In Yorkshire and the Humber we have established a region-wide strategy and delivery group comprising of NHS Chairs and Chief Executives to champion sustainable economic, environmental and social programmes within the NHS.
In November 2007 we held a major conference ‘The NHS in Business’ for the region’s NHS and related sectors. Delegates considered how good health impacts upon individuals’ skills, employment and income, developed new ideas, and identified best practice across the region. The SHA is also actively encouraging local NHS organisations to consider their organisational policies in line with this developing agenda.
NHS Employability, a major project involving 12 NHS employers in the region and supported by Yorkshire Forward (the regional development agency) was completed last year. The project trained 1199 economically inactive people to ‘job ready’ status, and 460 people gained substantive employment as a result of the project. An evaluation report has been published by the University of Leeds.
The Commercial Procurement Collaborative, a hosted organisation of the SHA, has also been working with Yorkshire Forward to promote an increase in the proportion of goods and services bought by the NHS in the region.
