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West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership has set up an independent review into the impact of COVID-19 on health inequalities and support needed for Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and staff.
The review sessions will be chaired by Professor Dame Donna Kinnair, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, a leading figure in national health and care policy.
The review will build on the report findings published by Public Health England in June 2020 regarding the disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19, as well as learning from the experience of its own partners. It aims to strengthen understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities and staff, review and accelerate existing work on health inequalities. It will also support West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership to build a more effective health and care system which responds to these challenges better than before.
Read more: Partnership responds to important public health report
The review will look to understand the impact of COVID-19 on our Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority communities and staff, review and accelerate our existing work on health inequalities, and embed in our work on reset and recovery an enhanced focus on this in all that we do as a health and care system.
We do have work to build on, we already have a fantastic group of BAME network chairs who are directly influencing the work of the Partnership in this area, and work is well underway in the Improving Population Health Programme leading practical and focused interventions across our six local places (Bradford district and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield).
Listen to the 'Can You Hear Me?' podcast, presented by the Partnership's BAME staff network
Through this work we will strengthen our commitment to employing a diverse workforce and providing progression opportunities for BAME staff, whilst demonstrating our commitment that we stand with those from ethnic minority backgrounds who have experienced racial prejudice – as so powerfully articulated by the ‘Black Lives Matter’ social movement.
The work will be accountable to the System Leadership Executive Group and the Partnership Board, with regular update reports and key actions for implementation. It will complete in the autumn with an independent report setting out the next steps. It is not intended to replace local placed based work – it will complement and support system wide working.
The Partnership’s BAME network will continue to have a significant role and voice in the work, as will our partners working in the voluntary and community sector.
We are all in agreement that action is needed to both understand and tackle deep-seated and longstanding health inequalities facing people, and although tackling wider inequalities cannot fall to us alone, we are in an ideal position to both listen and lead as part of the solution, whilst making the most of the excellent relationships we have with other key players, such as the West Yorkshire Combined Authority leading on recovery, and our universities.
We need everyone to support this system-wide change and we know from our conversations locally and across the system there is strong support to work together.
Professor Dame Donna Kinnair, DBE, RGN, HV, LLB, MA, CMI is the Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK. The RCN promotes patient and nursing interests on a wide range of issues by working closely with the Government, the UK parliaments and other national and European political institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.
Working with the RCN Council and the Executive Team, Professor Dame Donna is responsible for delivering the RCN's strategic and operational plans. Professor Dame Donna joined the RCN as Head of Nursing in 2015, she was then promoted and joined the RCN Executive Team to Director of Nursing, Policy and Practice in 2016, where her key role is to work with UK-wide RCN staff to drive and implement the future RCN professional nursing, policy and practice strategy.
Prior to joining the RCN, Professor Dame Donna held various roles including Clinical Director of Emergency Medicine; Executive Director of Nursing and Director of Commissioning. Professor Dame Donna advised the PM’s Commission on the future of Nursing and Midwifery in 2010 and served as nurse/child health assessor to the Victoria Climbié Inquiry.
