of Health Equity (IHE) was commissioned by the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership (HCP) to support work to reduce health inequalities in the region through action on the social determinants of health and to build back fairer from COVID-19. 

The All Together Fairer report sets out inequalities in health and in the social determinants of health in Cheshire and Merseyside and assesses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health inequalities and the social determinants. It points to the role of austerity policies and associated funding cuts between 2010-20 in driving these inequalities.

The recommendations made in the report cover the key social determinants of health – the eight Marmot principles and seven actions across for the Cheshire and Merseyside stakeholders and system. The recommendations are classified in two categories: Year 1 (2022-23) and Years 2-5 (2023-27) and outline the actions on the social determinants of health to develop a healthier and more equitable Cheshire and Merseyside. To measure progress a set of “beacon” indicators have been developed.

Emergency services and general medical and surgical treatment for time-limited disorders rather than long-term residential care for chronic illness.

Allied health professionals provide system-wide care to assess, treat, diagnose and discharge patients across social care, housing, education, and independent and voluntary sectors.

Through adopting a holistic approach to healthcare, Allied health professionals are able to help manage patients’ care throughout the life course from birth to palliative care. Their focus is on prevention and improvement of health and wellbeing to maximise the potential for individuals to live full and active lives within their family circles, social networks, education and training, and the workplace. 

Beyond is the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership's Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme. This is a partnership across the landscape with health, local authorities, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector partners creating a social movement with a focus on early intervention and prevention.

Beyond's key priorities reflect both system-wide and Place-specific plans to support the delivery of the NHS Long-Term Plan and Health and Care Partnership's aim of giving every child the best start in life.

The Care Quality Commission monitors, inspects and regulates health and social care services. They then publish their findings, including ratings, to help people choose care.

The Champs Public Health Collaborative is a long-standing formal partnership of Cheshire and Merseyside’s nine directors of public health and their teams.

The Collaborative has developed a comprehensive and systematic approach to improving public health priorities by large-scale action and working together as system leaders across Cheshire and Merseyside. These priorities are agreed with the UK Health Security Agency, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership and NHS England.

The Collaborative also has a strategic influencing role within the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Cheshire and Warrington sub-region.

Cheshire and Merseyside Acute and Specialist Trust (CMAST) is a provider collaborative which brings together acute and specialist NHS Trusts across Cheshire and Merseyside to work together at scale in ways which benefit patients.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Radiology Imaging Network (CAMRIN) is a partnership of 12 NHS Trusts from across the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System (ICS) that have come together to work on a large-scale change programme that aims to improve services for patients and staff.

A Citizens’ Panel is a large, demographically representative group of citizens regularly used to assess public preferences and opinions.

Clinical and Care Professional Leadership (CCPL) is a framework for ensuring that integrated care systems (ICSs) invest in the broadest range of clinical and care leaders into decision making at every layer of the system, by developing a clear and diverse talent pipeline and building a culture of shared learning and collaboration.

Before 1 July 2022, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) planned and bought most hospital and community NHS services in their local areas. From 1 July 2022, the responsibilities previously held by Cheshire and Merseyside's CCGs transferred to NHS Cheshire and Merseyside.

CIPHA is a population health management platform, which was established in three months across Cheshire and Merseyside to help the health and care system manage the Coronavirus crisis and to drive its recovery. A collaboration involving the NHS, local government and Liverpool University, is central to the region’s response and recovery, including virtual ward programmes. It is also key to mass testing, vaccine delivery and national investigations on re-opening events. The CIPHA expansion programme based on the CIPHA blueprint is working with other partners, co-ordinating the roll out of the programme across a population in excess of 16m citizens. In this way CIPHA is acting as an enabler, supporting access to data sets and the technical capabilities required for the mature population analytics now required in the NHS

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) refers to a package of ongoing care that is arranged and funded solely by the NHS where the individual has been assessed and found to have a 'primary health need' as set out in the National Framework.

Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England approach to inform action to reduce healthcare inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population – the 'Core20PLUS' – and identifies '5' focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement.

When a patient misses their appointment, it is referred to as a ‘did not attend’ (DNA) or ‘was not brought’ (WNB). Reducing missed appointments helps to ensure that clinical time is used effectively and means patients on the waiting list can be seen more quickly.

Elective care covers a broad range of non-urgent services, usually delivered in a hospital setting, from diagnostic tests and scans, to outpatient care, surgery and cancer treatment.

An Electronic Patient Record is a high-tech electronic patient record system which aims to modernise and improve the way patient information is transferred and delivered across NHS trusts to provide better patient care.

The NHS needs to plan for, and respond to, a wide range of incidents and emergencies that could affect health or patient care. These could be anything from extreme weather conditions to an outbreak of an infectious disease or a major transport accident.

This programme of work is referred to in the health community as Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR).

