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The Leeds Health and Social Care Hub provides a new way of collaborative working between national government and local NHS organisations and partners, including local government, social care, voluntary organisations, education and industry.

The ‘Partner Perspective’ feature series focus on the Hub partners to find out more about their organisation and why they’re part of the Leeds Health and Social Care Hub. This month we’re talking to Professor Phil Wood, CEO of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

What does your organisation do?

Leeds Teaching Hospitals provides treatment and care for patients from across Leeds, West Yorkshire and beyond. We have seven hospitals across five sites and our services include secondary, tertiary and specialist care.

We are one of the largest employers in the region with 22,000 staff and are a proud anchor institution. Every year we provide training and development for around 1,000 doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and other roles. We have a thriving research and innovation portfolio and have led the way with numerous UK firsts.

All of this is in service of our vision to provide outstanding care for our patients, be the best place to work, and ensure everything we do is underpinned by our ‘The Leeds Way’ values. 

What makes Leeds and the surrounding region a good place for this sort of partnership?

There is a unique culture of collaboration in Leeds and West Yorkshire where each partner brings their strengths in service of a common set of goals across health, economic development, and sustainability. We have a diverse population which is reflective of the UK as a whole and a thriving health economy including many healthtech businesses, leading universities and Further Education colleges, meaning there is a wealth of talent to draw from. 

What would you like to highlight about the work of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust?

Our Hospitals of the Future project

The project will create a new building at the Leeds General Infirmary to accommodate a new adults’ hospital, a new children’s hospital, and the UK’s largest single site maternity centre. Our plans will increase theatre and critical care capacity and will simplify patient pathways and centralise our children’s, maternity and neonatal services.

In addition, the new hospitals will be the catalyst for the creation of new ‘Innovation Village’ in the land unlocked by the new hospitals. Building on our excellent R&I track record and strong Leeds innovation ecosystem, it has been independently assessed that our plans will create 4,000 jobs and inject almost £13 billion into the regional economy. 

The National Pathology Imaging Cooperative (NPIC) 

We are the host organisation for the National Pathology Imaging Cooperative (NPIC) – a collaboration between Leeds Teaching Hospitals, University of Leeds, and academic and industry partners. We are deploying digital pathology into over 30 hospitals national wide, starting here in West Yorkshire, through the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts.

Digital Pathology offers opportunities to augment clinical practice through the application of artificial intelligence and will support us to address some of the workforce shortages in histopathology. 

Why is being a Hub partner important for you? 

The Leeds Health and Social Care Hub enables us to collaborate with national policy makers to develop, evaluate and deploy interventions to improve the health of the people of Leeds and the wider area. It will amplify our existing efforts and capabilities in service of our local community. 

What one word would you use to describe the Leeds Health and Social Care Hub? 

Opportunity.