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Andy Burnham -“The postcode that people are born in still determines pretty much how long they live and what they do for a living”

Andy Burnham

From right to left: Angela McFarlane, Senior Vice President, IQVIA (Chair), Lord James O’Shaughnessy, former Minister for Innovation, Dr Ruth Bromley, Chair, Manchester Health & Care Commissioning, Richard Kemp the Deputy Chair of the Community Wellbeing Board, Liverpool City Council, Kate Bratt-Farrar, CEO of Heart Research UK and the Rt Hon. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

At a Liverpool event last week, senior leaders discussed the Government’s “Levelling Up” agenda as well as the rollout of Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and what innovation can do to reduce healthcare inequalities.

Chaired by Vice President, Strategic Planning, Northern Europe at IQVIA, Angela McFarlane, a panel of leaders were questioned by a live audience of hundreds of healthcare and local government experts from across the UK. Levelling Up the Conversation produced by Chamber UK was live from Liverpool.

Big role for Integrated Care Systems

Assessing the introduction of new Integrated Care Systems, Burnham said that they could play a “big role.” In a frank assessment of the NHS system operating in Greater Manchester, he said that the system was patchy, even in an area such as Greater Manchester.

However, he was pleased that following the devolution agreement for Greater Manchester the health system has become a “system” rather than a collection of institutions.

Championing the role of the voluntary and community sector as waiting lists continue to grow, the Mayor said that while patients wait for the system to treat them, the role of charities was “vital.”

Highlighting the health inequalities faced by people in Liverpool, Liverpool City Councillor and Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association Community Wellbeing Board, Richard Kemp told the audience that there is a 12-year difference in life expectancy between men and women. He called on integrated care systems to focus on the social determinants of health.

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Rt. Hon Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and former Health Minister

“The pandemic has set us back. There’s a mountain in front of the NHS now, but we should take heart that devolution has moved the dial a little bit, and we’re seeing improved life expectancy across Greater Manchester as The Health Foundation’s recent research with the University of Manchester has shown.

“Despite this, the facts are that the postcode that people are born in still determines pretty much how long they live and what they do for a living. One key area of focus for us on Levelling Up is to ensure levels of school readiness in the North West reach the same or higher levels than the rest of England. Arriving at school ready to learn helps kids to get on and succeed, and lays the foundation for increases in years of life expectancy and a country that is truly levelled up.

“What gives me hope coming out of the pandemic is that here in Greater Manchester we are moving towards a health system that is more integrated, as opposed to a collection of slightly competitive institutions. During the pandemic we saw the potential of greater collaboration between health and social care at a very practical level, where we had hospitals sharing PPE with social care providers. I am hopeful that some of that spirit will remain in the new Integrated Care Systems.

“We can bake innovation into our system if, at this point, we cement a new and more significant role for the voluntary and community sectors in the health system as permanent partners. They can bring that patient voice into the room, and I would recommend that all ICS’s forge these partnerships.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham

Giving patients a stronger voice

All panellists agreed that patients should be at the heart of the health system. However, the Chief Executive of Heart Research UK, Kate Bratt-Farrar raised an important point based on her experience of dealing with patients daily.

She called on the system to think about ways to reach more patients to talk about their healthcare and ask how we get an honest conversation going?

Supporting this view, the Chair of South Manchester Clinical Commission Groups, Dr Ruth Bromley said that the system needs to understand the difference between “citizens” and “patients” and value and respect the information that patients and citizens are talking to their clinicians about.

Better access to innovations

The Mayor called for a wider role for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to increase the number of innovations benefitting patients.

Former Minister for Innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care, Lord O’Shaughnessy told the audience that we should not forget about the significant role that universities play towards clinical research. He said that clinical research is a great example for levelling up and aa wealth generating opportunity, “you get better jobs and improved health.”

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