Medact

Medact North East group meeting: September
2024-09-11 20:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
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. or subscribe below.

Join the fight for Healthy Homes: New joiners meeting
2024-09-12 18:30 - 19:45
The so-called housing crisis makes the spaces in which we live damp, mouldy, insecure and impossible to afford. The housing system prevents vast numbers of families from simply feeling at home, and calling the place they live a place of safety. Austerity and the commodification of housing has turned the domestic into a site of illness, violence, precarity, insecurity, and in some cases death.

We need urgent political action to respond to the public health crisis that health workers are witnessing. This requires rethinking housing beyond commodification and taking action to reclaim it as a public health asset. We need to reclaim housing for health.

It will take a movement, with tenants, health workers and all sectors of society working together to shift the narrative and end the public health crisis in housing. Join us to get involved with the fight for healthy homes!

In this meeting you’ll:

Find out about the group and our Housing and Health campaign

Understand what we understand by economic and health inequality,

Hear about ongoing projects and campaigns,

Learn how we can fight for housing justice

Hear from some of the people working in our different campaign areas, and

Explore the ways you can get involved

Nuclear Weapons Group September meeting
2024-09-16 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: September
2024-09-18 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.

AGM 2024 & Panel Discussion - Building solidarity movements and demanding health justice amid poly-crisis
2024-09-24 18:00 - 20:30
The AGM is our yearly opportunity to come together and explore the overall running of Medact and to bring together members old and new from the UK and beyond. In addition to essential governance matters, we’re excited this year to be hosting a panel discisson:

Panel

The panel discussion will be followed by our AGM, where you’ll hear about successes and reflections from the last year of work across the Medact movement, an update on our organisational finances, and have a chance to vote in Trustee elections.

Everyone is welcome to join the meeting, but you must be a member to vote. If you would like to get involved in running Medact, why not join as a member today?

Submitting motions

The deadline for motion submissions has passed.

Election of Trustees

The deadline for Trustee applications has passed.

Logistics

We are hosting this year’s AGM online via Zoom. Register to let us know you are coming below, and provide any access requirements you may have. We will share the agenda as soon as it is finalised.

Speaker bios

Chairs:

Anuj Kapilashrami is an interdisciplinary social scientist, academic activist, and Professor in Global Health Policy and Equity in the School of Health & Social Care, and chair of Medact’s Board. Her current work focuses on advancing an intersectional approach to examining health inequalities and structural determinants of health and well-being. She has long been involved in People’s Health Movement (PHM) in India and the UK, formerly as Chair of PHM Scotland where she led the first public hearing on social determination of mental health and the development of people’s health manifesto for Scotland.

Kamran Abbasi is a doctor, journalist, editor and broadcaster. Following five years in hospital medicine, working in various medical specialties such as psychiatry and cardiology, he moved into senior editorial roles at the British Medical Journal from 1997 to 2005. He returned to The BMJ in his role as executive editor for content, leading the journal’s strategic growth internationally, digitally, and in print. Kamran was made Editor in chief of the BMJ in December 2021.

Panelists:

Guppi Bola is a senior economic strategist, previous Interim-Director of Medact and formerly Chair of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants. In 2020 she explored themes of planetary dysregulation, illness and oppression, and their intersections with the economy for Common Wealth using her 15 years of experience in climate and public health organising. More recently, she has spent the past five years establishing Decolonising Economics, alongside her partner in crime Noni Makuyana.

Rhiannon Mihranian is doctor, organiser, and researcher focused on health justice as a tool for radical systems change. Her work focuses on environmental justice, anti-colonialism, and re-imagining health systems.

Martin Drewry is CEO of Health Poverty Action (HPA) – an international NGO part of the People’s Health Movement, and ally of Medact. HPA works in 15 countries, with 400 staff mostly from the marginalised communities they serve. A background in Peace Studies, Martin played key roles in several large coalition campaigns.

Dr. Inga Blum is a neurologist from Hamburg, Germany currently specializing in family medicine. She joined IPPNW as a medical student with an interest in global health and justice and got involved in ICAN at its founding at the IPPNW World Congress in Helsinki in 2006. In her view the abolition of nuclear weapons is not only an urgent necessity because of the acute danger nuclear weapons pose for global survival but likewise a great chance to shift international security policies from being based on the threat of mutual annihilation to a human security system based on cooperation. Having witnessed the constant failure of disarmament conferences as a member of IPPNW Delegations she initiated a study on attitudes towards nuclear weapons among political decision-makers at the University of Hamburg. She has conducted numerous workshops and delivered speeches with a special focus on motivating the next generation to get active for nuclear disarmament and is active in promoting the Ban Treaty in Germany. She served on the board of the German section of IPPNW from 2013 to 2021 and has started the annual IPPNW Summer Camp to protest against the stationing of NATO nuclear weapons in Büchel, Rhineland-Palatinate.

Economic Justice National Organising Group Meeting
2024-10-02 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-10-30 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
The Medact Economic Justice & Health group meets regularly to discuss current and future campaigns, plan events, work on strategy and share knowledge. The group is open to all and welcomes new members.

