Health for a Green New Deal: April Action Planning Meeting
2024-04-10 18:30 - 19:45 (Europe/London)
Want to join a movement of health workers fighting for climate justice? Join the next Health for a Green New Deal campaign Action Planning Meeting!

The Health for a Green New Deal Action Planning group organises national activity and supports our Health for a Green New Deal network. We meet monthly, on the second Wednesday of the month, to discuss the current climate & health justice landscape and strategise how we can contribute to the wider movement.

You don’t have to have been involved before to get involved now—everyone is welcome! If you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but are keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, get in touch. For more info or any questions, email Maria: mariacarvalho@medact.org.

Register below to receive the meeting link.

Nuclear Weapons Group April meeting
2024-04-15 18:00 - 19:30
Medact’s Nuclear Weapons Group represents the longest standing aspect of Medact’s work towards nuclear abolition, and to address war, armed violence and conflict as global threats to health.

We will meet to provide an update on our ongoing work, and discuss the current global political landscape as related to nuclear weapons and disarmament. Register below to receive the meeting link!

For more info or with questions, email Sarah: sarahlasoye@medact.org

Securitisation of Health group meeting: April
2024-04-17 18:00 - 19:30
What is the securitisation of health?

A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, which at times require health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.

These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.

Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation here.

About the group

The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome!

If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org.

This event will be held online on Zoom. (Note: This page previously said you could join online or in-person, but it has been moved to online-only.)

Medact North East group meeting: April
2024-04-17 20:00 - 21:00
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.

The group meets monthly. Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. The North East group are currently involved in a campaign against waste incinerators in local communities. For more information or to join a meeting in-person, get in touch at northeast@medact.org.

To attend online, register to receive the Zoom link!

Harrow Healthy Homes Assembly
2024-04-20 14:00 - 17:00 | Harrow Baptist Church, College Rd (Harrow on the Hill station), Harrow, HA1 1BA
All Harrow tenants and residents who want to fight for a better housing system are welcome to this meeting.

We will be discussing the state of housing in the borough and agreeing on a set of demands for Harrow Council.

These demands will form the basis of a grassroots campaign to make rented housing in Harrow more decent, secure and affordable.

The venue is wheelchair-accessible. Tea, coffee and snacks will be provided.

This meeting is organised by Harrow Law Centre and Medact.

Harrow has a housing crisis. Buying a home here is out of reach for most people, and the borough has some of the smallest council housing stock in London. Ordinary people are more dependent than ever on the overpriced and insecure private rented sector. Conditions in rented properties are often poor, with consequences for tenants’ physical and mental health. Meanwhile, rates of homelessness and rough sleeping continue to rise. It’s time to fight back!

The Harrow Healthy Homes Assembly is a chance for Harrow residents to share their experiences of housing and agree on a set of demands for Harrow Council. These demands will form the basis of a grassroots campaign to make rented housing in Harrow more decent, secure and affordable.

Harrow Healthy Homes is a tenants’ group facilitated by local charity Harrow Law Centre. It brings together private and social tenants, those in temporary accommodation and anyone who wants to fight for a fairer housing system to campaign for change. At our monthly meetings, tenants talk through their housing issues and develop collective solutions together.

Subscribe here to receive news from Harrow Healthy Homes.

Medact New Joiners Meeting
2024-04-30 19:30 - 20:30
Have you joined Medact any time in the last twelve months? Are you not yet involved in your closest local group or one of our central campaigns or research network?

Welcome to our movement of health workers for health justice! We’d love to meet you at our next New Joiners meeting. This will be a friendly, informal and interactive session and an opportunity to get to know us and let us get to know you.

Some of the things that we’ll be discussing include:

What is Medact?

What do we mean by health justice?

How do we believe change happens?

What can it look like to organise together in the Medact movement?

Whether you’ve just joined or joined a while ago but are yet to find your place, please do come along and share this welcoming space with us.

If you have any questions about attending, drop Kate, one of our Movement Organisers, an email at katebernard@medact.org

London Housing & Health New Joiners meeting
2024-05-02 18:45 - 20:30 | Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, London, E1 5QJ, United Kingdom
Medact’s London Housing & Health Group is organising to improve policies for better access to secure and sustainable housing.

