More powers for region could speed up changes to health and social care
DEVOLVED POWERS for Yorkshire cities could speed up radical changes to health and social care services which are badly needed to boost the wellbeing of the region’s population.
City leaders set out their plans to meet rising demand on NHS and care services at a major conference in Leeds.
The Healthy Cities event, by leading think-tank the King’s Fund, was told that improvements to NHS services are key to boosting the regional economy.
Local authority leaders said they were preparing to meet the challenge with or without a devolution deal. But a transfer of powers and funding from Whitehall could accelerate the improvements.
Leeds City Council bosses told how health and social care organisations would work more closely together to meet the needs of the city’s population. In a video message, council chief executive Tom Riordan said: “We will get a devolution deal at some point. Whether it’s Yorkshire, whether it’s a smaller geography, who knows. But in the meantime we are powering on and making sure that we’re making a difference for people right at a neighbourhood and community level.”
Different approaches to devolution in Leeds, Manchester and London were discussed at the event, which involved international speakers.
Plans for Yorkshire devolution remain deadlocked after not all the county’s 20 authorities could agree on the type of deal needed.
Tony Cooke, Chief Officer for Health Partnerships at Leeds City Council, said the city was prepared to improve health and care services without a devolution deal. He said: “It’s great if we get a devolution deal but we have got to make progress, none the less.”
Concerns have been raised over the ability of councils and NHS organisations to meet rising demand for the care of an ageing population. Earlier this month councillors in North Yorkshire wrote to Prime Minister Theresa May over a multimillion pound NHS deficit.
Following yesterday’s conference a separate report by the King’s Fund and NHS Providers warns of a “near-toxic mix” of pressures leading to vacancies in senior NHS positions.
It said: “High vacancy rates and short tenures have a negative impact on the culture and performance of NHS trusts, often leading to less-engaged staff and organisations that are more focused on operational issues than improving services.”
Meanwhile, 18 Yorkshire council leaders and Sheffield City Region metro mayor Dan Jarvis have written to Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire urging him to “respond constructively” to proposals for “One Yorkshire” devolution. Civic leaders representing all the region’s local authorities except Sheffield and Rotherham said they were “ready to deliver a devolution deal at pace which would offer huge benefits for the region and the wider UK economy”.
Mr Brokenshire has said the Government will only enter into discussions about a wider devolution deal once the Sheffield City Region deal, first agreed in 2015, was implemented in full.