Brent Health Matters

The goal of the Brent Health Matters Programme is to reduce health inequalities in Brent.

Health inequalities are avoidable, unfair and systematic differences in health between different groups of people.

Our shared programme will be looking to engage with the community on a number of wide ranging issues to reduce the health inequalities experienced in Brent.

"Our health is shaped by a complex interaction between many factors. These include the quality of health and care services, individual behaviours, the places and communities in which people live and wider determinants such as education, housing and access to green space. Health inequalities arise as a result of systematic variations in these factors across a population."

"Health inequalities are ultimately about differences in the status of people’s health. The term is also commonly used to refer to differences in the care that people receive and the opportunities that they have to lead healthy lives, both of which can contribute to their health status." King Fund

Inequality means that the resources required to create better health outcomes are not evenly distributed.

As such the areas with poorer health outcomes or higher rates of long term health conditions will have more focus than other parts of the borough.

It is only by working with the local people, groups and organisations around Brent and listening to what you have to say that we can improve the overall health of our borough.

You can get involved in Brent Health Matters by becoming a Community Champion or joining us at our next Community Forum Meeting.

A member of our team would be happy to talk to you about how the programme works in more detail. Email us at BrentHealthMatters@brent.gov.uk

The inverse care law

"This is a phenomenon whereby the more disadvantaged a community, the less investment is made in health and social care services. This situation arises and is perpetuated via a circular relationship between low community demand/expectations, lack of community participation in decision-making processes and agency disinvestment." Kings Fund

Short term impacts

• Reduce impacts of Covid-19 on the community.
• Increase uptake of vaccinations and health screening.
• Increase community awareness of existing support/services and improve access to health services.
• Increased engagement with GP Practices including an increase in the number of people registered with a GP.

Long term impacts

• Reduce variation in life expectancy and long term health conditions (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, mental health and cardiovascular disease).
• System wide understanding of the cultural and local reasons why patients do not engage in NHS services, which will inform future planning.
• Actions delivered to address the wider determinants of health, from housing to employment and environment.

Community Champions are local people who have an interest in the health of their community and volunteer their time on the Brent Health Matters Programme.

Some champions may represent a specific group or organisation, while others may be local residents who want to connect more about community health.

Each community champion is connected to one of five ‘hyper-local’ areas and is invited to the monthly local Community Champion Meetings and Forum Meetings.

Every champion is involved in the programme in a way that is unique to them. Some champions will be involved a lot and work with many parts of the programme; while others may only want to listen learn about the health issues affecting their area and share Brent Health Matters health messages.

What do they do?

The core aim remains the same – to champion positive health related messages in their community with the support of local community and health services.

This role is suitable for all experience levels. The minimum we expect is champions have a one-to-one check-in about once every six weeks, learn about local health messages, and share these messages in their networks where possible.

Beyond this, the role can grow with individual availability, experience and interest.

Become a champion

To understand how becoming a champion could work for you, contact us to arrange a callback with someone from our team. Email: brenthealthmatters@brent.gov.uk

Community Champion Support

Coordinators will have regular one-to-one check-ins with each champion at a frequency that works for both parties

These calls will be a key opportunity for a one-to-one conversation to allow Champions to:

• Share how the programme is working for them
• Share their unique perspectives of them and their community

Meet some of our existing champions! 

Umesh

Umesh has lived in Brent for 25 years, moving from Nepal where he was a lawyer. As well as being a Community Champion, he runs a weekly newspaper for the Nepalese community.

"It’s my passion and my pleasure to work with different communities of people and share our experiences. I’m learning from them too".

"As a Community Champion I’ve spread awareness to people in the community regarding Covid-19, vaccines and testing".

Jasmine

Jasmine was born and bred in Brent, and owns a hairdressers and restaurant on Blackbird Hill. She became a Community Champion because she is very passionate about her community.

"I became a Community Champion because of what I do. As a black business owner of 19 years, my belief is to use my learnt skills to build my community".

"The most rewarding element has been that people are taking note of what we’ve been doing, and we’re finding a solution to the situation".

Suraj

Suraj was born in Mumbai and moved to Brent in 2016, where he has lived ever since. He is a NHS Physiotherapist as well as a Community Champion.

"Being BAME I understand the health inequalities we face. I was looking for something to do within the community and I found out about Brent Health Matters".

