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Reducing health inequality is a long-standing aim of health policy. Yet the gap between policy aim and population outcome has grown in recent years: on most measures health inequalities have got worse.

So how can local Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) go about changing this? Tackling health inequalities is one of the four aims set for ICSs, so where should they start?

The first step must be gaining a clear-eyed sense of the problem. This requires analysis to highlight inequalities that could be addressed. The next step must be to apply explicit criteria to focus decision makers’ attention.

The analysis below, produced for Black Country and West Birmingham, addresses these needs. We are sharing it here because we think other ICSs may benefit from having this for their system.

The analysis:

Please contact us (strategy.unit@nhs.net) if you would like us to replicate this analysis for your ICS.