As we approach the next election, health will remain a crucial battleground. It’s one of the most important issues facing voters, and any political party putting themselves up for election without a clear plan to deliver the health services people want to see is unlikely to win.

Ramsay Health Care is in a particularly unique position as the largest independent healthcare provider in the country - with over 35 sites across England. It’s comprehensive partnerships with the NHS, large-scale workforce and connection’s with the local community means it has the potential to affect profound change across a range of our Purpose Goals.

This week, Leader Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting unveiled their ‘NHS mission’. It’s a key battleground that undoubtedly commands the public’s attention but its success is also vital to the social and economic recovery of the country.

As the main political parties begin to lock horns on what are likely to be the big manifesto issues of a general election the NHS remains the hot topic, with workforce recruitment and retention at the top of the list.

This week I was delighted to welcome Labour’s Shadow Minister for Business and Industry, Bill Esterson MP, to a Purpose Coalition roundtable with senior representatives from leading business members of the Coalition, including Travelodge’s Chief People Officer Hannah Thompson, UK Power Networks’ Director of HR Andrew Pace, and Head of Government Relations at Pearson Education Daniel Pedley.

Matthew McPherson reviews what might come from a Labour reshuffle, and sets out why Keir Starmer needs a punchier front bench with ‘more Wes Streeting’s’ to take his message to the country.

A major new Purpose Coalition advocacy campaign was launched today by Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP, alongside former Health Ministers Rt Hon Dame Caroline Dineage MP, Rt Hon Anne Milton, and former Member of Sir Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet Nick Forbes CBE.

Patricia Hewitt’s recent government-commissioned review of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) is a response to the unprecedented challenges facing our health and social care system.

Senior Treasury Minister and Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle, Victoria Atkins MP has joined Purpose Coalition leaders Tony Simpson of Sodexo, Lynda McVay of Leonardo and Sandhya Sabapathy of The Adecco Group for a panel discussion with Rt Hon Justine Greening, Chair of the Purpose Coalition

The Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression at the Department for Work and Pensions, Mims Davies MP, has today joined leading Purpose Coalition Members including Sodexo, the University of Southampton, Rolls Royce and Leonardo for a roundtable to share best private-sector practice with government, and discuss youth hubs, improving opportunities for those with key skills, prison leavers and more.

This week's guest blog by Andrew Attfield, Associate Director for Public Health at Barts Health NHS Trust.

In a year of sobering economic news, last week saw a particularly bleak statistic. A new study revealed that life expectancy rates in the United Kingdom over the last seven decades are worse than any other country in the G7, apart from those in the United States. France, Japan, Germany and Italy all now have better life expectancy rates.

Like most other health indicators, the issue of obesity impacts disadvantaged communities the most. Poor life expectancy, a higher incidence of serious diseases, poor neonatal health and maternal outcomes are just some of the other ways in which health inequality impedes access to opportunity for those who live there.

With perfect timing, coinciding with National Apprenticeship Week, the Government has announced the creation of four new government departments, recalibrating its commitment to a programme of growth and technological advance, driven by innovation and research.

In partnership with former Public Health Minister Rt Hon Anne Milton and former Education Secretary Rt Hon Justine Greening, KMPT will produce an Impact Report to measure its social impact using the architecture of the Purpose Goals.

Getting a stronger plan in place is crucial for the Prime Minister and it has to be about working with and through local communities.

Purpose Coalition businesses, universities and the wider public sector have reacted to the cost of living challenges looking at how they can support their communities, their customers and colleagues internally.

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) has become one of the first NHS organisations to launch an Impact Report outlining its impact in delivering social value across an innovative set of purpose-led measures.

NHS organisations playing a leading role in spreading opportunity across the UK have been celebrated at a new set of awards. The Purpose Health Coalition Awards recognise those NHS organisations and their staff that are committed to boosting opportunity and being truly purpose-led.

‘W’ for waiting lists will loom large in Therese Coffey’s to-do list as the new Health Secretary gets her feet under her Whitehall desk.