Health is Wealth report sets ten-year vision for SY

The Health is Wealth report, launched today at a meeting of the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Partnership, chaired by the Mayor, lays out a clear and practical strategy for tackling deep-rooted health inequalities in South Yorkshire – many of which go far beyond the NHS. 

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard has welcomed a major new report that sets out a bold, ten-year vision to make our region the healthiest in the country.  

Commissioned by Mayor Coppard and developed by a panel of leading health experts, the Health Equity Panel  - who’s independent chair is Emeritus Professor Alan Walker CBE, from the University of Sheffield’s Healthy Lifespan Institute. It sets out a four-part plan to improve health and wellbeing across people’s entire lives, from early childhood to old age. The goal? To close the health gap and give people in South Yorkshire longer, healthier lives. 

If delivered, the plan could mean, men in South Yorkshire living 15 more years in good health, while women could gain 11 more years. Overall life expectancy could rise by five years. 

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “For too long in this country, where we’re born has made a difference to how healthy we are, and how long we live. I refuse to allow a baby born here tomorrow to have any less chance of living their fullest life, than a baby born in the wealthiest parts of our country. That’s why I have made health central to my role as Mayor, why I’m determined to tackle the causes of that fundamental inequality, and why I’ve stated clearly my ambition for South Yorkshire to become the healthiest region in the country. 

“And now, with this Health is Wealth report, we have a plan for getting there; a pragmatic but ambitious plan for change that makes the case for health to be both a platform and a catalyst for a wealthier, better connected, more resilient and happier South Yorkshire. 

“With the right focus, investment and partnerships, with support from the NHS, the government and our local authorities, we can give everyone across our communities the chance to live the same long, healthy life as anyone, in any part of this country. 
“This is a pioneering report that gives us the opportunity to make South Yorkshire a national leader in transforming health outcomes, but most importantly to transform the lives of people across our communities.” 

YSF Director for South Yorkshire Gayle Elvidge said: It’s great to see this ambition come to life through the Health is Wealth report, with significant reference to physical activity throughout. We look forward to working with colleagues across the region under the Active South Yorkshire umbrella. 

The report has outlined a bold four-point strategy to achieve the Mayor’s ambition: 

• Radical Prevention – tackling the root causes of ill health, from poor housing to unhealthy food and catching issues early. 
• Health Equity in all Policies – making sure health is considered in every decision, from transport to education. 
• Proportionate Universalism – improving everyone’s health but putting the most effort where the need is greatest. 
• An Inclusive Economy – making sure everyone, especially those left behind, can share in the region’s growth 

The Health Equity Panel worked with Local Authorities and their Directors of Public Health, through their Health and Wellbeing Boards and the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Partnership to develop the report. 

The report also highlights how improving health could ease pressure on the NHS and boost the local economy. 

Some of the practical steps proposed include: 

• Investing in a strong early year's workforce to give every child in South Yorkshire the best start in life. 
• Helping all children in South Yorkshire be active every day. 
• Reducing rough sleeping and hidden homelessness and ensuring that homelessness services are designed to mitigate health harms of it. 
• Create a vision for safer, healthier streets where people of all ages can play, walk, wheel and cycle. 

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Mayor Coppard will now consider the report’s recommendations in full. 

You can read the full report, and its recommendations on the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority website here.