Independent review into BAME health inequalities covering parts of North Yorkshire

The review, covering an area including Harrogate and Craven, 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.

It has been commissioned by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership, the fourth-largest integrated care system in the county, made up NHS organisations, councils, Healthwatch, charities, community and voluntary organisations. The partnership covers Bradford district and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.

It will build on the report findings published by Public Health England last month 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.

Rob Webster, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership CEO Lead, said: “Our Partnership had already set out 10 big ambitions in the Five Year Plan to tackle health inequalities, including for BAME communities and staff. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced that we need to make these a reality as soon as possible. We have a fantastic group of BAME network chairs who are directly influencing our work across the leadership and priority programme areas, including preventing ill health, cancer and maternity care. I am delighted that Professor Dame Donna has agreed to work with us as we seek to make the biggest improvements that we can.”