Working together for health equity in south London
South London Listens Health Assembly
On 21 October, over 900 people gathered at St George’s Cathedral in Southwark for the South London Listens Health Assembly, a community-led event to showcase and restate the South London Listens partners’ joint commitment to addressing deep-rooted health inequalities through ground-breaking work with our communities. This event built on the work of previous community assemblies held in south east and south west London in November 2023.
South London Listens is a partnership between south London community groups, the two south London Integrated Care Boards, three mental health trusts and local authorities. The partnership works with the charity Citizens UK to tackle barriers to good health and wellbeing, led by an understanding that health is shaped not just by healthcare, but also by the conditions in which people live, work and grow.
As our shift to neighbourhood working in south east London gathers pace, partnering with community organisations will become ever more important. NHS South East London is leading the way in this, demonstrating how effective this approach can be. And it is of fundamental importance to our long-standing commitment to addressing the wider determinants of health, and moving from curing illness to preventing it (one of the three ‘shifts’ for the NHS in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan).
South London Listens’ continuing work was on full display at the assembly; actioning pledges made in areas like housing, mental health, social isolation, and work and wages. NHS and local authority leaders were able to share progress in areas of concern raised at previous assemblies, such as GP letters, equitable access to care for migrants, and the development of mental health support groups, as well as restate their commitment to continue developing solutions with community groups that have advocacy and support at their core.
Some key numbers:
- over 10,000 people listened to since 2021
- 288 safe surgeries signed up
- 95 Be Well Hubs across south London
- 400 Be Well champions trained, and
- 4,500 people engage with the service each month.
‘This assembly enables people to have agency and be change makers in their lives, co-creating the solutions that will bring change to the lives of all these people and the communities of South London.’ Rt Revd Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Bishop of Croydon
‘If we are really going to deliver improvements in health for the people of south London we need to harness the energy we saw in St George’s Cathedral. The people in the cathedral and thousands like them make a real difference every day. Our job is to help them do that. My organisation is committed to this and I happy to be held to account for us delivering on our promises.’ Sir Richard Douglas, Chair, NHS South East London
‘Good work and fair wages and their links to good physical and mental health is of great importance to me, to the ICB that I run, and all the NHS partners here today. We’re delighted to continue working to champion the cause.’ Andrew Bland, Chief Executive, NHS South East London
‘South London Listens is an incredible programme of work that is ultimately about listening to our communities and then acting on what they tell us is most important to them. We can only do it when we come together and work as partners.’ Ranjeet Kaile, Director of Communications and Engagement, NHS South East London