Health inequality in BME communities was at the top of the regional political agenda today (Sunday, October 22) as our Centre was featured on a BBC current affairs show.
Pamela Campbell-Morris, who works with the Centre, made an impassioned call for MPs to address the issue on Sunday Politics East Midlands.
It was made during a feature which ran for almost 10 minutes and included footage from the Big Health Connect Event – staged in Leicester on Monday, October 16, and supported by the Centre – as well as a studio debate.
A man was tested for Type 2 diabetes and a woman with sickle cell disease spoke about her experiences of the health service, while the reporter highlighted the fact that our Centre is the only one of its kind in the country.
People are dying, people are entering into mainstream services at crisis point, Pamela Campbell-Morris
Speaking during the report, Pamela said: “What organisations need to do and the powers that be is to target, so they know where the gaps are, they know who are not accessing services until they are at crisis point. It’s about targeting those groups, targeting them and ensuring that we are addressing their needs at that early stage before they get to crisis point.”
She added: “People are dying, people are entering into mainstream services at crisis point. Now for me the issue is about awareness, it’s about education but it’s about mainstream organisations having an understanding and getting a grasp of the issue in itself.”
Pamela then challenged two East Midlands MPs to take action especially the over representation of Afro-Caribbean men in the mental health system.
