Wakefield Council awarded £5m funding to improve health and tackle inequalities

• Wakefield Council has been awarded £5m funding for a five-year research programme to improve health and tackle inequalities
• The evidence gathered from the research will be used to shape the way local health services are delivered in the future
• Wakefield is one of 11 applicants to be awarded funding to establish a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) 

Wakefield Council has been awarded £5m funding for a five-year research programme to gain more insight into why residents in the district have poorer health than people living in other parts of the country.

The evidence gathered from the research will be used to improve understanding and help shape the way local services are delivered in the future to help residents live healthier lives.

Cllr Denise Jeffery, Leader of Wakefield Council, said: “This is such welcome news for our district. The Wakefield district is a wonderful place to live, but sadly it’s still the case that many of our residents will not reach retirement age in good health. This funding will help us to change that by giving us greater insight into what affects our residents’ health and wellbeing and ultimately allow us to deliver services to our communities that really make a difference.”

Wakefield is one of 11 applicants to be awarded funding to establish a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The research programme will be known formally as NIHR HDRC Wakefield.

The Council will set up the research programme in partnership with partners at Leeds Beckett University, Sheffield Hallam University, St George’s Community Centre and Prosper Wakefield. It will have close links with the ‘Born and Bred in Wakefield’ research study, which now has nearly 2,000 mothers and babies signed up and ultimately aims to recruit 60% of all babies born in Mid-Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals every year.

Professor James Woodall, of Leeds Beckett University, said: “We are delighted to be working with Wakefield Council to develop the new Health Determinants Research Collaboration. Building research capacity and skills in local government means that decision makers in the Wakefield district will be able to focus even more on the right services and the right outcomes for all of their residents.”

The funding will allow the partnership to work closely with communities to understand what is already strong and works for them. It will also give residents the chance to make their own decisions about health and care and will ensure the Council and its partners focus more on the right priorities and outcomes for all Wakefield residents.

Jo Webster, Wakefield District Health and Care Partnership Accountable Officer, said: “Tackling health inequalities is at the heart of what our health and care system is here to do so it is great that we have received this funding to help tackle the unfair and avoidable differences in health between different groups of people.”

A key part of the programme will see St George’s Community Centre and Prosper Wakefield involving residents and communities in the research. Residents will have the opportunity to become community journalists and researchers, developing skills to work with their own community to find out more about their health needs.

Berni O’Brien of St George’s Community Centre, Lupset, said: “We are really excited to be a partner in this programme. Our previous studies have shown that peer to peer research works well, with residents feeling more comfortable to share important issues with someone like themselves. We are looking forward to supporting residents to train as community researchers and journalists, giving them the skills to find out more about the issues that are important to their communities’ health and wellbeing.”