Each year noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – including cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes – kill 41 million people [i]. That’s equivalent to a staggering 74% of all deaths worldwide, and almost 90% of deaths in England [ii], making it one of the biggest challenges of our time, both locally and globally.
In Leeds and across the UK, we’re seeing a huge increase in more complex conditions alongside deepening health inequalities. For our already stretched health and care system, this creates a swelling tide of demand. The scale of the challenge means there are no easy answers and we know solutions won’t be found in silos – we must think and work differently. Here in Leeds, we’re doing just that. As a city, our people, businesses and institutions have made a joint commitment to tackle health inequalities through innovation, harnessing the power of partnership to improve health and wealth for all.
Collaboration is key to solving our hardest health challenges. From unlocking insights across big data and within communities, to unconventional partnerships between diverse groups across education, academia, healthcare involving both members of the public and politicians – Leeds is a city pushing boundaries.
An example of this is world-leading researchers in engineering, systems design and musculoskeletal medicine working with health practitioners, data scientists, and local people as part of the SEISMIC project. SEISMIC is a groundbreaking approach to better understand the problems that people living with multiple long-term conditions experience, and how to improve health and care services for them – particularly those with the poorest health outcomes living in the most deprived areas.
In another citywide collaboration, Leeds’ HomeFirst programme is transforming care to support more people at home, enabling better recovery and independence. HomeFirst is a great example of how powerful partnerships and a shared strategic vision make the Leeds pound work as hard as possible to make the most difference for local people. To make most impact, the project brings together a number of our partners, including Leeds City Council, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Leeds Health and Care Academy, Leeds Health and Care Partnership, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust along with primary care, Leeds GP Confederation, and charity and voluntary sector organisations.
As a world leader in AI and home to Europe’s largest teaching hospital, Leeds is undoubtedly blazing a trail in pioneering, testing, and adopting cutting-edge digital technologies at pace and scale. This cross-sector, no-holds-barred approach is just one of the reasons Leeds is a top UK location for health and care research and innovation.
But while we continue to see amazing progress, including in the treatment of cancer, respiratory and heart disease, health inequalities have widened in our most deprived areas. And while people are living longer, this is often in poorer health and with multiple long-term conditions. The answer lies in all of us – individuals and organisations – working together to better understand how people live their lives and the myriad factors which contribute to ill health.
Leeds Best City Ambition is the holistic lens through which we deliver our bold, collective purpose, with an overarching objective to be the best city by 2030 in which to live and work. To this end, the city’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy, supported by the Healthy Leeds Plan, guides our collective health innovation efforts and ensures the needs of local people and communities are at the heart of everything we do.
One of the most inspiring things about Leeds is our innovative spirit and willingness to work together – to crack on and get things done. That’s why, as part of Leeds Digital Festival 2024, Health Innovation Leeds is bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs, academics and local and regional health and care leaders to shape the future through our shared passions and priorities, ensuring we turn our bold ambitions into bold action.
We’ll be joined by a prestigious panel of senior leaders from our city and region, including:
The session is an exciting opportunity to hear about the groundbreaking work happening in Leeds as a result of innovative partnerships, as well as an important chance to step outside of the demands of our day jobs, bringing the bigger picture into focus. For colleagues working within the health and care system, and those passionate about health inequalities, it’s an opportunity to hear from senior leaders, forge new connections and combine big ideas with scalable solutions to evolve our everyday work and accelerate advances in health and care for all.
In Leeds, we’re proud of our reputation as somewhere that gives companies a warm Yorkshire welcome (did you know, we’re the UK’s top-performing city for business scale-ups?) and through our strong, interconnected ecosystem, helps them to thrive and grow. This event is therefore a great way for innovators and entrepreneurs to plug in to the city’s health and care needs and priorities. By aligning goals with solutions, we can supercharge innovation for local and global impact, boost economic growth and keep business booming.
We’re delighted to be part of Leeds Digital Festival, which harnesses the magic of the Leeds tech ecosystem’s unique collaborative spirit. As well as a session from Health Innovation Leeds, this year’s programme features more of the fantastic work of our partners across a range of events…
Leeds Digital Festival is the largest tech event in the North, and the dynamic programme is an amazing opportunity to transcend sectors, share skills and look to the future together. We find ourselves in a moment where anything is possible – it’s the groundswell of something big. Now is the time to come together to turn the tide.
Join us at ‘In the face of global challenges, partnership is our superpower’ on Monday 23rd September 2024 at Nexus Leeds from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Spaces are limited, so early booking is recommended.
See the full Leeds Digital Festival 2024, taking place from Monday 16th to Friday 27th September line-up here.
[i] World Health Organisation (2023) Noncommunicable Diseases.
[ii] Gov.UK (2021) Annex C: data on the distribution, determinants and burden of non-communicable diseases in England.