This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns, as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

The New Joiners meeting is a space to meet other Medact members and health workers interested in the intersections of housing and health work. You have the opportunity to hear about:

What Medact is

History and function of the London Housing and Health Group

Our housing and health justice analysis

Current campaign and organising work

How to get involved.

If you’re looking for ways to contribute to affect meaningful change to the UK’s housing system to win equal access to good quality housing that doesn’t compromise on people’s health, this is a great way to do it. You don’t have to be a regular member of the EJ&H group or a health worker to get involved—everyone is welcome!

Background

The housing system in the UK is broken. Currently, 1.6 million households are on social housing waiting lists and millions more are struggling to meet unaffordable rents in the private sector. One in five dwellings in England fail to meet decent standards for living, with disregard for basic health and safety measures all too common. Housing is not equitably distributed in the UK: poorer households, ethnic minority groups, the elderly and adults with disabilities are all more likely to live in low-quality, unsafe, insecure housing. Despite all of this, social and private rents are growing faster than the cost of living. Social housing stock is dwindling, yet there are around five times more empty homes in the country than households in need of housing.

As part of the health community, we see and care for the symptoms of an unjust economic system. We are united in struggle with friends and colleagues within and beyond the NHS in organising to end housing-related health inequalities. You can read more in our booklet The Public Health Case for Secure Housing

Medact Bristol group meeting: May
2024-05-06 18:00 - 19:00
Medact Bristol is interested and engaged in local, national and international issues that affect public health. Since its creation, Medact Bristol has focused its efforts on campaigns on climate, environment and sustainability, divestment, and migrant access to healthcare. The group’s current focus is supporting Reclaim our Buses, a campaign in Bristol to bring buses back into public control. New members are welcome. Join the email list to get involved.

Medact Leeds group meeting: May
2024-05-06 20:00 - 21:00
The Leeds group come together monthly for meetings on the 6th of the month. Meetings are online mostly and sometimes in person! Medact Leeds are organising locally for climate and health justice as part of the Health for a Green New Deal network, and also taking action to end the hostile environment, campaigning for Patients Not Passports. All are welcome. Please sign up to the mailing list to join the group.

Medact Sheffield group meeting: May
2024-05-07 19:00 - 20:30
The Sheffield group come together monthly, alternating between the first Tuesday or Thursday of the month. Meetings are hybrid. Medact Sheffield are organising locally on the Patients Not Passports campaign, seeking to end the Hostile Environment in the NHS. The group are also organising for climate and health justice as part of the Health for a Green New Deal network. All are welcome. Please sign up to the mailing list to join the group and get the details for the next meeting.

Securitisation of Health group meeting
2024-05-08 18:00 - 19:30
What is the securitisation of health?

A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, which at times require health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.

These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.

Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation here.

About the group

The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome!

If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org.

Health for a Green New Deal: May Action Planning Meeting
2024-05-08 18:30 - 20:00

Medact North East group meeting: May
2024-05-15 20:00 - 21:00

Nuclear Weapons Group May meeting
2024-05-20 18:00 - 19:30

London Housing & Health meeting
2024-05-30 18:45 - 20:30, 2024-06-27 18:45 - 20:30, 2024-07-25 18:45 - 20:30 | Medact, Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E1 5QJ
Medact’s Housing & Health Group is organising to improve policies for better access to secure and sustainable housing.

This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns, as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

In this meeting, you will be hearing from the members involved in our work, get updates on our local organising, and help us develop the next steps and identify potential campaigns in other boroughs.

You don’t have to be a regular member of the Economic Justice &Health group or a health worker to get involved – everyone is welcome.

Sign up to the Medact London email list to hear about all Housing & Health London Meetings! If you’re unable to attend meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, you can contact Jordi: jordilopezbotey@medact.org.

Register to attend!

Background

The housing system in the UK is broken. Currently, 1.6 million households are on social housing waiting lists and millions more are struggling to meet unaffordable rents in the private sector. One in five dwellings in England fail to meet decent standards for living, with disregard for basic health and safety measures all too common. Housing is not equitably distributed in the UK: poorer households, ethnic minority groups, the elderly and adults with disabilities are all more likely to live in low-quality, unsafe, insecure housing. Despite all of this, social and private rents are growing faster than the cost of living. Social housing stock is dwindling, yet there are around five times more empty homes in the country than households in need of housing.

