'I have been proud to see the strides we have made' - Birmingham NHS boss steps down from board
The outgoing boss of a Birmingham and Solihull NHS group has spoken of his pride in tackling health inequalities and discrimination.
Patrick Vernon OBE oversaw his last meeting as chair of the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) where his colleagues paid tribute to him and presented him with leaving gifts.
Mr Vernon stepped down and will be replaced by Danielle Oum, who will take charge of the new NHS Birmingham, Black Country and Solihull Integrated Care Board cluster.
He was appointed as interim chair in January 2013, taking up the permanent position 12 months later.
At Monday’s (September 8) board meeting, fond farewells were also paid to Onyinye Okonkwo, associate non-executive director for quality and Clara Day chief medical officer who are also leaving the ICB.
In a report to the board, Mr Vernon said: “My time at the ICB has been nothing short of amazing, having had the privilege to witness and be involved in a huge amount of work to ensure that the health and care delivered in Birmingham and Solihull is of the highest standard, fit for purpose and effective for our patients and communities.
“Beginning my time here as the first non-executive director to be appointed to any ICB to lead on tackling health inequalities, I have been proud to see the strides we have made as a system to bridge the gaps we see in health outcomes and experiences for patients and staff alike from global majority communities and those with protected characteristics.
“There are many things I’m particularly proud of and could list as a highlight, but in particular the inception of our Fairer Futures Fund and its subsequent distribution has seen a huge amount of work going on, specifically to tackle health inequalities at locality level.
“It has harnessed the experience and knowledge of the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector working in partnership with the NHS and local authorities to create new ways of delivering care and support in our communities.
“In 2023 we published our Health Inequalities Strategy which identified six system priorities based on factors we know drive poor healthy life expectancy.
“There has been much work since then to tackle inequalities, such as our collaboration with Birmingham Race Impact Group which saw us develop 17 race and healthcare pledges to tackle racism and discrimination within the healthcare system – including working towards Birmingham becoming an anti-racist city.
“We also pledged to the three-year Board challenge to improve diversity in our Board and provide a structured framework for us to implement actionable steps towards racial equality, all with a view to bringing lasting positive change for our staff and patients.
“Another key highlight for me has been our work in embedding social value in our procurement processes.
“The coming months will see us drive forward our work to cluster with Black Country Integrated Care Board, paving the way for our clustered ICB’s new role as strategic commissioners.
“We have laid the foundations for this already, and having seen the commitment and enthusiasm from our staff I know the future, while challenging, will be bright for staff and our communities alike.
“I want to extend my congratulations to Danielle Oum who will take on the role as Chair of NHS Birmingham, Black Country and Solihull, joining us from NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB.
“I am confident Danielle will bring valuable experience and expertise to our systems, and I will be cheering the cluster on and keeping a close eye on how things continue to develop.”
