Responding to the healthcare concerns of Birmingham’s African-Caribbean community

Healthwatch Birmingham is committed to reducing health inequalities. As part of this mission we have worked closely with Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (SWB CCG) to understand the concerns of Birmingham’s African-Caribbean community, a group which experiences numerous barriers and inequalities in accessing care.

During an online Q&A session hosted by Healthwatch Birmingham and SWB CCG we heard concerns including:

• The CCG needs to listen to the views of seldom heard groups and services need to be tailored to their needs.
• Better reassurance that primary and secondary care services are safe and clean.
• Mental Health services need to be improved.
• There are health inequalities across the system, which mirror wider inequalities for this community. There is also racism in the system.
• There are issues for people who are not online accessing GP appointments.

SWB CCG has now outlined the next steps they intend to take, including:

• Establishing a community leaders forum.
• Signposting people towards the MIND mental health helpline.
• Appointing a Transformation and Partnership Director with a lead role in reducing health inequalities. 
• Reassuring patients that they can still access face-to-face appointments.

Read the full response from SWB CCG

Healthwatch Birmingham would like to thank SWB CCG and everyone who attended the workshop to share their views. We are always keen to hear people’s feedback on the health and social care services they use, so please visit our online Feedback Centre to tell us what you think.