The recently published Darzi report, “Investigation of the National Health Service in England” quoted that: “At the start of 2024, 2.8m people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness. That is an 800,000 increase on pre-pandemic levels with most of the rise accounted for by mental health conditions. Being in work is good for wellbeing. Having more people in work grows the economy and creates more tax receipts to fund public services. There is therefore a virtuous circle if the NHS can help more people back into work. More than half of the current waiting lists for inpatient treatment are working age adults. And there are long waits for mental health and musculoskeletal services, too, which are the biggest causes of long-term sickness. Improving access to care is a crucial contribution the NHS can make to national prosperity*”
In November 2020, NHS England and Improvement published Integrating Care: Next Steps to Building Strong and Effective Integrated Care Systems across England, outlining four core purposes of ICSs.
- Improving population health and healthcare
- Tackling unequal outcomes and success
- Enhancing productivity and value for money
- Helping the NHS to support broader social and economic development (The 4th Purpose)
Building on a recent event at Charnwood Campus, “Innovation, Productivity and Health Inequalities: A Road Map for Leicestershire” the Campus, Midlands Engine, NHS England, NHS Confederation and the Department of Health and Social Care have come together to deliver the first Midlands wide stakeholder engagement event to help our ICSs to deliver a Midlands wide platform to share work, learn from each other and work together.
The day was expertly Co-Chaired by Giri Rajaratnam (Deputy Regional Director of Public Health, OHID Midlands/NHS Midlands) and Dean Fathers (Chair, Midlands Engine Health, Care and Life Sciences Board), who also gave an overview of the Midlands economy. The event was attended by ICS’s, social care representative and industry leads from all the regions within the Midlands. Topics for the day covered “Unlocking our Social and Economic Potential”, Michael Wood, Head of Economic Partnerships, NHS Confederation and the “Health in the Midlands, Emma Adamson”, Pubic Health Registrar, OHID, which showed that healthy life expectancy in the Midlands is significantly worse than the England average. Delegates also heard four inspiring case studies where NHS and partners had directly impacted local social and economic outcomes.
Gosia Khrais, Commercial and Marketing Manager of Charnwood Campus, Science Innovation and Technology Park commented; “We had a large turn out today and some fantastic and passionate discussions on how anchor institutions, partners and industry can help improve population health and healthcare, tackle inequalities, enhance productivity and support broader social and economic development. It is a great example how the region can work in partnership with a common goal, when we are committed to improving health and socioeconomic outcomes.”
Dean Fathers, Chair, Midlands Engine Health, Care and Life Sciences Board, said; “The Midlands has an economy the size of Denmark, but unlike Denmark which is the 3rd** most competitive nation in the world at the moment, the Midlands has scope currently to excel, build on its rich historical pedigree as a leading trading region and generate the wealth it needs to create more healthy and happier communities. The 4th Purpose Summit ignited the ambition of many key leaders in the region to collaborate, to make the Midlands globally significant again and address the opportunities we can all engage in.”
Adam Townsend, Founder of VUIT, added; “The correlation between long term condition prevalence and worklessness is clear as is the relationship between worklessness and economic stability and growth. It stands to reason therefore that the economic and health inequalities people experience are intrinsically linked and only through collaboration across these two themes can the population of the midlands region achieve it’s full potential. The 4th purpose summit bought this to life for many of us on the day and VUIT in particular gained a deep understanding of what part it can play in these new conversations and how we can help enable change and collaboration within the region.”
*Independent investigation of the NHS in England – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
** IFC World Competitiveness Index