Healthcare in Thoughts from the Centre
England’s food strategy: Who pays the price for a healthy diet?
By Dr Aiden Hannah and Dylan Powell, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
The opening salvo in the July 2021 The Plan: a National Food Strategy for England, an independent report led by Henry Dimbleby, noted that ‘the food system we have today is both a miracle and a disaster.1 A miracle because intensive agriculture produces more than enough calories (albeit very unevenly distributed) to feed the world; but a disaster because the food we eat and the way it is produced is doing terrible damage to our planet and our health.2 The last few years exacerbated by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current turbulence caused by the invasion of Ukraine has accelerated the fragilities of the food supply chain and demonstrated the crucial importance of UK food producers to our national resilience. Against this background, on 13 June 2022, the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs launched the Government food strategy. This week’s blog explores some of the crucial issues in these strategies and the planned interventions to deliver a healthier future.
Introduction to hospital activation
By Glenn Sumner, Senior Manager, Major Health Programmes team, Pip Young, Senior Manager, and Krissie Ferris, Senior Consultant, Healthcare Technology team
Opening a hospital is an enormous task that ultimately will transform care for thousands of people. It starts with the approval of a business case for a new healthcare facility, planning the architectural design, and re-imagining care models. But how do you get from an empty building to a fully operational site? The answer is through ‘Hospital Activation’ - the process of preparing to open a new or renovated hospital facility. In 2020, the UK government announced plans to build or improve 48 hospital facilities by 2030 through the ‘New Hospital Programme’ (NHP) – the largest hospital building programme in a generation. The NHP presents a major opportunity to transform NHS services for patients, staff, and the wider community, so getting hospital activation ‘right’ has never been more important. In this blog, we introduce the concept of hospital activation, and provide some considerations for ‘successful activation’ informed by our work in the field.
Research participants are shaping the future of genomic medicine
By Aiden Hannah, Research Analyst, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
I recently had the privilege of attending the Genomics England Research Summit 2022 (Summit), a flagship event exploring cutting edge research advances and challenges in the field of genomics.1 The conference hosted 1,000 delegates in person at the Business Design Centre in London, and a further 2,000 delegates online, with over 75 distinguished speakers sharing their knowledge from across the genomics ecosystem. Throughout the event, the exciting potential for this technology to transform diagnosis and improve patient outcomes by bringing together healthcare and research was evident. Strong partnership working across the ecosystem, across device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, clinicians and policy makers have been, and will continue to be, central to this transformation. This blog explores the crucial partnership between researchers and research participants and presents my take on the key role of these relationships in shaping the future of genomic medicine.
Why ESG must include health equity
By Punit Renjen, global chief executive officer, Deloitte, in partnership with the World Economic Forum
Global health inequity is widening, with the combined impact of the pandemic, migration and climate change further increasing disparities in health outcomes. This week’s blog, first published by the World Economic Forum, highlights the responsibility of business leaders to promote health equity, and the need for a shared language to measure and activate health equity in an ESG framework.
Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 – Can technology reduce Loneliness?
By Aiden Hannah, Research Analyst, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness week, taking place between 9-15 May, is loneliness. A frequently cited statistic illustrates its stark impact on health, namely that loneliness can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.1 Chronic loneliness affected approximately six per cent of the population in 2020-21, with increasing evidence of a detrimental effect upon mental health.2 There is also a growing body of research that shows individuals can benefit from using digital approaches through establishing social connection in innovative ways. However, there is also evidence that suggests that aspects of some technologies, such as social media platforms, can exacerbate feelings of being alone, particularly for younger age groups. This week’s blog explores both the positive and negative impacts that technology can have on tackling this growing public health concern.3
Dying Matters Awareness Week: why you should talk about death, dying and grief
By Karen Taylor, Director, Centre for Health Solutions
Every year, Dying Matters Awareness Week is used to encourage people to talk, in whatever way, shape or form works for them. This year, the week is being observed from 2 - 6 May, and the theme is being ‘#InAGoodPlace’ to talk about death, dying and grief.1 Over the past ten years I have written several blogs in support of Dying Matters week highlighting the importance of talking with your loved ones about death and dying and, stressing that ‘being in a good place’ covers physical, emotional, financial and spiritual considerations, as well as being able to access the right care and support. Last year, however, I suffered the sudden and unexpected loss of my husband and while no amount of talking beforehand would have helped ease the shock and grief, if we’d had some discussions about wishes and wants it might have eased some of the difficulties encountered. More importantly, being able to talk about ‘dying’ and ‘loss’ in the days and months afterwards has proved invaluable. This week’s blog is my testament to ‘Dying Matters’ week and why it’s important to talk.
Improving awareness and understanding of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
By Aiden Hannah, Research Analyst, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
Despite being a common condition affecting approximately 10 to 20 per cent of UK adults, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is poorly understood.1 No direct tests for IBS exist and the exact underlying causes of the chronic condition are still unknown. Receiving a diagnosis can be difficult and many individuals do not receive appropriate support to help manage their condition. As April is IBS Awareness Month, this week’s blog highlights the realities of the condition through my own lived experience and summarises management strategies that may help individuals optimise their quality of life.
World Earth Day 2022: Investing in our planet through affirmative action, innovation and collaboration
By Dylan Powell, Research Analyst, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions, Deloitte
Friday the 22nd of April marks World Earth Day and this year’s theme is ‘investing in our planet’. With so much focus on the problems and challenges facing the planet, it can be easy to forget about the solutions and mechanisms of change to improve outcomes. Significant progress has already been made in advocating and raising awareness of climate positive actions since the first World Earth Day in 1970. This week’s blog recognises World Earth Day as an opportunity to showcase progress but also to act as a catalyst and inspiration for change. This week’s blog provides examples of affirmative action from healthcare and life sciences acting boldly, innovating broadly and harnessing partnerships to implement equitably.
The Future of Public Health: Evaluating the role of employers in reducing the public health gap
By Karen Taylor, Director and Samrina Bhatti, Manager, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
This week, we launched the latest report in our future of public health series, Evaluating the role of employers in reducing the public health gap: Improving the health and productivity of employees. Although slightly tangential to the other reports in the series, this report focuses more on the role of employers in improving the health and wellbeing of their employees. The report evaluates the implications of good health and wellbeing on workforce productivity and highlights the growing body of evidence that shows how employer initiatives to support the wellbeing of their employees can improve the health of local communities; staff recruitment and retention and, ultimately, business growth. This week’s blog summarises the findings in our report and the case for employers to invest in employee health.
World Health Day 2022: Our Planet, Our Health
By Emily May, Assistant Manager, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions and Dylan Powell, Research Analyst, Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
Thursday 7th of April is World Health Day which aims to raise the profile of key issues impacting healthcare globally. This year’s World Health Day is aimed at tackling a global issue that has risen up the priority list of challenges, namely ‘Our Planet, Our Health’ and focuses on the need for urgent actions to keep humans and the planet healthy by fostering a global movement to create societies focused on well-being.1 The World Health Organisations (WHO) has described climate change as the 21st century’s greatest threat to global health and tackling it the greatest opportunity. At the same time the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an inescapable reminder of the interrelationships between climate change, health and wellbeing and the economic prosperity of our societies. This week’s blog in honour of World Health Day, explores these interrelationships in more detail and considers what actions might help improve the health and wellbeing of our societies.