Lisburn Integrated Care Partnership has, in collaboration with, The Resurgam Trust and the Community Development Health Network, been working to understand the role it can play in helping to address the impact of health inequalities for people living in Lisburn.
During two online discussions, there was huge commitment to this work evident from the 80 attendees from a broad range of public sector and community and voluntary sector agencies including; Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, the PSNI, the South Eastern HSC Trust, Simon Community, the Lisburn Faith Forum, Sure Start and many more.
Through those discussions some key themes emerged which are summarised in this Graphic Report and which included the importance of understanding the lived experience of people affected by inequalities to drive the focus of this work along with a need to gather and analyse the statistical data available at a locality level to inform the work.
Discussions are continuing to agree how best to build on this momentum to make a difference. The long term aim of this call to action is to implement a new way of working together at a local level which can effectively support those most impacted by inequalities and which can help inform the wider changes that are needed to address the root causes of inequality.
Karen Moran, chair of Lisburn ICP said:
South Eastern Integrated Care Partnerships are very keen to better understand the role they can play in addressing Health Inequalities. The response to the ‘call for action’ in Lisburn has been overwhelming, with a wide range of stakeholders across the sectors willing to work collaboratively to try to reduce the inequality gaps and improve outcomes for all. We realise these discussions are only the beginning and we have a long road ahead but small steps can make a big change.
Gillian Lewis Resurgam Trust said:
Inequalities are unfair, unjust and preventable. The Resurgam Trust and associated projects including The Resurgam Healthy Living Centre are delighted to be part of this movement within Lisburn. It is incredibly encouraging to secure commitment from those participating to begin this process of co-design. The pandemic will disproportionally impact on those living with inequalities while also moving more people into poverty and disadvantage. The time is right to harness the collaborative, cooperative, community and person centred approach developed at speed to respond to the pandemic – lets learn from and build on that to ensure a focus on addressing inequalities in Lisburn.
Joanne Morgan – Director of CDHN said:
The Covid-19 crisis has shone a spotlight on inequality that cannot be ignored. It has also created an opportunity and impetus for communities, organisations and decision makers to come together to reflect, to listen and to change. The reaction to this “call to action” has been extremely positive and is a great example of the potential for collective action. CDHN welcomes the opportunity to be involved. We will continue to be a strong advocate for the lived experience to be embedded in this very important work.
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