IMAGE: Courtesy of South Yorkshire NHS

South Yorkshire NHS have published their five year joint forward plan for reaching their health and well being improvement targets.  

The organisation spoke to 2500 people from the area, including Sheffield and Rotherham, to establish what issues needed to be addressed. 

Gavin Boyle, chief executive officer of NHS South Yorkshire Integrated care board, said in the report: “Our immediate priority must be to continue to recover our services in a way that all our communities have equitable access to the care and support they need.

“We look forward to working with all of you to achieve the bold ambitions for our communities in South Yorkshire.” 

The plan came about in accordance with the Health and Care Act 2022 which instructs each area to produce a five-year plan.   

Priorities for South Yorkshire NHS for the next five years include lowering waiting times for ambulances and procedures, improving mental health support and dealing with the pressure on primary care. 

Research for the plan revealed people in South Yorkshire typically live shorter lives as compared with the rest of the nation. 

Mr Boyle’s plan reads: “Our shared aim is to address the wider determinants of health, eliminate health inequalities, improve population health outcomes and equity and support the physical and mental health and wellbeing needs of people living and working in South Yorkshire.” 

The first two years of the plan focus on making healthcare more accessible to people, through digital means. 

The full plan can be found at southyorkshire.icb.nhs.uk.