Leeds health hub launched to attract top talent, innovate and tackle region’s health challenges

A new Leeds hub is set to improve health across the region and attract and develop the best talent from the health and social care sector.

The Leeds Health and Social Care Hub will bring together the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and local organisations, creating a community of experts to improve healthcare and tackle health disparities.

The hub is also planning to create new jobs and opportunities for health and social care professionals in and around the city, boosting the local economy and developing and retaining talent. Aiming to make Leeds the city of choice for both talented healthcare professionals, organisations and start-ups, the hub will also promote career opportunities in the sector to build a workforce that reflects the community it serves, with expert help from the University of Leeds and other organisations.

Health Minister Maria Caulfield said the new venture would create closer and stronger working relationships with DHSC’s partners in Leeds and across the north of England.

Together, we will work on a comprehensive vision to improve health and social care outcomes and come up with innovative solutions to tackle health disparities across the north of England.

The hub will focus on three main areas: people and talent, health and social care economy and policy and collaboration.

People and talent

The aim is to make the health sector in the region the employer of choice for local people from all communities.  

Career paths between organisations will be made clearer, with measures to facilitate job moves. New apprenticeships and rotation schemes will be developed, while the hub will work closely with universities in Leeds and the surrounding area to develop higher education offerings.

Local residents will be supported in joining organisations, with jobs made attractive to local people in a bid to expand and diversify the talent pool.    

Health and social care economy

The project will see members work together to make Leeds the destination of choice for health and social care businesses – particularly innovators and firms from the digital health and medical technology sectors.  

It will support the Innovation Arc – a project which will create a series of ‘innovation neighbourhoods’ as part of the development of the new hospital on the Leeds General Infirmary site, and a key part of the government’s New Hospital Programme.  

The hub will also support inclusive, collaborative partnerships between life sciences, businesses, academics, healthcare providers and policy makers, and will work to attract talent into the health technology sector, maximising start-up opportunities.  

I believe the Hub offers a unique opportunity to accelerate delivery of our shared ambitions, not to mention significant potential to be replicated across diverse sectors in different parts of the country.

Policy and collaboration

Bringing together the insight and experience of all partners, the hub will tackle health and care policy challenges, with a focus on health disparities.

New ways of working will be established, jointly testing ideas, exploring policy solutions and gathering real-time insight. A specific working group will also be created to address health challenges and ensure work is backed up by excellent academic input by local universities.  

In addition, a new West Yorkshire Innovation hub has been created to ensure residents can benefit from new health innovations. Ten schemes including breast cancer surgery, cancer screening uptake in minority communities and a programme to support older people with cancer have been launched.  

The Hub is a significant opportunity to build upon the existing collaboration between health and care across Leeds and West Yorkshire, aligning conversations around health, the economy, employment, and innovation to improve health and life outcomes for the region’s citizens.

The hub’s key aims will work to make Leeds a national and international hub for the healthcare industry, building on previous successful collaborations across different organisations, such as the Lincoln Green skills and employment project which saw 29 people secure new jobs.  In 2019, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust partnered with Leeds City Council and a local charity to deliver information on employment, connecting residents living in Lincoln Green and other disadvantaged communities in Leeds with job opportunities.

It resulted in 49 people starting a six-week employability programme and 29 people successfully securing employment at St James’s University Hospital.  

The hub brings together a diverse set of partners both locally and nationally that will be able to achieve so much more collectively.

The partners will include:

• Leeds City Council
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• NHS England
• West Yorkshire Integrated Care System
•  University of Leeds
• Leeds Beckett University
• Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network
• Leeds Health and Care Academy
• Leeds and York Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust
• Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

In order to develop and deliver successful policy, you need national, regional and local perspectives working together, and this initiative is a great opportunity to do just that.

Get involved

If you are a member of staff working for one of the partners, a business or innovator, we want to hear from you and know how we can work together to achieve our vision. Please get in touch LeedsHealthandCareHub@dhsc.gov.uk        

Picture credit: Benjamin Elliott/Unsplash