The main focus of this meeting will be to discuss the strategy of our housing and health lobbying and advocacy campaign focusing on Royal Colleges. We will also provide updates on our work as part of the Homes for Us alliance.

If you have any questions please contact jordilopezbotey@medact.org!

Medact Leeds group meeting: October
2024-10-03 19:30 - 20:30
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 Bristol group meeting: October
2024-10-07 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 Glasgow group meeting: October
2024-10-08 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:

Medact North East group meeting: October
2024-10-09 20:00 - 21:00

Securitisation of Health group meeting: October
2024-10-16 18:00 - 19:30

Nuclear Weapons Group meeting: October
2024-10-17 18:00 - 19:30

London Housing & Health meeting: October
2024-10-17 18:45 - 20:30 | Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, London, E1 5QJ, United Kingdom
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!

Medact Bristol group meeting: November
2024-11-04 18:00 - 19:00

Medact Brighton group meeting – November
2024-11-06 19:00 - 20:30
Since 2018, the Brighton group has been creating a space in the city for health workers and friends to come together, to learn from each other, support each other, and to fight together for health justice.

If you want to get involved email brighton@medact.org.

Medact Leeds group meeting: November
2024-11-07 19:30 - 20:30

Medact Glasgow group meeting: November
2024-11-12 18:30 - 19:30

Medact North East group meeting: November
2024-11-13 20:00 - 21:00

Nuclear Weapons Group meeting: November
2024-11-14 18:00 - 19:30

London Housing & Health meeting: November
2024-11-14 18:45 - 20:30 | Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, London, London, E1 5QJ, United Kingdom
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.

The meeting is hybrid, on Zoom and the in-person at our office in Bethnal Green:

Medact, 1st Floor, Pelican House144 Cambridge Heath RdLondon, E1 5QJ

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!

Securitisation of Health group meeting: November
2024-11-20 18:00 - 19:30
Note this meeting is POSTPONED! Please join us at our next meeting on December 18th: sign up here!

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.

East London Community Meetings – Justice for Omisha / Patients Not Passports
2024-11-27 19:00 - 2024-11-30 13:00
The Justice for Omisha and Patients Not Passports campaign is inviting migrants who have been impacted by NHS charges or struggled to access the NHS, alongside healthcare workers and community allies, to two open meetings in East London to discuss how we can fight for a more just healthcare system together! Folks are open to attend either or both meetings, and food will be provided.

Meeting 1

Wednesday 27 November, 7–9pm

Pelican House, Room 104, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, E1 5QJ

Meeting 2

Saturday 30 November, 11am–1pm

Studio 1, Redbridge Library, Clements Rd, Ilford IG1 1EA

Medact Bristol group meeting: December
2024-12-02 18:00 - 19:00

Medact New Joiners
2024-12-02 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
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 Cal, one of our Movement Organisers, an email at calumbarnes@medact.org.

Medact Leeds group meeting: December
2024-12-05 19:30 - 20:30
The Leeds group come together monthly for meetings, mostly online 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 Glasgow group meeting: December
2024-12-10 18:30 - 19:30

Medact North East group meeting: December
2024-12-11 20:00 - 21:00

Medact London group meeting
2024-12-12 18:30 - 20:30
Across London, health workers are organising and campaigning for better access to secure, quality, affordable and sustainable housing. This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns, as well as demanding policy change on a national level. All are welcome.

Sign up to the Medact London email list to hear about all London group 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 or Cal: calumbarnes@medact.org

The meeting is hybrid, on Zoom and in-person at our office in Bethnal Green:

Medact, 1st Floor, Pelican House144 Cambridge Heath RdLondon, E1 5QJ

Medact Sheffield: NHS Borderlands screening & discussion
2024-12-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Broomhall Community Centre, Broomspring Lane, Sheffield, S10 2FD
Many of us grew up feeling proud of the NHS, our universal and free healthcare service. Sadly, the NHS has become part of the hostile environment imposed on migrants via the levying of exorbitant financial charges for certain patients accessing basic, or life-saving care. The scapegoating of marginalised people for the systemic problems within our NHS is not something we should accept.

The national Patients not Passports (PNP) campaign has recently created a bank of online resources aimed at raising awareness of charging patients from outside the UK. This toolkit will equip those who work closely with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers with the necessary information to resist NHS migrant charging policy and stop patients from being denied healthcare.

We want to raise awareness of this new resource and share it within Sheffield and South Yorkshire. We also want to build on the vibrant group of people in Sheffield who raise awareness of this injustice, help support those who are denied access to care because of their immigration status, and pressure politicians to change this cruel system.

Join us for a screening of the brilliant NHS Borderlands short film, hear from Sheffield residents who have personal experience of the hostile environment in the NHS, discuss actions we can take (such as accessing the PNP toolkit) and enjoy food together.

We will be at the Broomhall Community Centre on Thursday the 12th of December at 7pm. Food will be provided around 8pm. Free entry, anyone welcome!

Please register to help us estimate numbers! If you have any questions, please get in touch: sheffield@medact.org
