Trust launches our Community Engagement Council to address health inequalities across Birmingham
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) has set up a Community Engagement Council in the next step in its new Health Inequalities Strategy.
The Council is made up of individuals and organisations across Birmingham who will work in partnership with the Trust to help focus their work on addressing inequalities across the city.
The strategy aims to tackle the “avoidable and unfair differences in physical and mental health outcomes between individuals or groups, and work with local communities to strive for equity.
In line with the ambitions and aims of the strategy, the Trust has partnered with various organisations and key stakeholders across Birmingham.
Many of these are already focused on addressing and reducing health inequalities, and include organisations such as Citizens Advice, Act On Energy, HealthWatch Birmingham, MNVP, Aquarius and Anawim Birmingham's Centre for Women.
Through working in partnership with our stakeholders we have now formed a Community Engagement Council and convened our first-round table event.
At this event we elected a Chair and Vice Chair who will join the BWC Health Inequalities Programme Board.
Their role on the Board will ensure a strong link to Birmingham's communities and hold our Board to account for the work we are undertaking to address health inequalities.
The council will meet regularly to identify priorities and will be able to offer their expertise to help shape and support the work the Trust is doing to address the health inequalities with our communities in Birmingham.
Claire Powell, Associate Director of Nursing & Quality, commented: “A key aspect of the Trust strategy is to work closely with other healthcare providers and services to reduce health inequalities.
"The development of the Community Engagement Council will support us in hearing and listening to the voices of the communities we serve, enabling us to respond to their needs effectively and collaboratively”.
Mark Hillier, Senior Patient Experience Manager, commented: "We are so grateful for the insight and reach of these organisations to help us to understand all of the factors that contribute to the health, recovery and wellbeing of our patients.
"We are looking forward to working collaboratively with the Community Engagement Council and to see the impact that the work we are doing can have on the lives of women, children, young people and families across Birmingham.”