Beyond the Headlines: Understanding Health & Social Care Inequalities
Series 2 / Episode 8
This episode of the State of our Nation shines a light on the critical issue of health and social care inequalities faced by Black and other minority ethnic groups in the UK.
Our guest this time is Charles Kwaku-Odoi DL MFPH, Chief Executive of the Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN), a leading national Black health organisation at the forefront of reducing health inequalities and wider disparities.
The conversation begins with Charles highlighting the key issues such as a lack of trust in healthcare systems, negative experiences with services, language barriers, and a lack of cultural and religious sensitivity in delivery that makes individuals feel that the services offered are not for them.
Kari, Anna and Charles discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic amplified these existing disparities and Anna draws a parallel between the lack of trust experienced by the Black and minority ethnic communities discussed by Charles, and the lack of trust that many disabled people have in the social care sector due to their own past negative experiences.
Charles describes all the ways CAHN is working to address these inequalities through community-led initiatives including the involvement of trusted community figures and healthcare professionals and other culturally relevant approaches to building trust. In combination these methods are all working to increase and improve access to equitable care.
Find out more about the The Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN) here.
Find out more about Social Care Future here
Use AccessAva, our online digital service to find free social care resources and legal support.