End of life care, also referred to as palliative care, is support for people who are in the last months or years of their life. People can receive end of life care at home, in a care home, hospice or be cared for in hospital, depending on their needs and preference.

NHS foundation trusts are a different type of NHS organisation with a stronger local influence. Foundation trust hospitals are still part of the NHS and continue to treat patients according to NHS principles of free healthcare according to need.

Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) is a national programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change.

The programme undertakes clinically-led reviews of specialties, combining wide-ranging data analysis with the input and professional knowledge of senior clinicians to examine how things are currently being done and how they could be improved.

GIRFT is part of an aligned set of programmes within NHS England. The programme has the backing of the Royal Colleges and professional associations.

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership is the name given to the integrated care partnership (ICP) for our region.

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership provides a forum for NHS leaders and local authorities to come together, as equal partners, alongside important stakeholders from across Cheshire and Merseyside.

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership will generate an integrated care strategy to improve health and care outcomes and experiences for people in Cheshire and Merseyside, for which all partners will be accountable.

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership is a dedicated forum to enhance relationships between the leaders across the health and care system, and interact with and support the development of Place-Based Partnerships.

The independent national champion for people who use health and social care services, using feedback from communities to find out what matters to people, and help make sure their views shape the support they need.

Find your local Healthwatch.

Health and wellbeing boards are formal committees of local authorities charged with promoting greater integration and partnership between bodies from the NHS, public health and local government. They have a statutory duty, with NHS partners, to produce a joint strategic needs assessment and a joint health and wellbeing strategy for their local population.

NHS IMPACT (Improving Patient Care Together) is the new, single, shared NHS improvement approach. By creating the right conditions for continuous improvement and high performance, systems and organisations can respond to today’s challenges, deliver better care for patients and give better outcomes for communities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) were established on 1 July 2022 as new statutory organisations to lead integration within the NHS, taking over the functions of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).

The ICB for Cheshire and Merseyside - NHS Cheshire and Merseyside - is responsible for the day-to-day running of the NHS in the region, including planning and buying healthcare services.

An integrated care system (ICS) brings together the NHS organisations, councils, and wider partners in a defined geographical area to deliver more joined-up approaches to improving health and care outcomes.

There are 42 ICSs in England, including Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System, which is one of the largest in the country.

On 1 July 2022, Cheshire and Merseyside ICS gained legal status and consists of an integrated care board (ICB) called NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, and an integrated care partnership (ICP) called Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership.

The integrated care partnership (ICP) for our region – called Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership – provides a forum for NHS leaders and local authorities to come together, as equal partners, alongside important stakeholders from across Cheshire and Merseyside.

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership will generate an integrated care strategy to improve health and care outcomes and experiences for people in Cheshire and Merseyside, for which all partners will be accountable.

Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership is a dedicated forum to enhance relationships between the leaders across the health and care system, and interact with and support the development of Place-Based Partnerships.

The Improving Me Cheshire and Merseyside Women's Health and Maternity Programme is a partnership of 27 NHS organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside aiming to improve Women's Health and Maternity Experiences.

Inclusion health is an umbrella term used to describe people who are socially excluded, who typically experience multiple overlapping risk factors for poor health, such as poverty, violence and complex trauma.

The groups include: people experiencing homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system, victims of modern slavery and other socially excluded groups.

Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are non-statutory bodies responsible for local economic development in England. They are business-led partnerships that bring together the private sector, local authorities and academic and voluntary institutions.

More information

Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership

Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership

Local resilience forums are multi-agency partnerships made up of representatives from local public services, including the emergency services, local authorities, NHS, the Environment Agency and others. These agencies are known as Category 1 Responders, as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act.

The NHS Long Term Plan was developed in partnership with those who know the NHS best – frontline health and care staff, patients and their families and other experts – to make the NHS fit for the future, and to get the most value for patients out of every pound of taxpayers’ investment.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is the first comprehensive workforce plan for the NHS, putting staffing on a sustainable footing and improving patient care. It focuses on retaining existing talent and making the best use of new technology alongside the biggest recruitment drive in health service history.

Mental Health, Community, Learning Disability Collaborative (MHLDSC) is a provider collaborative which brings together providers of mental health, community and learning disability care across Cheshire and Merseyside to work together at scale in ways which benefit patients.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. NICE is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The National Quality Board (NQB) champions the importance of quality and drives system alignment of quality across health and care on behalf of NHS England and Improvement, NHS Digital, the Care Quality Commission, the Office of Health Promotion and Disparities, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Health Education England, the Department of Health and Social Care, and Healthwatch England.

The NQB provides advice, recommendations and endorsement on matters relating to quality, and acts as a collective to influence, drive and ensure system alignment of quality programmes and initiatives.

Its aim is to support the delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan’s ambition for quality in the NHS, while encouraging high-quality care for all across all of health, public health and social care. Its current priorities include supporting system transformation and the integration of care and outcomes, understanding and addressing unwarranted variation and inequalities, and supporting learning and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Find out more on the NHS England website.

