The Trust has been working with various local stakeholders and voluntary sector organisations in Tower Hamlets to empower local projects through funding and training, so they are confident in addressing urgent healthcare needs across the borough.
ELFT introduced local partners to ‘Quality Improvement’ (QI), an approach used throughout the Trust to tackle complex adaptive problems by identifying potential solutions and testing their effectiveness. As such, our stakeholders have implemented QI methodology to address and tackle systemic challenges that impact community wellbeing.
The event, which was held in the Grocer Wing at Tower Hamlets Town Hall on Monday, 25th March, celebrated our shared commitment and progress to the local population. It offered a platform for stakeholders to showcase their remarkable achievements via the programme, so that others in the room could take away learnings and potentially apply them to their own organisations.
There were also opportunities for partners to network with other key decision makers, so they could exchange valuable insights and further everybody’s collective mission towards a more equitable society.
Elsy Gomez Campos, Improving Equity Programme Manager at ELFT opened the event with her reflections of the programme, her pride in the achievements made by project leaders.
Health Inequalities Improvement Advisor, Irene Ebyarimpa, spoke about utilising QI methods for addressing complex issues like inequality, recognising that those closest to the issues are best placed to work on the solutions.
ELFT’s Director of Population Health, Laura Austin Croft, spoke about the Trust’s role as an anchor institution and the importance of strengthening partnerships with community groups.
Below is a list of partner projects which presented their benefits from the Improving Equity Programme yesterday:
Tower Hamlets Local Authority
Project: Anti-Racist Allyship
Presenter: Katie Cole, Associate Director of Public Health for Children and Families
The aim of this project has been to increase the number of staff who actively work to tackle workplace inequities between different ethnic groups by developing them as authentic allies.
This project has created a safe space to connect and work together to address racism and inequality in the Tower Hamlets Local Authority. QI methods have encouraged the team to ensure the project has support from senior leaders, appropriate governance and accountability structures in place and diverse membership.
Bromley-by-Bow Centre
Project: Change Makers
Presenters: Rujie Nessa and Ishrat Sadik, Health and Wellbeing Practitioners; Johura Bibi, Muna Omar and Khaleda Uddin, Parent Leaders
This projected has aimed to improve experiences and support pre and post-diagnosis for families with children with special education needs (SEN) or disability.
The team worked to ensure voices and perspectives from all have been heard by launching improvement work with a survey across 100 families, finding out what matters most to them.
The team developed a suite of change ideas based on feedback from parents, and have worked through smaller changes up to large, high impact ones.
Christ Apostolic Church Bow
Project: Change Opportunities
Presenter: Reverend James Olanipekun
The goal for this project was to increase employment opportunities for Black African people over the age of 50.
The Church surveyed people on employment goals and identified needs gaps in the community, including digital skills training and retraining, as well as access to digital equipment.
QI methodology allowed the project leader to think in stages, to understand the drivers of the problem and work to address them.
Coffee Afrik
Project: Crisis Café
Presenter: Abdirahim Hassan, Founder
The project has aimed to increase engagement among service users by between 60-80%, while attracting new service users to engage with the Crisis Café.
The team developed culturally competent training and Islamic lead for drug treatment, while also recording Crisis Café attendance and obtaining feedback from 1:1s. They also developed a ‘father’s space’ for service users in crisis.
Additional Projects from the Improving Equity Programme
Tower Hamlets GP Care Group: Women in Motion
This aimed to improve employment opportunities for 15 Somali women in the NHS and other healthcare positions.
The team developed tailored employability programmes, including training and mentorship to enhance skills and knowledge. The Women’s Inclusive Team facilitated connections and supported networking and job applications, and also partnered with local health organisations to find suitable vacancies for Somali women.
ELFT: Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies
The Talking Therapies team has aimed to improve the recovery rates by 4% for British Bangladeshi service users by the end of 2024.
The service formed a collaborative team with public health, service user and clinical involvement. They used data and survey responses to build a deeper understanding of the issue and a prioritisation matrix to identify ‘quick win’ change ideas and increase buy-in.
NHS Integrated Care: Care Coordination
The team aimed to test the efficacy of care coordination with multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) in identifying residents who are at risk of crisis.
The project leads identified challenges and co-produced change ideas with residents, ensuring their voices were heard and encouraging participation in improvements. QI principles meant that those in hostel care were integral members of the team making changes, and a wellbeing form has been co-designed to capture feedback from residents on a regular basis.
Stitches in Time: Opportunities for Marginalised Women
This project aimed to support isolated women to access opportunities, improve skills and confidence to feel integrated.
The team has provided group trips for travel independence, computer skills support, health advocacy, collaborative working and chaperoning.
If you would like to learn more about the Improving Equity Programme, please contact the Programme Manager, Elsy Gomez Campos, at e.gomezcampos@nhs.net.