Health and Social Care

Promoting health and wellbeing in the Health Service in Cumbria

The Health and Social Care sector in Cumbria accounts for 31,500 jobs, 1,280 businesses and generates £798 million in GVA. This sector is a highly significant source of employment in Cumbria and contributes hugely to our way of life; the sector is also complex in its nature and it is challenging to establish and deliver a single visible strategy of development. The CLEP sector panel therefore has sought to find its place in providing a supporting coordinating input, without conflicting with the roles of existing organisations within the service.

The sector is also delivering important health-associated innovation across Cumbria as exampled below;

UCLan has opened a Health Campus at Westlakes Science Park and the Centre for Remote and Rural Medicine.

The Cumbrian Centre for Health Technologies is an applied research and innovation centre at the University of Cumbria. It focuses on technology adoption and technology translation models for digital technologies in health and social care.
Lancaster University has been involved in health innovation activity in Cumbria – the Lancashire and Cumbria Innovation Alliance Test Bed programme for digital healthcare technologies – and is opening a £40m new health innovation campus.

Bringing coordination to the education and skills activities of the H&S Care system in Cumbria to make a positive contribution to developing the workforce for the future
Promoting good health and social prescribing within Cumbria and the relationship with our natural environment and landscape to encourage health and welfare within and out with the workplace
Identifying investment opportunities that can underpin infrastructure, exploring community care and localised care needs
Harnessing ideas and innovation to meet the needs of the ageing society

Our aim is to contribute to an inclusive environment where a super-ageing population is supported and able to contribute to the economy more effectively and to have a longer working life, fostering the retention of skills of experienced people across all sectors within Cumbria.

We will encourage and support thought leadership and best practice in the county on promoting healthy working practices within the workplace, and promoting the development of healthy working environments as part of the place-making agenda to attract people to relocate to the county, thus, addressing the projected skills gap of the future.

These can only be done in collaboration and in partnership with key health and care organisations so that we are seen as complimentary in our support, and not in conflict with moving parts of the health system in Cumbria.