A note from our Chair
In March 2020, the health and care system embarked on the most challenging year in its history.
Within a matter of days, all 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) realigned resources and refocused our existing work to support the national and regional response to coronavirus (COVID-19). We adapted and channelled our efforts to support the system where the need was the greatest, and used our model of operating as a locally connected, co-ordinated national network to add value at pace and scale during this time.
Our 2020/21 Impact Report demonstrates that as a Network we drive forward results in the most relevant areas to make a real difference for patients and service users, as well as healthcare professionals, innovators and NHS organisations. We use our unique position working across all sectors relevant to health and care and our embedded relationships as a catalyst for the greatest impacts, and this year is a demonstration of how effective that can be.
Even in the face of adversity, the system has made some incredible steps forward to adopt innovation and work even more closely with industry.
Professor Gary Ford
Chair of the AHSN Network and Chief Executive of Oxford AHSN
Read the Impact Report PDF. You can see more impact stories on the pages below.
2020/21 impacts
“Health equity is the attainment of the highest level of health for ALL people. Achieving health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and social determinants of health — and to eliminate disparities in health and health care.” (health.gov) Within the NHS there [...]
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious and lifelong health condition. People with SCD produce unusually shaped red blood cells that can cause problems because they do not live as long as healthy blood cells and can block blood vessels. This can result in suffers experiencing painful episodes, called sickle cell crises, as well as anaemia, [...]
At the Royal Society of Medicine’s Tackling Inequalities conference it was clear from the passion in the room that great progress has been made across the system to better support some of our most under-served communities. To maintain this momentum, we must not just embed tackling health and healthcare inequalities in all that we do, [...]
