A new health academy has been launched to improve the health and
wellbeing of people living in Lancashire and South Cumbria.

The Population Health and Health Equity Academy will see health and care
partners across Lancashire and South Cumbria come together to develop a
consistent approach to reducing the differences in people’s health.

The academy is a  partnership between NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria
and The King’s Fund, a charity that works with the NHS to shape health
and social care policy.

Dr Andy Knox, associate medical director for Lancashire and South
Cumbria, said: “I am so excited as we launch our population health
leadership academy for Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria.

“This ground-breaking partnership with The King’s Fund will not only
train and develop, but also empower and equip our healthcare leaders to
provide compassionate and wise leadership as they understand how they
can tackle health inequalities in every area of Lancashire and South
Cumbria.

“Our aspiration is that local clinical leaders, working in partnership
with communities, will be at the forefront of change to improve the
health and wellbeing of local communities.

“This is a major step forward for Lancashire and South Cumbria as we
create a wider workforce that can be adept and skilled in helping to
foster and create health and wellbeing in our communities where it is
needed.”

The Academy will deliver training on key topics for health and care
leaders and staff to support the planned work, including sharing best
practice and lessons learned across Lancashire and South Cumbria.

The Academy will also look to develop an online platform to enable the
sharing of intelligence, publications, case studies, videos, useful
weblinks and online training.

At an event organised to launch the Academy earlier this month,
participants learned about new approaches to tackling differences in
people’s health, including collaborative leadership, community
engagement and empowerment, tackling health inequalities and improving
population health.

Dr Alison Johnston, GP at Hoad Medical Practice and lead for health
inequalities at Ulverston and Mid Furness Primary Care Network said:
“I’m really excited to be part of this new programme to help me
become a better leader and learn how to work with my community to look
at the health of our population. The presence of health inequalities in
our area is a real challenge for the health service and GPs like me.
People deserve better and I hope we can really use the knowledge and
skills gained from this course to tackle and reduce health inequalities
once and for all.”

From September, the Academy will welcome a range of national and
international speakers to discuss and share their insights on
leadership, working with communities, improving population health and
tackling the differences in people’s health.