Publish date: 16 August 2024
Inequalities in the spotlight – Northumbria Healthcare trust reflects on achievements and next steps
A North East NHS trust continues to lead the way with its work to tackle health inequalities, by reflecting on progress so far and focusing on what comes next.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was a trailblazer in its creation in 2021 of a health inequalities programme board, whose remit is to identify inequalities in its services, then tackle them to improve patient care.
There is now a national requirement to report certain measures related to inequalities and access to services, but Northumbria Healthcare has produced a full annual report for 2023-4, alongside a user-friendly summary version, to ensure that the communities it serves can better understand what the trust is doing to ensure its care is fair and accessible for all.
Some of the headline figures demonstrate that there is not a huge amount of variation in access to key services among people from different backgrounds. This is positive, but underlines the importance of the programme board which has looked more deeply at the trust’s services to see where the inequalities lie.
Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, chair of the trust’s health inequalities programme board, said: “Timely tracking of inequalities is crucial to understand fully the complex and varying health needs of our communities.
“This information can then be used to make changes and intervene where we need to support most to reduce inequalities and improve population health overall. We have a very ambitious programme of work and have made a strong start in this mission.”
As well as key data and statistics, the report also features case studies which showcase the breadth of work taking place – everything from early detection of lung cancer and reducing smoking in pregnancy rates to poverty proofing some of our children’s services.
It also underlines how the learning in one area can be used to improve other services too. For example, a project to reduce missed appointments in colposcopy through direct engagement and involvement of communities is now a model for the same work in three other key patient pathways.
The delivery of these projects is supported in Northumbria Healthcare by its dedicated public health team.
Jill Harland, consultant in public health for the trust, said: “I see our role as making sure that public health approaches are threaded through everything the trust does and that everything is looked at through a health inequalities lens.
“Thanks to the hard work of our team, we have made good progress, but we know that there is so much more we can do to ensure everyone in our communities can get access to the care they need and live long lives in good health.”
For more information on Northumbria Healthcare’s work to tackle health inequalities and to read the annual report or summary version, click here.
Media contact
Christopher Magee, marketing and communications officer
christopher.magee@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk