How Yorkshire could become the new health research 'golden triangle'

A report published today says Yorkshire and the Humber has more than 670 life sciences companies and around 500 specialising in medical technology, more than traditional research powerhouses Oxford and Cambridge combined.

And it says that with the right support from national and local leaders as part of the 'levelling up agenda', the "rich set of connections" the region boats in health research and innovation could be used to boost the local economy and the health of the population.

The report 'Levelling Up Yorkshire and Humber: health as the new wealth post-COVID' urges Ministers to prioritise health, by giving local leaders more powers to tackle issues in their communities and making it a priority for all government departments.

It also calls for more funding to go on health and research and development in Yorkshire and the Humber, which gets a fraction of the investment received in the 'golden triangle' of London, Oxford and Cambridge.

The Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network (YHAHSN), NHS Confederation and Yorkshire Universities also urge the region's institutions to work together to make health more of a priority.

Some 30 percent of the gap in productivity between the North of England and elsewhere in England is thought to be due to ill health.

And Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who ended up in intensive care after contracting coronavirus, is reported to be passionate about tackling the nation's obesity issues because of the disease's disproportionate impact on the obese.

Richard Stubbs, chief executive of the YHAHSN, said investing in Yorkshire's state-of-the art life sciences sites like the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre in Sheffield or the Nexus Leeds research base, would represent a "double whammy".

He said: "If Yorkshire and Humber levels up with a focus on health innovation, this region becomes even more of a catalyst for improving the health of the nation and actually supporting global trade.

"But actually, in helping the nation we also help ourselves, if we can get better high quality jobs up here to build on the assets in health innovation that we've already got, if we had the kind of levelling up in terms of government investment around our health innovation assets in Yorkshire, it helps our health as well."

He said research and development spend in the region was dwarfed by the South East, in part because "we haven't got a strong enough voice as a region in this particular sector".

And he said that if the Government starts looking at investing more in the health of the nation and reduce the pressure on health services, it would need to start changing how it prioritises investment.

He told The Yorkshire Post: "Our proposition is, if government's aim was to increase the wellbeing of its population, Yorkshire and the Humber would be the new golden triangle."

He added: "In this pandemic era we will fundamentally change our relationship with health. As citizens I think people will talk about the need to not be obese, because of the detrimental effects you've seen as to what COVID can do to obese people, about the need to re engage with their health. And yet we in Yorkshire have a crucible of assets that actually can lead the country."

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been contacted for a response.