County Durham Care Partnership Forum

The County Durham Care Partnership Executive and Forum

In County Durham we’ve been working in partnership across health and social care for 25 years.  As a county we can demonstrate effective collaborative working, with a shared goal to improve the lives of our residents.

These shared goals and strong working relationships led to the County Durham Care Partnership being formally established in April 2021 as an umbrella organisation to bring together Durham County Council, NHS organisations, including Foundation Trusts, and the Integrated Care Board, with health and care providers. 

The County Durham Care Partnership joins up the work of primary care, community services and hospitals to meet the needs of those accessing our services. By working together we’re better able to provide the right support, in the right place, at the right time, helping to keep the people of County Durham happy, healthy and at home. 

Our vision is: 'To bring together Health and Social Care and Voluntary Organisations to achieve improved health and wellbeing for the people of County Durham.'

The County Durham Care Partnership Executive

The Partnership Executive supports these organisations to deliver this shared vision, making decisions and driving policy on the development of health and care services in County Durham.

This includes identifying and developing local priorities and integrated working and delivery through the integrated commissioning of health and social care. This spans adults as well as children and young people's services and public health and included the development of integration programmes to bring together organisations that make up the Partnership.

Three 'Life course' Partnerships feed into the Executive for support and monitoring:

• Starting Well
• Living Well
• Ageing Well

These operational groups are very much the engine room of the Partnership that really drive change on the ground. Each have a programme of work aligned to them under the Integrated Care Programme with a series and task and finish project groups, including engagement and co-production with people who use health and care services.

A Forum for Partnership discussion

This is a Forum for partnership discussion, and brings together a wide representation across health and care organisations in a relaxed, informal way, sharing ideas, best practice and plans across the health and care system. The Forum meetings offer a chance to develop a good understanding of the changing needs of County Durham residents and help to make sure that these local needs are reflected in health and care shared strategies and service provision, supporting residents to gain access to, and make the best use of available services and resources.

With a focus on improving County Durham’s population health, health inequalities and health and care outcomes for local people, the County Durham Care Partnership Forum is in many ways the embodiment of the Partnership vision.

The County Durham Care Partnership Forum meets three times a year, with a range of representatives from a wide range of organisations including DCC staff and elected members, NHS Foundation Trusts, Integrated Care Board, Public Health, Healthwatch as well as Voluntary and Community Service representation.

You can find out what was discussed in previous Forum meetings in the notes below:

Get involved

The County Durham Care Partnership Forum is an open meeting and anyone is welcome to attend and join in the discussions. If you would like to get involved email the County Durham Partnerships Team for details of future meetings. 

Future Meetings

The next meeting of the County Durham Care Partnership Forum takes place on Wednesday 5 March 2025 starting at 9.30am at the Education Development Centre, Spennymoor, DL16 6YP.

Dates of future meetings:

Tuesday 1 July 2025, Education Development Centre, Spennymoor

Tuesday 11 November 2025, Education Development Centre, Spennymoor