Sir Michael Marmot from the Institute of Health Equity (IHE) presented the first key interim Marmot report for the subregion to the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership Board on 11th January 2022.
Commissioned by the Collaborative, the interim report ‘Building Back Fairer in Cheshire and Merseyside: Evidence for action and key approaches’ is the first output of IHE’s work in Cheshire and Merseyside and sets out inequalities in health and the social determinants of health and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report intends to make recommendations for how partners across Cheshire and Merseyside can work together to impact health inequality, with specific recommendations to be set out for local authorities, the ICS, public services, the business and economic sector, the voluntary, community and faith sector, and our communities themselves.
The contents of the report have so far been used to inform a series of place-based workshops with local authorities in the subregion, which took place with over 350 stakeholders throughout November and December 2021.
Learning from these workshops will be incorporated into the report and a ‘final’ version will be published in the Spring.
Presenting the interim findings, Sir Michael said: “People often comment to me that we’ve known about health inequalities for a long time and ask whether it fills me with gloom that the conversations are still continuing. My response is no, not at all. All around the country, there are organisations trying hard to do something, which is very encouraging.
“We are seeing a real commitment on the ground where people live and work, which is what we need. This is vital and we really, really, really want to make a difference in partnership with you.”
The report was welcomed by all those in attendance at the Partnership Board, with plenty of discussion about how best to drive this forward and make a difference for disadvantaged communities in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Graham Urwin, Designate Chief Executive of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, said:
“This is a defining, core piece of business for our new Integrated Care Partnership and being successful will come from effective, collaborative, partnership working between many agencies.
“We must free up time to commit to this important agenda, and we can do that by making sure we work well in meeting all our other objectives.
“Our goal is to make the biggest difference for the people who are least able to do this for themselves.
“I’m looking forward to putting this work at the heart of what we do. It has my full support.”
Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Co Chair, Marmot Board, said:
“This is a once in a lifetime chance to make a difference for the communities of Cheshire and Merseyside. We all need to be brave and bold. Through partnership working, we can together make so many positive changes.
“I am very passionate about this work and will continue to help drive it forward across the subregion working with our partners.”
The interim report can be accessed here.
For more information about the Marmot Community work and detailed datapacks for each local authority area in Cheshire and Merseyside, click here.
Find out more about the work of Sir Michael Marmot and IHE, including the government-commissioned 2010 report, ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’, and last year’s follow up, ‘Marmot Review 10 Years On’, on the Institute of Health Equity website www.instituteofhealthequity.org