West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership’s Partnership Board will meet in public on Tuesday 2 March 2021 at 2pm. The meeting will be held virtually due to Government social distancing guidelines and to ensure people are not at any unnecessary risk.

The Partnership Board further strengthens joint working arrangements between the NHS, councils, care providers, hospices, Healthwatch, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. Together, the Partnership improves health and care for the 2.7 million people living across the area.

The Board is an important group for the Partnership, which covers Bradford district and Craven; Calderdale, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. It brings together elected members, executive and non-executives and independent lay members in one decision making process.

Chaired by Cllr Tim Swift, Leader of Calderdale Council and Chair of Calderdale Health and Wellbeing Board, the meeting will focus on the Partnership’s response to COVID-19, including support for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and staff; and new national proposals launched to join up health and care services and embed lessons learned from the pandemic.

Working alongside communities, the Partnership Board aims to give people the best start in life with support to stay healthy and live longer. Many factors determine whether someone leads a long and healthy life, including good housing, access to green space, and building an inclusive economy that creates more good jobs, reduces health inequalities and promotes opportunity for all. These important factors are at the heart of the Partnership Board.

The Partnership Board is also influenced by the voice of local people. It has co-opted four independent members of the public and has a strong commitment to listening to the public’s views. The meetings are held in public and gives people the opportunity for people to ask questions and have their say.

The Board meets in public every three months.

Due to the meeting following a different format in these exceptional circumstances, questions from members of the public will be limited to one per person being read out at the Board. All other questions submitted will receive a written response after the meeting and published on the Partnership’s website as usual.

Members of the public are asked to email their questions to westyorkshire.stp@nhs.net before Monday 1 March 2021 at 5pm – highlighting the question to be asked at the Board. People can also call 01924 317659 to submit questions.

The agenda, papers and watching the meeting live can be accessed at: https://www.wyhpartnership.co.uk/meetings/partnershipboard/papers

You can find out more about asking questions to the Board at:  https://www.wyhpartnership.co.uk/meetings/partnershipboard/questions