We marked one year of our Health Equity Programme with inspiring conference
30 Jun 2025
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On the 24th of June 2025 we celebrated one year since the launch of our health equity programme’s strategic priorities and marked the occasion with our first Building Health Equity conference. The event brought together over 60 attendees, including staff from Whittington Health, local council representatives, patients, members of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, the Integrated Care Board, and partner providers.
The conference served as a powerful platform for reflection, learning, and renewed commitment to tackling health inequalities. Attendees heard from national and local leaders, including representatives from the NHS Race and Health Observatory and local Directors of Public Health, who presented compelling data on the disparities in health outcomes linked to ethnicity and deprivation.
Despite the challenges highlighted, the event focused on solutions and possibilities. Speakers highlighted the importance of evidence-based practice, community engagement and cross-sector collaboration to drive meaningful change. Talks focused on how Whittington Health can work more closely with local communities and build stronger partnerships to help improve people's health and wellbeing.
Panel sessions on research, adult community services, and maternity care showcased how health equity initiatives have been delivered within areas in the Trust. Poster presentations captured the breadth of projects that are focussed on reducing inequity, illustrating both the progress made and the potential for further impact by embedding health equity principles across the organisation.
The event heard how our heart failure project led to a 30% reduction in emergency department attendance and a 51% reduction in hospital admissions for people living in the most deprived areas. Similarly, 90% of patients referred through our direct-access pulmonary rehabilitation pathway for individuals experiencing addiction and homelessness had never previously been offered the service, highlighting the impact of proactive outreach to underserved groups. Since January 2024, 172 contacts have been made to support 53 care-experienced young people as part of our commitment to smoother transitions into adult services. We also saw meaningful progress with reducing preventable illnesses, our tobacco dependency service has increased the recording of smoking status from 72% to 88%. These outcomes collectively demonstrate how targeted, equity-driven approaches are improving access, experience, and outcomes for our communities.
The message of the day was clear: everyone has a role to play in building health equity and ensuring fair access to care and improved outcomes for all.
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