"Covid has exposed so many things, and my goal is ensuring a healthy Brent".

Sharon

Sharon has lived in Brent all her life. In addition to being a Community Champion, she runs her own Community Interest Company to support vulnerable children and young adults - and cares for her daughter, who has autism.

"As a Community Champion I have connected people to the help they need, and have been a listening ear".

"I would recommend being a Community Champion. It is always good to give back to the community".

Brent Health Matters Community Forums are local community meetings to raise awareness on health inequality problems affecting communities across Brent.

Forums help by connecting residents, community groups, the local council and health services together on certain issues which are disproportionately affecting some groups more than others.

We are hosting a Forum for collaboration and networking between different groups on specific health issues to raise awareness, better understand local concerns and identify opportunities for local people and services to take action on.

Each Forum is based on a health issue or ‘theme’ that is disproportionately affecting the residents and communities across Brent. 

Brent Health Matters Community Forum meeting

Engaging with Brent residents about the Brent Health Matters programme

The date for the next community forum meeting will confirmed in July 2023

Please use the Eventbrite link to reserve your spot at the next community forum. (link to be populated in July 2023)

Brent Council and local health services are looking at ways to better support the communities in relation to health inequality issues.

The Community Forum is looking to:
1. Hear the voice of the community, so Brent Council and local heath partners can focus resources and take immediate action.
2. Establish a communication link so Brent Council and local health partners can share the most up-to-date information on health inequality issues.

If you are a Brent resident, your voice is important in helping support your community.

Please join us online soon (the joining details will be circulated closer to the time) to find out how we can help, to tell us your experiences and help us shape how we support local residents.

This session will look at how we communicate about the programme and what we might do to engage with residents in other ways.
If you would like more information please contact brenthealthmatters@brent.gov.uk

Why are we doing this now and what do we want to happen?

We want to gather local voices and hear about your ideas, experiences and opinions. We want you to tell us about what information you would like to get that will help you and local communities be healthy. We also want to hear how you would like to receive and share information so that it is accessible and clear.

This is a meeting open to all Brent residents so please forward the Eventbrite link to anyone suitable.

Brent Health Matters is a programme jointly managed by Brent Council, local NHS services and the community.

With the formation of Brent Integrated Care Partnership (Brent ICP) in June 2022, these stakeholders are now working together even more closely to address health inequalities.

Brent Council is responsible for the delivery of social care services, as well as other services that impact on health inequalities such as housing and neighbourhood services.

Brent ICP sits within the North West London Integrated Care System (NWL ICS) alongside health partners including London North West University Healthcare Trust, Central and North West London Trust and Central London Community Healthcare Trust.

Other important stakeholders include Healthwatch Brent and the 51 GP practices in the borough that sit within six Primary Care Networks (PCNs) – see the links below for more information about each of these organisations:

• Brent ICP
• North West London ICS
• Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
• Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
• London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
• Healthwatch Brent
• Kilburn PCN
• Harness North PCN & Harness South PCN
• West K&W PCN, North K&W PCN & South K&W PCN

Brent Health Matters has been selected to benefit from a new wave of research projects looking at the role that community assets such as parks and galleries can play in improving health outcomes.

The projects are funded as part of the second phase of the £26 million, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities investment.

Starting in January 2023, the nine-month project will explore and develop a programme around community assets and community participation, and how these can help address health inequalities in Brent.

This multi-year research programme is funded primarily by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and aims to use existing local resources to create a fairer and healthier society.

The first phase of the programme funded projects which looked at how to scale up small, local approaches to tackle health inequalities.

The second phase is a consortia-building phase, which has funded 16 projects to facilitate cross-partner collaboration, incorporating relevant non-academic partners, including community groups and health system organisations.

These consortia will conduct new research and develop community asset hubs with the aim of coordinating large-scale projects for their communities as part of the final phase of the programme to be launched in 2023.

Researchers will work closely with a range of community partners, some of whom are part of project leadership teams, to explore these topics to ensure people’s lived experiences are at the heart of the programme.

The research project is titled, ‘Tackling health disparities through social innovation: a multi-stakeholder coalition for inclusive health in Brent, London’ and will be led by Dr Maria Kett from University College London (UCL).

Dr Kett said, “This project will work in collaboration with Brent ICP. It seeks to understand how community assets and community participation can be leveraged to address systemic health inequalities in the London Borough of Brent.”