Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (BSol ICS) have announce the appointment of Dr Patrick Vernon OBE as its new Non-Executive Director for Inequalities.
Dr Vernon is a prominent equality campaigner with more than two decades of experience in the voluntary and public sectors. With expertise in developing and managing health and social care services, public health, grant programmes, regeneration and employment projects, he was awarded an OBE in 2012 and an honorary doctorate from Wolverhampton in 2018.
The role of Non-Executive Director for Inequalities is responsible for providing appropriate oversight, governance and leadership to the ICS and ensures it meets its goals and objectives of helping people in Birmingham and Solihull to live the healthiest and happiest lives possible.
Dame Yve Buckland, Chair of the Birmingham and Solihull ICS, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Dr Patrick Vernon to the Birmingham and Solihull ICS board. It’s an incredibly important appointment and will ensure we focus on the areas of inequality which we know are currently present in our health and social care system. I look forward to working alongside Patrick to ensure the voices of everyone in Birmingham and Solihull are heard.”
Councillor Paulette Hamilton, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board at Birmingham City Council, added: “After completing a competitive recruitment process, we felt that Patrick was the outstanding candidate and will offer the ICS his skills in scrutiny, leadership and guidance. Birmingham is a young, vibrant and diverse city, so it’s imperative that we shape our health and social care services to the needs of everyone who lives here and Patrick’s unique skillset will help us do that.”
Dr Patrick Vernon OBE said: “I’m excited to get started as I was born and raised in the Midlands, so it is an area of the country which I am really passionate about.
“I believe I can provide the leadership to drive the ICS inequalities agenda and work with the board to shape and influence the strategic vision. We’re currently in a period of uncertainty as we move towards a post pandemic society, so it’s even more important than ever that the voices of disadvantaged and minority groups are heard.”
Birmingham and Solihull ICS is a collaboration of NHS and local government organisations across Birmingham and Solihull. The ICS is now moving forward at pace, to enable it to deliver its full ambition by April 2022.
In an integrated care system, NHS organisations, in partnership with local councils and other partners, take collective responsibility for managing resources, delivering NHS care, and improving the health of the population they serve.