As part of the health community, we see and care for the symptoms of an unjust economic system. We are united in struggle with friends and colleagues within and beyond the NHS in organising to end housing-related health inequalities.

You can read more in our booklet, The Public Health Case for Secure Housing.

Medact Bristol June group meeting
2024-06-03 18:00 - 19:00

Securitisation of Health group meeting: June
2024-06-05 18:00 - 19:30
What is the securitisation of health?

A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, which at times require health workers to work closely with the police and other security agencies.

These measures risk undermining therapeutic relationships, confidentiality and trust in practitioners – as well as drawing health services and workers into becoming an arm of policing and counter-terror agencies.

Through research and campaigns, Medact aims to shift understandings of ‘security’, from typically “hard” measures (border enforcement, a punitive criminal justice system, counter-terror measures) and advocate for collective and human security, health and wellbeing. Read more about our work on Securitisation here.

About the group

The Securitisation of Health group is for health workers interested in working on these issues through campaigning, lobbying and research. New members are welcome!

If you have any questions or concerns about attending, please email our Campaign Lead Sarah Lasoye at sarahlasoye@medact.org.

This event will be held online on Zoom.

Medact Sheffield group meeting: June
2024-06-06 19:00 - 20:30

Medact Leeds group meeting: June
2024-06-06 19:30 - 20:30

Medact Glasgow group meeting: June
2024-06-11 18:30 - 19:30
Medact Glasgow is a collective of healthcare workers, students and people from other related social disciplines. We organise around, learn about and share information on campaigns related to health justice.

Our current focus is on fighting fuel poverty. We are working alongside Fuel Poverty Action, who organise for affordable and sustainable energy and against the inadequate living conditions which are making people sick.

Our main meeting is in person (or you can join on Zoom) on the second Tuesday of each month – all are welcome! Please get in touch with us on glasgow@medact.org if you want to join our meetings or find out more, or subscribe to the mailing list:

Nuclear Weapons Group meeting: June
2024-06-17 18:00 - 19:30

Medact Movement Assembly
2024-06-18 18:30 - 20:00
Movement Assemblies (formerly “Group Check-in”) are a space for people active in Medact local or issue groups to connect, to share collective learning from our organising—the challenges and successes and how we can support each other to win in our struggle for health justice.

This Assembly will take place ONLINE on Zoom. The first part of the assembly will focus on sharing updates and learnings from across the Medact network. We will hear national campaign updates from:

Patients Not Passports

Peace and Security

Climate and Health

Economic Justice

We will then share updates from across local Medact groups—all are welcome! Each group being represented will spend two minutes sharing a few highlights and any challenges you’ve had over the last few months, and any plans you have coming up.

In the second half of the assembly, we will have a skill-share on organising. We’ll be exploring an example together; how we can apply these learnings in our contexts; and the skills, knowledge and resources we need to put them into practice.

If you have any questions or would like to chat through anything, do get in touch with Ben Eder: beneder@medact.org

Medact Bristol group meeting: July
2024-07-01 18:00 - 19:00
Medact Bristol is interested and engaged in local, national and international issues that affect public health. Since its creation, Medact Bristol has focused its efforts on campaigns on climate, environment and sustainability, divestment, and migrant access to healthcare. The group’s current focus is supporting Reclaim our Buses, a campaign in Bristol to bring buses back into public control. New members are welcome.

Medact Leeds group meeting: July
2024-07-04 19:30 - 20:30

Securitisation of Health group meeting: July
2024-07-08 18:00 - 19:30

Medact Glasgow group meeting: July
2024-07-09 18:30 - 19:30

Medact North East group meeting: July
2024-07-10 20:00 - 21:00
Medact North East are a collective of health workers and students based across the North East, from Northumberland to Newcastle to Middlesbrough!

Currently we are working on a climate justice campaign, supporting a grassroots group to win the fight against a large waste incinerator on Teesside, which would pollute the air of the local community as well as accelerating the climate crisis.

We are also exploring campaigns around migrant health justice issues through our new ‘Migrant Health’ group. This includes supporting No to Hassockfield which is fighting to shut down a women’s detention centre in County Durham.

The group meets monthly. Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. For more information or to join a meeting in-person, get in touch at northeast@medact.org. To attend online, register to receive the Zoom link.

Nuclear Weapons Group July meeting
2024-07-15 18:00 - 19:30
