The ‘cusp moment' when people risk falling into health difficulties is the critical time for intervention in local places, Future Forum North heard today.
At a session focused on reducing health inequalities and improving population health in West Yorkshire, chief executive of Calderdale MBC Robin Tuddenham said: ‘What I really welcome is a focus on those people at the tipping point.'
Speaking in Manchester, Tuddenham, who is place lead at West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, said he ‘welcomed the fact that I think government recognises that in terms of the role of this within devolution'.
West Yorkshire has a mature integrated care system that delegates authority to localities and emphasises local engagement and partnerships.
In Greater Manchester one in five of the adult population is economically inactive, due to a combination of ‘demographics and long term conditions accelerating,' said Tuddenham.
Calderdale is experiencing a ‘shift in the age demographic' around economic inactivity, he continued, with a significant rise in the number of economically inactive 20-34 year olds due to mental health conditions.
The region received £20m to address challenges, with a focus on integrating health and work. Tuddenham said: ‘I do think we're the only Integrated Care Board in the country that actually delegates money to places fully.'
He added: ‘We have a short lap time and a fair bit of money, and we're talking about just north of 20 million pounds to focus on. So that's positive, and it's going to give us a chance to really intervene.'
He argued that Job Centre Plus and the National Careers Service ‘need to be aligned and integrated into one, and that's one of the [Government's] commitments'.
‘Job Centres have been described as the place where hope goes and die, and we need to change that, and I think this Government recognises that.'
Jen Connolly, associate director for improving population health at West Yorkshire Integrated Care Boad and West Yorkshire Combined Authority said: ‘We've seen the foundations that we've got here in West Yorkshire to take on this real opportunity. And that goes beyond the initial relationship with the health and social care sector.
‘We've actually developed a partial agreement with the Combined Authority, which commits, in writing, to our agreement to work together on economic opportunity, on the climate emergency, on equity, diversity and inclusion, and on the determinants of health. Those really important building blocks.'
