On 18 November, health and social care, local authority and voluntary sector professionals gathered at St Mary’s Church in Westminster to explore best practice and develop new strategies to empower our communities for more equitable health outcomes.
Bringing together organisations from a cross the system, the summit consisted of thought provoking talks, interactive workshops and inspiring case studies. The event was brought to a close with the Health Equity Awards – a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the people and organisations that have been pioneers in addressing health inequalities over the past year.
Penny Dash, Chair of NHS North West London, and John Ford from the Health Equity Evidence Centre opened the event with reflections on the progress made since the previous summit and the opportunities and challenges ahead. Creative consultant Shae Eccleston concluded the opening, shining a spotlight on the importance of community engagement.
The morning’s workshops led to rich discussions on how we provide support in some of the areas where we see the greatest inequality in health outcomes: children and young people’s physical and mental health, maternity and neonatal care and the health and wellbeing of asylum seekers.
In the afternoon we got to learn about some of the amazing work already taking place across our boroughs. There were case studies from voluntary organisations: 3ST, H4All, EHCVS and Helpforce, an exploration of the ‘Octopus’ model - centred on making connections with local residents – in action, and a look at new research methodologies that are ensuring findings are representative of the population we serve.
Rob Hurd, Chief Executive, NHS North West London, closed off this part of the summit by highlighting the importance of turning discussions into tangible change.
“Ensuring we have services in place that meet the needs of our north west London communities is why we are here. Working together as a system effectively, without reinventing wheels, is the best way to understand people’s needs and ensure our services are accessible to all who need them, when they need them.”
The award ceremony was an inspiring way to end the day, with every nominee showcasing how our work can make a difference to improving health outcomes for our communities. Congratulations to our winners:
- Ganesh Sathymoorthy – Imperial College London, co-founder of the Ethnicity and Health Unit
- Resonate Arts
- Sasha Nelson – The Confederation Hillingdon CIC
- Patricia Wharton (also known as Blaze)
- Luxmi Dhoonmoon
- The Wealdstone Baby Bank
You can find out more about our winners and highly commended nominees here.
Reflecting on the day, Dominique Allwood, Chief Medical Officer at UCL Partners and Director of Public Health at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Chair of the Summit said:
“This summit represents a step forward in our shared commitment to reducing inequity in health outcomes for the population we serve. Our hope is that the networks and strategies developed at this event will inspire meaningful action across our boroughs.”
Nicola Kay, NHS North West London’s Director of Partnerships, Population Health and Reducing Inequalities, said:
“We are incredibly grateful to our organisers, presenters and attendees who made this summit a success. This kind of collaboration is essential as we work towards ensuring more equitable health outcomes”.
Photos from the day along with the presentations will be available soon.