Net-working

Throughout the pandemic, RCGP Faculties across the UK have continued to put on virtual events to support members.

Midland Faculty held meet and greet events to engage with trainees, and special sessions to support them with exams; while the Welsh faculties put on mindfulness and meditation sessions and held an online event to help members manage anxiety and depression.

Recognising the profound emotional and physical fatigue care providers have been working under since the onset of the pandemic, the North East London Faculty, working with local NHS partners, held the 'Health Equity Restoring Hope Festival & Celebration' in February to ‘lift the spirits’ of the local community.

With GPs registering in their hundreds, there was clearly an appetite for hope. Dr Liliana Risi, NEL Faculty Provost, said “We work closely with our NHS Partners to co-fund all of our events so that they can be open access. These relationships are key to our success in our Faculty.”

The virtual event was held over three evenings, and tribute was paid to London residents and health and care workers who had died since the onset of the pandemic, many of whom came from ethnic minority communities.

Joint Honorary Secretaries of the Faculty Dr Shani Bhaskaran and Dr Sally Smith hosted and led the event, which included patients, GPs, public health colleagues, medical students and community organisers sharing positive stories from throughout the pandemic, intermixed with presentations of music, poetry and art from Queen Mary University London (QMUL). Sector leaders were invited to give 'elevator pitches' on fairer environments, resilient systems, strong communities and resourceful people.

Dr Risi said, “Whether it was the story of enhanced partnership working with the voluntary community sector in Newham, a trauma-informed approach to care in Hackney, or QMUL's vision for how communities can shape the medical curriculum for a socially accountable medical school, there was no shortage of inspiring local work to share. It was clear that the pandemic has not stifled innovative efforts to improve patient care and build healthier and more resilient communities.”

Islington GPs shared how they worked with SHINE London, a fuel poverty referral network offering free energy advice, to identify patients who were struggling to heat their homes during the pandemic. This ensured they were able to stay warm through the winter, as well as removing the significant stress this was causing the patients. Elsewhere, in Tower Hamlets, Communities Driving Change (CDC) worked in some of London's most deprived neighbourhoods to identify issues impacting health and wellbeing, and promote social prescribing initiatives to address them.

Dr Risi added:“This was an event to restore hope at the most difficult of times. At the beginning of the pandemic in particular, services upon which patients depended faced massive uncertainty, and the risk of worsening health inequalities loomed large.

“Delegates left with a story of systems coming together, from health and local government as well as the voluntary, community and faith sectors, to identify health challenges that need to be addressed and deliver real results for patients against all odds.”

Another Restoring Hope Festival & Celebration is planned for the 22–24 February 2022.