Business leader to head SEED healthcare alliance in Lancashire and South Cumbria

The former managing director of BAE Systems Corporate Services, Steve Fogg, has been appointed as chair of the SEED alliance - a multi-sector collaborative set up to contribute to ‘health and wealth’ in Lancashire and South Cumbria.

SEED comprises the four universities - University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), Edge Hill University, Lancaster University and the University of Cumbria - working with the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS). The Integrated Care System is the partnership of NHS, local authority, public sector, voluntary, faith, community, social enterprise and academic organisations working together to join up health and care services, listen to the priorities of communities, local people and patients and tackle some of the biggest challenges we are all facing.

SEED was set up to address the social, economic and environmental determinants of health, supporting the health and care system; creating better research and innovation; attracting more inward investment and the best people; and improving productivity, skills, jobs and the economy.

Steve Fogg is the Chair of Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership; a member of the Pride of Place Board for Blackpool and Chair of the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network. He is also a non-executive director of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

He has a strong interest in supporting mental health in the workplace and spearheaded a unique awareness programme at BAE that started with a small number of local staff and expanded across all BAE’s UK businesses, winning a Princess Royal Award in 2019 for its impact on employees.

Steve Fogg, chair of the SEED Alliance, said:

“I can see huge potential for collaborating across sectors to improve the health and wellbeing of our population.

We have seen fantastic collaborations during the pandemic, which have accelerated new ways of working and I am looking forward to playing my part in this critical time for our population in terms of physical and mental health and also financial wellbeing.”

A clinical leader in digital health for the region, Dr Amanda Thornton, consultant clinical psychologist and the clinical lead for dementia in Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS), as well as Digital Health Clinical Lead for the ICS, has been appointed deputy chair of the alliance.

Dr Amanda Thornton, deputy chair of the SEED Alliance, said:

“Now, more than ever, we can see the connection between the wider events that determine our wellbeing and affect our health – housing, diet, poverty, education and employment.

As the pandemic continues to have an impact on the economy, we need to act together now, to unite our research and educational expertise with the strengths of our business and enterprise skills to try and prevent and mitigate the health risks posed to our communities.”

SEED is co-ordinated by the Innovation Agency, the Academic Health Science Network for the North West Coast.

More about Steve and Amanda's work

• Steve Fogg recently took part in an Innovation Agency podcast interview along with his counterpart at Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Asif Hamid MBE: listen to the Innovation Agency podcast with Steve Fogg and Ashif Hamid MBE. 
• Dr Amanda Thornton recently blogged with Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System's Linda Vernon, Digital Leader for Empower the Person and Peter Armer, Chair of the VCFSE Alliance, for the NHS Confederation: read the NHS Confed blog: the sweet spot where new and old power collide.