Showcasing Cross Borough Working to Reduce Health Inequalities

Friday 5 September 2025

Our Chief Executive, Geoffrey Ocen, along with our partners: Edmonton Community Partnership, NIHR, North London Integrated Care Board, and one of our Community Champions, Sonja Camara, presented our Research Engagement Network project at the North Central London Health Equity event at the Wellcome Collection.

Other speakers on the programme included: Frances O'Callaghan, CEO of North Central London Integrated Care Board; Professor Kevin Fenton, Regional Director, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (London), Regional Director of Public Health NHS London and Statutory Health Advisor to the Mayor of London, GLA and London Assembly; Selina Douglas, CEO, Whittington Health NHS Trust and Pete Landstrom, Group CEO, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and Chris Laing, CEO of UCLPartners.

The event brought together system leaders, clinicians, partners and community voices from across North Central London with a shared ambition to tackle inequalities and improve lives.

The presentation outlined how Haringey and Enfield have created a successful and innovative cross-borough alliance with the NCL Integrated Care Board and 11 community organisations to build trust and pathways between communities and researchers to ensure better health for minority ethnic communities.

The team shared with the audience that they had successfully engaged with 3,500 residents across Haringey and Enfield, raising awareness about heart health, mental health, prostate health, as well as the important role research plays in improving both an individual’s health but the community’s health too.

During the presentation, Geoffrey emphasised the importance of meeting people where they are, building trust and strong relationships with residents. He also reminded the audience that we all need to recognise the commitment and enthusiasm communities bring to improving health and wellbeing. Whilst Sonja Camara of Sewn Together, one of our community research champions, summed up why our work is so important:

“We know Auntie’s wisdom is just as important as a clinical paper. That's what makes our work not just measurable, but memorable.”

After the presentation, the team shared a case study video, demonstrating how our community researchers have used their cultural knowledge and understanding to improve the conversation around prostate health with Black African and Caribbean men and their families.

In the afternoon, Geoffrey took part in an engaging panel discussion, where he talked about the vital role the voluntary sector plays in improving health outcomes across Haringey’s communities. In his response, he explained that achieving equity in research requires a shift in the current approach. Researchers must collaborate with trusted community and voluntary organisations to engage communities in a meaningful, non-transactional way. He also highlighted that increasing the diversity of research participants is essential to ensuring that all share the benefits of health research, not just those who have historically.

The Why of the day was summed up perfectly on the day by Frances O'Callaghan, CEO of NHS North Central London ICB:

“We know the NHS needs to get better at understanding what our community needs, and at working with our Local Authorities and our voluntary and community sector to understand that need. We need to be more culturally competent, and we need to be humble about what we don’t get right.”