Pearse Butler, Independent Chair of NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board shares his thoughts on being one of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park’s partners.
Can you tell us briefly about your organisation and your role in that organisation?
The NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) became an established statutory organisation on 1 July 2022. We work as a key partner within the South Yorkshire Integrated Care System (ICS) to collectively deliver health and care services that meet the needs of the local population across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. Working alongside our local councils and other partners we address health inequalities and wider determinants of health across South Yorkshire.
I am the independent chair of NHS South Yorkshire ICB and bring over 25 years’ experience as an NHS Chief Executive Officer. My previous roles include chair at Blackpool Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chair of Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
My role as ICB chair is to bring independent challenge, holding the Board to account to ensure effective governance, and collaboration with our partner organisations so we deliver our system-wide strategic plans.
What positive benefit does being a partner of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park bring to your organisation?
South Yorkshire Integrated Care System (ICS) is a proud partner of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. The main benefit in my opinion is being able to support and collaborate with other local organisations to drive forward the Park’s ambitions and vision. Working in collaboration to enhance the core values of ‘moving forward to a stronger, healthier future’ is a great honour to be a part of. Such values align with the foundation of NHS South Yorkshire ICB and what we are continually building for our local residents.
What is your post-pandemic vision for your organisation and how do you think being a partner of the Park will help you to deliver that?
Although the vaccination programme has been incredibly successful in reducing the number of people becoming seriously ill or dying with Covid, it is still prevalent in the community and won’t be going away any time soon. The challenge going forward is how we learn to adapt and live with it. We all learned a great deal during the pandemic, and it is important use the knowledge we have gained to our advantage. We demonstrated how rapidly the NHS and partner organisations could come together to meet the challenges we faced and we adapted to ways of working which we wouldn’t have thought possible in a few short months.
The pandemic also resulted in many more people becoming aware of the importance of both physical and mental health and wellbeing, which is a very good thing. Partnering with the Park, we are able work together gaining detailed insights into our local communities which will further contribute to our vision for NHS South Yorkshire ICB;
– improving health and wellbeing,
– improving the quality and experience of care,
– eliminating health inequalities,
– ensuring access to the services people need to live well throughout their lifetime.
The Park’s Master Plan aims to deliver whole population health and wellbeing change as well as helping to drive the economic regeneration of Sheffield and the wider city region. Do you think the Park is delivering a real Olympic Legacy and why?
The successful legacy of the Park is growing. Bringing together key organisations and delivering fundamental work toward improving health and wellbeing with a strong vision is something that is unique to the Park. Having seen for myself visiting here, it is clear the Park’s impact will positively shape the future for our local population.
