Resetting, recovering and reimagining healthcare

There is no doubt that the NHS is about to embark on one of the biggest opportunities yet to transform the way the population accesses health and care services. Out of the pandemic has come remarkable progress and unprecedented innovation: changes to the NHS that would normally take years have been delivered in weeks, and we have seen first-hand how working together effectively can accelerate problem solving in some of the most challenging times.

With seven vaccines to choose from, having been developed, trialled and rolled out in under a year, the speed at which the health ecosystem has responded to the crisis is truly remarkable. 

However, the pandemic has also shone a light on the stark inequality in our society. A central part of our response to COVID-19 and restoring services must be to accelerate sustainable action at pace and scale, which can only be achieved through systems and organisations working closely with one another. 

Bringing together and supporting the NHS

Collaboration across the entire health ecosystem will be key to implementing solutions that drive access for every UK patient and supports the NHS in its recovery. It is in this spirit that Novartis UK is proud to be a system integration and collaboration theme partner at the NHS Confed Virtual Conference, which takes place on 15 – 17 June, focusing on delivering the rebuilding of services and resetting our ambitions for what the health and care system of the future will look like. 

This year’s conference provides an opportunity to reflect on the pandemic and explore the challenges and opportunities ahead. What are the critical factors to partnership working that will support system integration and collaboration? Can we successfully implement population health management approaches to drive improvements in healthcare delivery? Does psychological safety have a role to play in creating the conditions for success? And how can we ensure that our collective efforts help to address the scale and disproportionate impact of health inequalities, and the stark differences in life expectancy that exist between different population groups in our society?

Tackling health inequalities 

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of premature mortality in deprived areas of England. 

A recurring feature of health inequalities is the challenge in identifying people at greatest risk, achieving early diagnosis and delivery of timely care. At Novartis, we have a diverse portfolio of treatments in multiple therapy areas that focus on targeting critical healthcare innovations to better meet the needs of those who are at greatest risk of ill health and poor health outcomes.

One particularly challenging area is cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is identified as a clinical priority in the NHS Long Term Plan and is the single biggest area where lives can be saved by the NHS over the next ten years. It remains the leading cause of premature mortality in deprived areas of England and is one of the conditions most strongly associated with health inequalities. 

As an important contributor and partner to the NHS and wider UK healthcare ecosystem, we are committed to playing our part in tackling these health inequalities. Our partnerships with the healthcare system, include the exploration of population health management models, as well as health-tech calls through the Novartis BIOME (our digital innovation lab) to identify solutions to support health literacy. By leveraging these strengths in data analytics and digital solutions, new models of care and system collaboration, we can partner with NHS England and NHS Improvement to accelerate sustainable action on health inequalities.

As the healthcare system undergoes structural changes and reform, Novartis looks forward to working with the NHS and partners from across the health ecosystem to embed a new approach to addressing the health inequalities endemic in our society today.

Integrating psychological safety

Creating psychologically safe working environments will be crucial to the success of healthcare reforms.

While we navigate addressing inequalities within our society, it’s important that people working across the industry and healthcare system feel able to voice any questions or concerns they may have in a rapidly changing environment. Creating psychologically safe working environments will no doubt be crucial to the success of healthcare reforms.

As part of our ongoing commitment to partnering with the NHS to support system transformation, innovation and leadership development, in 2019 we supported NHS leaders to learn from the academic work of Professor Amy Edmondson and understand how psychological safety could support system transformation through a series of events with the King’s Fund, the AHSN Network and the NHS Leadership Academy. 

In response to the insights gathered about effective teaming, psychologically safe leadership and leading through crisis, we collaborated with NHS Horizons, Professor Amy Edmondson and the Soircas Consultancy to design and deliver a Psychologically Safe Systems Leadership Programme, with the ambition to develop psychological safety as an integral element of building system capacity and capability.

Through the NHS Horizon’s Psychologically Safe Systems Leadership Programme, we have been able to support five participating integrated care systems (ICSs), with tailored support to understand the individual strengths, opportunities and challenges pertaining to psychological safety and effective team working at the leadership level within their organisations.

Looking to the future

The NHS Confed Conference will be an important opportunity for members and partners in health and social care to recognise the major innovations that have been delivered since the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as influence forthcoming national strategies, ranging from tackling inequalities through to understanding how we can build on progress to-date to improve outcomes for communities.

It is now imperative that across the pharmaceutical industry, academia, the NHS and the independent sector, we continue this new spirit of creative collaboration in both the medium and long term. As leaders at the forefront of healthcare, it is our responsibility to use innovative science and technology to address some of society’s most challenging healthcare issues. 

Chinmay Bhatt is managing director UK, Ireland & Nordics at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Ltd.