Health and Care

One of the reasons that FaithAction often gets invited to take part in health projects is that ‘faith and belief’ is a ‘protected characteristic’ under equalities legislation. That means that it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because of their faith or beliefs – just as it’s illegal to discriminate against them because of their age, race, gender or other characteristics. When policy makers are developing new initiatives, they want to make sure that they are bearing in mind these protected characteristics, and that their plans won’t unfairly disadvantage any of these groups of people.

Quietly, beyond the reach of scurrilous headlines, a review of the way forward for the NHS is underway. Quietly – maybe too quietly – this goes on, away from the partisan shouting around Brexit and the various fights going on within the Labour and Conservative parties. Maybe there is a political consensus – a place of sensible consideration: that we have an important asset in our health service, but it cannot continue into the next 70 years as it has done with its first 70 years.

As long-term partner of the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance, we had the opportunity to attend the NHS Health and Care Innovation Expo on the 5th and 6th of September in Manchester. It was a unique celebration of innovation, enterprise and collaboration, uniting NHS and […]

After an unforgettable year with FaithAction, I have decided to move on to other ventures. Who would have thought my five-day temporary job would turn into a permanent one in such a short space of time? My favourite part of this role was definitely managing […]

If I didn’t start by saying it’s a time of change in the health and care landscape, you would probably wonder what on earth was wrong. So I won’t disappoint you – although it’s fair to say that there has been more upheaval recently than usual, with the recent departure of Jeremy Hunt as Health Secretary.

Who would have thought that, at its birth 70 years ago, the NHS would still be standing today? That’s quite some achievement – and back in 1948, life expectancy was only 66 for men and 71 for women; 70 years later, it’s 77 for men […]

Ten years on from the banking crisis and the start of austerity, cuts are still biting and the effects of real term reductions in spending are felt by most of us. Yet, we also know that the misuse of resources too has a huge effect […]

On 20th December, NHS England launched a consultation on guidance for Clinical Commissioning Groups as to which over-the-counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care… catchy I know! The consultation, however dull the title, is really important and it’s therefore important that you […]

I was recently getting my hair cut, and my hairdresser (who shall remain nameless) was chatting about being involved in the Parent and Teacher Association (PTA) at her son’s new school.  Her question when talking about the woman who runs the PTA was ‘what does […]

Mental health has been in the news again, and it’s fantastic that Princes William and Harry are using their influence to help make the issue something that it’s okay to talk about. On the more negative side, Christian news website Premier recently reported on an […]