WE have a dream

At our Health Inequalities Academy in November 2023, Dr Sohail Abbas, Deputy Medical Director, NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Chair of the Health Inequalities Network, for West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership closed the event with a personally crafted message ‘WE have a dream’.

‘WE have a dream’ sets out our ideals for West Yorkshire – a place where how long and how healthily we live will not be determined by who we are, where we live or how much we earn. It’s a message of hope, strength, celebration of diversity and ambition, building a place where everyone can fulfil their potential and call home.

We recorded ‘WE have a dream’ using different West Yorkshire voices. You can watch it on our YouTube channel.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this special recording of WE have a dream:

• Amanda Lakes
• Amy Stevens
• Amelia Stevens
• Ayaan Abbas
• Charlie Stevens
• Emm Irving
• Frank Swinton
• Jacob Mutsvanemoto
• Paula Sherriff
• Sarah Smith
• Scarlett Smith
• Sohail Abbas
• Wan Abdullah

WE have a dream

We are people of West Yorkshire – and we have a dream

We have a dream of a place

Where how long and how healthily we live will not be determined by who we are, where we live or how much we earn

Where a child will not find it impossible to reach their full potential due to poverty, lack of education or a safe environment. And this pattern will not be repeated from generation to generation

Where children will not be victims of trauma leading to a downward spiral in their adult lives

Where no child will die because of mould in their home and no older person will be admitted to hospital with medical complications arising from loneliness, lack of food and lack of warmth in their house

Where a child will not go to school hungry and no woman, irrespective of ethnicity and deprivation, will have a worse pregnancy experience and lose their baby

Where people will not be homeless, where consequences of adversity, trauma and societal failure will not be mistaken as lifestyle choices and people with learning disabilities will not die 30 years younger than the general population

A place that every migrant and every refugee will call home

We have a dream

Of a system where we shall align all our efforts, our resources and our accountability and governance mechanisms to improve population health and reduce inequalities

Where we will embed equality and celebrate diversity, where everyone will belong and no one will need to fit in

Where we shall truly plan, design, and deliver our services based on our population needs and we shall invest in our frontline workforce, in prevention and in communities

Turning that dream into reality by increasing the capacity and capability of our people working in the health and care system is the ambition of our West Yorkshire Health Inequalities Academy

We shall help everyone to develop the awareness of inequalities and take action that is within our sphere of control

And we shall develop networks and relationships, support mechanisms and collective influence to become advocates

We shall hold each other and our leadership to account, we shall challenge and improve the way we prioritise

And above all we shall develop hope, as it is hope that will give us the strength to achieve these seemingly impossible goals