Aims and activities
Aims and questions
Aims and activities
The National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme works with other programmes and policy areas across NHS England, as well as with partners in the wider system, patients and communities, to deliver exceptional quality healthcare for all, ensuring equitable access, excellent experience and optimal outcomes.
Health inequalities are unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population, and between different groups within society. These include how long people are likely to live, the health conditions they may experience and the care that is available to them.
The conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age can impact our health and wellbeing. These are sometimes referred to as wider determinants of health.
Wider determinants of health are often interlinked. For example, someone who is unemployed may be more likely to live in poorer quality housing with less access to green space and less access to fresh, healthy food. This means some groups and communities are more likely to experience poorer health than the general population. These groups are also more likely to experience challenges in accessing care.
People living in areas of high deprivation, those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and those from inclusion health groups (such as people who experience homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system and victims of modern slavery) are most at risk of experiencing these inequalities.
The imminent and growing threat of the cost-of-living crisis will further amplify the risk of healthcare inequalities for the vulnerable groups.
How to get involved
We are interested in discussing with funders how reducing health inequalities could be further embedded into their programmes and explore opportunities for collaboration. This may include:
- enhancing the social determinants of health, in particular housing, employment and education, as routes to address health inequalities
- ‘wrap around’ activities that support equitable access to healthcare and health outcomes e.g. community champions, community transport.
We are particularly interested in opportunities which support the communities or priorities included in the Core20PLUS5 approach:
- Core20 - the most deprived 20% of the national population
- PLUS - ethnic minority communities; inclusion health groups; people with a learning disability and autistic people; coastal communities with pockets of deprivation hidden amongst relative affluence; people with multi-morbidities; and protected characteristic groups
- 5 priorities for adults - maternity, severe mental illness, chronic respiratory disease, early cancer diagnosis, hypertension
- 5 priorities for children and young people - asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health, mental health.
If you would like to find out more and explore potential areas of joint interest, please join NHS England for one of our informal online sessions, on either of the following dates:
- Thursday 2 March 2023, 11.30am-12.15pm
- Thursday 9 March 2023, 11.30am-12.15pm
Please contact Sara Bordoley in the Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Team by 28th February to register for either of these sessions.
We are anticipating holding a further in-depth discussion to bring together all interested funders in April or May 2023, to share further insights and discuss opportunities. Email Sara Bordoley if you would be interested in receiving further information about this.
Who's involved
Who was involved
Who was involved
NHS England Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Team
