Building Back Health and Prosperity – Health Devolution Commission report

The Health Devolution Commission, an independent and cross party inquiry into the value and accountability of devolved health systems, has published its final report ‘Building Back Health and Prosperity‘.

In the report, the commission, which is made up of five former health ministers across the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, calls for comprehensive health devolution across England to address rising inequalities which have been highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, we facilitated an online discussion group to support the engagement of social enterprise providers in the Commission, which provided useful and interesting insights into the vital role social enterprises can play in devolved health structures.

The report said that successful health devolution would require deep-rooted partnerships between clinical and civic leaders, as well as community involvement and parity of esteem between the public, private and voluntary sectors.

On the launch of the report, Andy Burham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and Co-Chairman of the commission, said coronavirus had shown the “limitations of an overly centralised approach to health delivery”.

He said: “As we look to build back from it, and particularly in those communities hardest hit, we need to do something different. Health is built in homes, families and communities more than hospitals. But health policy in this country is still too focused on treatment rather than prevention.

We need to break out of the Whitehall silos and link health to housing, education and employment. This simple difference makes the argument for health devolution. And it is now the solution of our times as we begin to face up to the inequalities exposed by Covid-19.”

To view the full report, visit the Health Devolution Commission website.