Health inequalities: what can healthcare professionals do?

Dr Chad Hockey is a GP in White City, West London and the Clinical Director for North Hammersmith & Fulham Primary Care Network. He also works for his local Training Hub and in this capacity has set up two community-based initiatives designed to support grassroots approaches to address health inequity. QSIR is a nationally accredited, NHSEI supported educational program designed to support people wanting to undertake practical, small-scale change projects. He set this up to run inter-organisationally and has now trained over 300 people from health, social care and voluntary sector organizations across NW London.

He also designed and delivers a 'Deep End' program that targets areas of health inequity, includes health, social care and community groups, and connects people as part of a community of practice. This involves attending a curriculum-based series of practically focused workshops that explore perspectives and address challenges common to living and working in more deprived communities.

Samira has over 20 years experience of working in grassroots community and voluntary, public health, local authority and NHS commissioning sectors.

She founded and led on various Transformation, Behaviour Change and peer support programmes the development of the Community Champions Programme and the Community Voices: Conversations for Change, community asset-based model of health and wellbeing; prior roles include worked as Assistant Director of Patient Experience and Equalities for CWHHE CCGs and Head of System Change in the Integrated Care System for North West London Collaboration of CCGs.

She is currently working as Assistant Director of Equalities for the North West London Collaboration of CCGs.

Michelle Gavin has been working for Friends Families and Travellers since January 2010. She is a founder member of GAIT (Gypsy and Irish Travellers association South East England).

Her current role at FFT is as a Projects Manager. Michelle is interested in working with Gypsies and Travellers at the grass roots in order to get their voices heard. Michelle manages commissioned Health and community development projects pan Sussex.

She is also a tutor and delivers the RSPH Level 1 and 2 qualifications to the Community in Understanding Health Improvement and Behaviour change. She writes expert witness statements for Gypsy Traveller planning cases and is a key speaker as well as a trainer.

April Wareham has personal and lived experience of marginalisation and has been involved in community projects for most of her life.

She is currently an independent consultant and trainer, as well as a Trustee of SMMGP and FDAP. She is a founder member of Working with Everyone, a national service that prioritises lived experience to bring about system/culture change in order to improve outcomes for everyone, particularly the most vulnerable in society.

She is currently the project lead for Citizens on the Margins, an engagement project co-produced with NHS England and NHS Improvement and aims to engage with marginalised communities in a meaningful way, with the overall aim of reducing health inequalities and improving individual outcomes