Patrick Vernon, Chair and Non-executive Director for Inequalities
Professor Patrick Vernon OBE, is the Chair of the Birmingham and Solihull NHS Integrated Care Board (BSol ICB). Patrick initially took up the role on an interim basis in January 2023 and was appointed as permanent Chair in January 2024. Patrick was the first Non-Executive Director to be appointed at the BSol ICB and was appointed to specifically lead inequalities (in fact he was the first NED lead for inequalities to be appointed in the country). He received an Order of the British Empire in 2012 for his work on tackling health inequalities and ethnic minority communities. In 2019, he was awarded a lifetime achievement award for campaigning and advocacy work by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation.
Patrick is a former Non-Executive Director for Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust and Healthwatch England. In 2020 Patrick established the Majonzi Fund, which is providing grants to families and community organisations to hold commemoration events for individuals from Black and racialised communities who have died from COVID-19 during the pandemic. Alongside his work for the BSol ICB, Patrick also chairs the Walsall Together Partnership Board working to create happier partnership working in the locality.
In August 2021 Patrick was appointed by Wolverhampton University as Honorary Professor of Cultural Heritage and Community Leadership for the Department of Community Development. In 2020, Patrick was selected by British Vogue as one of Britain’s top 20 campaigners and was included in the 2020 power list of 100 influential Black People in Britain. Also in 2020, Patrick co-authored 100 Great Black Britons. Patrick is a sought-after broadcaster, public speaker and writes blogs and articles for the national and international media on healthcare, cultural heritage and race.