Advancing social value in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire
CASE STUDY

Leicestershire Partnership and Northamptonshire Healthcare Associate University Group joined the Social Value Network in January 2024 to support delivery of its Social Value Charter by accessing resources, best practice and advice.

The Group, which includes the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), approved a Social Value Charter earlier in 2024 which incorporates pledges across five key areas:

1. Organisational resilience
2. Economic inequality
3. Climate change
4. Equality of opportunity
5. Volunteering.

The Group’s vision is to ensure every member of each organisation understands their role in contributing to social value. This includes recognising the changes that can reduce avoidable inequalities while improving health and wellbeing.

Sustainability and inequality are at the root of social value and the Group has aligned its work on inequalities with the Marmot principles and its Sustainable Development Plan with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework. 

 
This means there are core global drivers for each piece of work in the context of sustainability and forms a good solid basis for the organisation’s approach to Well Led in terms of the CQC priorities.

NHFT’s Journey with Social Value

We spoke with Amanda Angelescu, Partnerships Manager at NHFT, about the Group’s progress in identifying their social value objectives for 2025-26. While Amanda has worked in NHFT’s Strategy and Partnerships Team for five years, she recently took on responsibility for leading the Group’s social value efforts. 
Amanda explains: “Social value should not be seen as an extra thing we try and do, but part of what we do in our everyday jobs as NHS providers. My role is to look through a lens and see what more we can do to improve outcomes for people.”

Discovery Phase

As part of a discovery phase, the Group has been benchmarking its work exploring  measurement approaches such as the Themes, Outcomes and Measures (TOM) reporting system or bespoke tools. This process involves conducting a gap analysis and mapping progress to the Social Value Charter pledges, enabling both quantitative and qualitative measurement. Operational and corporate teams across the Group have collaborated to identify existing initiatives and determine how to quantify their impact through the TOM framework.

A Community of Practice

In April 2024, the Group established a Social Value Community of Practice, sponsored by David Maher, Managing Director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at NHFT. The community brings together senior leaders from across the healthcare group to foster collaboration, share knowledge and promote the ownership of social value initiatives.

The Community of Practice plans to host a stakeholder event in July 2025 to raise awareness of social value, celebrate early successes and present findings from their benchmarking exercise. The event will shape the Group’s 2025-26 social value strategy and implementation plan which will include SMART objectives. As members of NHS Arden & GEM’s Social Value Network, the Group is engaging with other organisations to further refine their approach.

In addition, a case study template is in development and aims to provide a consistent narrative for stakeholders, ensuring alignment with their values. This will serve as a foundation as the Group’s social value maturity grows and capture the qualitative impact of the Group’s social value work.

A collaboration with the University of Manchester is also underway, focusing on analysing procurement data from the Group’s supplier base. This study will help optimise social value through the procurement of goods and services. 

Successes So Far

The goal, Amanda explains, is to achieve Social Value Quality Mark accreditation, with the Group currently working towards bronze level certification.

Quality is at the foundation of the Leicestershire Partnership and Northamptonshire Healthcare Group’s work and both Trusts are ready to apply for the Social Value Quality Mark bronze accreditation.  As part of its journey the plan is to build a roadmap aligned to local population health data that takes them to silver accreditation.

Some of the Group’s early successes in promoting social value include:

NHFT’s Research and Innovation Team running a ‘Dragon’s Den’ initiative, where staff pitch ideas that promote innovation including social value. This has generated projects aimed at reducing avoidable inequalities through social innovation.

LPT has significantly reduced food waste on its wards, following a collaboration with their supplier who has strong green credentials. After engaging with patients and frontline staff, they revised the menu, changed the crockery (using a colour better suited for patients with dementia) and adjusted mealtimes. This has resulted in less food waste, better nutrition for patients and a reduced carbon footprint.

NHFT and Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) formed a progressive partnership in April 2023 to deliver healthcare services in HMP Bedford, HMP Woodhill and Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, underpinned by a formal subcontract.

Social value is the measurement of the positive added value the Group generates through delivering core services. They have prioritised and engaged with the social value agenda and applied the approach to the very challenging environments in which they work. The Group is very proud of the progress so far which includes:

• 87 local employment opportunities, two apprenticeships and 12 weeks of student nursing placements which have directly benefited local people, local communities and local economies.
• Developing joint social value initiatives with subcontractors to directly benefit local communities. 
• Only providing sustainable materials, reducing carbon emissions and supporting others to see the real local positive impact delivering social value can have.

LPT has developed a programme to encourage social mobility, reduce economic inequality and improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Tailored recruitment programmes have been created targeted at underrepresented groups, for example, veterans or rehabilitated ex-offenders. The programme educates people on the many career opportunities and benefits of joining the local NHS, and leans in to the valuable and transferable skills these members of our communities have to offer. At the same time, the programme helps the Trust grow its workforce where needed to deliver high quality care.

NHFT is working with local charity, Accommodation Concern, to make a difference to the local community on the interrelationship between mental health, homelessness, debt and poverty. Unfortunately, many of the Trust’s mental health inpatients are evicted or at high risk of eviction from their usual place of residence while in hospital, which causes additional distress and delays discharge from hospital. To address this, NHFT partnered with local charity, Accommodation Concern, awarding them a five-year contract that invests in their financial stability and resources to grow their support in tackling homelessness, debt and poverty in the community and for patients. This strategic investment in the Trust’s supply chain directly promotes positive social value impact and delivers on the Group’s Social Value Charter commitments.

As a result, Accommodation Concern has expanded its capacity from nine to 12 houses, increasing their beds from 34 to 45. They continue to provide support and management of six Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) flats. 
They have appointed a new full-time maintenance worker and a part-time administrator and implemented specialist housing and management software to enhance property and resident management.

Accommodation Concern has been able to extend its reach across North Northamptonshire, including rural areas, with essential services to support people with tenancy, benefits and budgeting help.

Conclusion

As Leicestershire Partnership and Northamptonshire Healthcare Associate University Group continues its journey towards embedding social value, they have already made significant impacts. By leveraging tools like the TOM system, collaborating with external stakeholders and driving innovation within their individual organisations, the Group is well on its way to achieving meaningful outcomes.

As they look towards 2025, the Group is well positioned to further integrate social value into every facet of their operations, ensuring long-term positive impact across their communities.