NHS England and Improvement is a non-departmental body in England responsible for overseeing NHS Foundation Trusts and NHS Trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) works across the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the rest of government, the healthcare system, local government and industry to be creative about how we shift our focus towards preventing ill health, in particular in the places and communities where there are the most significant disparities.

As part of the DHSC, OHID brings together expert advice, analysis and evidence with policy development and implementation to shape and drive health improvement and equality priorities for the government.

Find out more on GOV.UK.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and the recognised national statistical institute of the UK. It is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population and society at national, regional and local levels. It plays a leading role in national and international good practice in the production of official statistics.

The Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) sets out the NHS’s approach to developing and maintaining effective systems and processes for responding to patient safety incidents for the purpose of learning and improving patient safety.

The NHS Patient Safety Strategy describes how the NHS will continuously improve patient safety, building on the foundations of a safer culture and safer systems.

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside arranges for some of its functions to be delivered, and decisions about NHS funding to be made in the region’s nine borough Places – through place-based partnerships.

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside remains accountable for NHS resources deployed at place-level, and sets out the role of designated place-based leaders within its governance arrangements.

The collection of patient data across multiple health information technology systems. This data is then analysed into a single, actionable patient record. Care providers can improve both clinical and financial outcomes using this data.

Primary care is the first point of contact for healthcare for most people. It is mainly provided by GPs (general practitioners), but community pharmacists, opticians, dentists and other community services are also primary healthcare providers.

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s Primary Care Access Recovery Plan sets out our plan for improving access and making it easier and simpler for patients to access the care they need, and supporting GP practices to manage demand and capacity through a range of additional measures.

Provider collaboratives are partnerships that bring together two or more NHS trusts (public providers of NHS services including hospitals and mental health services) to work together at scale to benefit their populations.

Learn more about our provider collaboratives in Cheshire and Merseyside.

Secondary care involves receiving care or treatment from a professional or team of professionals who have particular expertise in whatever problem a patient is having. It’s where most people go when they have a health problem that can’t be dealt with in primary care because it needs more specialised knowledge, skill or equipment than can be provided by a GP.

Secondary care is often provided in a hospital. The GP will decide what kind of specialist the patient needs to see and contact them on the patient’s behalf to get them an appointment – this is called a referral.

Secure Data Environment (SDE) is a data storage and access platform, which is being built to uphold the highest standards of privacy and security of NHS health and social care data when used for research and analysis.

Only approved users, with approved projects, are allowed to access and analyse data and only approved outputs can leave the environment. 

Locally our definition of social value is:

• the good that we can achieve within our communities, related to environmental, economic and social factors;

• our approach to building capabilities, strengths and assets and enabling people to live a ‘valued and dignified life’;

• an enabler for the growth of ‘Social Innovation’ (SI) and helps to reduce avoidable inequalities – linked to the Marmot Principles;

• a requirement of the public sector as ‘Anchor Organisations’ to use their purchasing power to build capabilities, strengths and assets within our communities, ensuring that Cheshire and Merseyside is a great ‘Place’ to live and work – Corporate Social Responsibility is the response from Suppliers, Business and Industry.

NHS providers, local authorities, private sector and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector (VCFSE) organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside have signed up to our Social Value Charter, which was launched on 1 July 2019. Our Charter describes our local vision and principles for maximising the potential of social value across Cheshire and Merseyside.

Find out more about social value in Cheshire and Merseyside.

Specialised services support people with a range of rare and complex conditions. They often involve treatments provided to patients with rare cancers, genetic disorders or complex medical or surgical conditions. They deliver cutting-edge care and are a catalyst for innovation, supporting pioneering clinical practice in the NHS. For a quick overview of specialised services watch our animation.

Find out more on the NHS England website.

System P represents a predictive, preventative and precise approach to population, patient and person health outcomes.

The programme is currently being delivered across the nine local authority areas in Cheshire and Merseyside and takes a whole system approach to addressing multiagency, multisector challenges that negatively impact population health.

The nation’s public health body focused on health protection and security. The agency builds on the legacy of Public Health England, NHS Test and Trace and the Joint Biosecurity Centre to help keep the nation safe.

UKHSA is an integral part of the public health system and the national security infrastructure.

The VCFSE sector is an important partner for statutory health and social care agencies and plays a key role in improving health, well-being and care outcomes.

These organisations improve health outcomes and tackle health inequalities not only by delivering services but also by shaping their design and advocating for, representing and amplifying the voice of service users, patients and carers. Their input is essential to a vibrant local health economy.

Representatives of the VCFSE sector play a key role in our Health and Care Partnership and our Place-based working.

Implementing the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) is a requirement for NHS commissioners and NHS healthcare providers, including independent organisations, through the NHS standard contract. It aims to improve the (equal) access to career opportunities and fair treatment in the workplace among employees from ethnic minority communities.