News

Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, in partnership with the NHS Confederation and Yorkshire Universities are pleased to announce a new webinar exploring the role of health in driving economic renewal and social inclusion in the Yorkshire and Humber region – ‘YHealth for Growth: One Year On’ is now open for registrations.

The webinar follows on from our inaugural ‘YHealth for Growth Conference’ held in December 2019.  Since then, the world has changed fundamentally.  The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been stark: unemployment has increased, inequalities in health and wealth have been thrown into sharp focus, and the true economic impact of the pandemic continues to emerge.

As we look towards living with and beyond COVID-19, addressing structural regional challenges is crucial to emerging from the pandemic in a better place than when we entered it. This means it is now more important than ever for us to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy and society, tackle long standing inequalities, and ‘level up’ the regions.

Prioritising these issues is at the heart of our recent report ‘Levelling Up Yorkshire and Humber: health as the new wealth post-COVID’ launched in July 2020. This webinar will build on the recommendations made in the report and discuss the practical actions we can take to bring them to life so that we can realise the region’s potential and improve the health and wealth of our population.

We know that Yorkshire and the Humber as a region does not punch its weight in terms of economic output or positive health outcomes. However, we have a huge range of assets and anchor institutions that represent a critical mass in terms of economic geographies, research base, infrastructure and industrial potential. These institutions played a significant civic role before the pandemic, and COVID-19 has only highlighted their vital contribution to the region.  This collaboration and joint-working must continue and will be fundamental as we seek to reset.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a renewed focus and interest in inequalities and population health, with many citing ‘levelling up’ as being vital to the future.  We have a huge opportunity to utilise this renewed focus on health and wellbeing as a catalyst to drive widespread improvements in population health, tackle long-standing inequalities and support economic recovery.  However, timing is key, as we have to instigate change now.  As governments and senior leaders across the country continue to battle the virus and the economic consequences of the pandemic, economic recovery plans and support packages continue to emerge.  However, these plans should not simply seek to return or recover economies to a ‘pre-COVID’ state, instead, there is an opportunity to reset our thinking, producing plans for economic and social renewal which contain renewed aspirations and activities.  This means not only charting the course towards a new future, but also challenging traditional thinking and decision making: embedding deeper recognition of the role of health in driving economic renewal and inclusive growth.

The webinar is aimed at executives and senior leaders from across health and care, higher education and local authorities, as well as business leaders in med tech and life sciences.  It is designed to both highlight opportunities and develop practical approaches to embedding sustainable and inclusive economic renewal and growth.

The event will be Chaired by and Richard Stubbs (Chief Executive, Yorkshire & Humber AHSN) and will include keynote speakers Lord Victor Adebowale CBE (Chair, NHS Confederation) and Professor Shirley Congdon (Chair, Yorkshire Universities) who will explore how the landscape has significantly changed since our inaugural conference last year, update attendees on the launch of our recent report and the work taking place to begin delivering against the report’s recommendations, and highlight why this work is more important than ever.  The webinar will also include an interactive panel debate comprising senior leaders from Yorkshire and the Humber, with questions invited from the audience.

We very much hope that you will be able to join us for this important discussion.