Medact

NHS Borderlands Screening
2021-09-23 18:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Whirled Cinema, 259-260 Hardess Street, Loughborough Junction, London, SE24 0HN, United Kingdom
Join us for a screening of ‘NHS Borderlands’, an investigative documentary exploring the human cost of charging migrants for NHS care.
See full details and register on EventBrite

Research Meeting: Climate & Health
2021-09-23 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
The Climate Research Group are meeting to discuss work on updating our COP briefing ahead of November’s meeting in Glasgow.
For more info, contact office@medact.org

IPPNW Concert with Yo-Yo Ma
2021-09-25 23:59
Greater Boston PSR (GBPSR) and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) are pleased to host our fourth annual event to address the twin existential threats of nuclear war and climate change. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the special event will be streamed live on-line, beginning at 7:00pm EST, on Saturday, September 25th, 2021.
This year’s event will honour the work of GBPSR and IPPNW co-founder Dr. Bernard Lown, who, together with Dr. Evgeny Chazov of the Soviet Union, accepted the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize on IPPNW’s behalf. The event will feature live music from world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and chamber musicians from the Longwood Symphony Orchestra. Yo-Yo Ma personally knew and greatly admired and respected the work of Dr. Lown.
Register through EventBrite

Climate Clinic briefing call
2021-09-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
In the run-up to our Health Action for the Green New Deal Bill, we will be running briefing calls on 13th and 27th September going over the process of setting up a Climate Clinic and how to have persuasive conversations with members of the public.
You can register for one or other call when you sign up to take part in the action.

Research Meeting: ‘Kill The Bill’
2021-09-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The government has misleadingly branded the dangerous PCSC Bill a “public health approach” to combating serious violence. In response, we are putting together a briefing in support of the Kill The Bill movement, explaining why police-led enforcement is not the same as public health and why this Bill will actually harm health. This is our fourth project meeting.
We especially want to enable those from groups most affected by the Bill to contribute to this work but all are welcome. The meeting will take place online.
For more info, contact office@medact.

September Big Meeting — Health for a Green New Deal
2021-09-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join us for the September Big Meeting of the Health for a Green New Deal campaign! We’ll be hearing updates on what different groups across the network have been up to and how you can get involved.
After the August Movement Builder’s session on ‘what’s the deal with COP 26’, we’ll be discussing and planning together how we are organising and taking action during the COP 26 climate talks.
The meeting will be online on Zoom, starting at 19:00 – look forward to seeing you there.
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports Stall @ Haringey Welcome
2021-09-29 19:00 - 21:30 | Karamel Restaurant, 4 Coburg Road, London, N22 6UJ, United Kingdom
The Patients Not Passports campaign will be running a stall at next Haringey Welcome event on Wednesday 29 September 7-9.30pm at Karamel Restaurant, 4 Coburg Road, N22 6UJ.
The event will include a vegan meal and complementary drink, drama and music performances, readings from a migrant women’s writing group, a short film from our Haringey Covid Chronicles project, and an open mic section focusing on community projects and experiences across Haringey during the pandemic.
Register through EventBrite

Alternative Training on Prevent in Healthcare #3
2021-09-30 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
It is possible to create a society in which our collective safety and wellbeing are prioritised. Developing trusting, healthy relationships with all of our patients is essential to this work.
However, Prevent – with the government’s stated aim of identifying “vulnerability to radicalisation” – compromises all of this, and is a source of harm and increased marginalisation.
Why is the NHS the only healthcare system in the world with a legal obligation to engage with such a strategy? What aren’t you being told about Prevent in safeguarding training?
Join the third in our series of Alternative Trainings on Prevent online on Thursday 30th September at 6pm to learn more
This training will seek to shed light on some unanswered questions about Prevent. We will hear from:

Members of Medact’s Securitisation of Health Group
Farzana Khan ─ a writer, director, cultural producer and award-winning arts educator, Farzana is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Healing Justice London
More to be confirmed

This event is particularly aimed at people who work or are training in, study, or who have worked in health.
We are aware that some people may feel some concern or worry about attending the event. As such, we will be sending an email out to attendees prior to the event detailing how we will be seeking to make this event as safe and secure as possible.
[Registration has now closed]

'Kill the Bill' research meeting 5
2021-10-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The government has misleadingly branded the dangerous PCSC Bill a “public health approach” to combating serious violence. In response, we are putting together a briefing in support of the Kill The Bill movement, explaining why police-led enforcement is not the same as public health and why this Bill will actually harm health. This is our fifth project meeting.
We especially want to enable those from groups most affected by the Bill to contribute to this work but all are welcome.
For more info, contact office@medact.org.

Research Meeting: ‘Kill The Bill’
2021-10-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The government has misleadingly branded the dangerous PCSC Bill a “public health approach” to combating serious violence.
In response, we are putting together a briefing in support of the Kill The Bill movement, explaining why police-led enforcement is not the same as public health and why this Bill will actually harm health. This is our fifth project meeting.
We especially want to enable those from groups most affected by the Bill to contribute to this work, but all are welcome.
For more info, contact office@medact.org.

Group Meeting: Medact North East
2021-10-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Medact North East holds fortnightly meetings on Wednesdays at 7pm ─ currently online.
If you would like to join, please contact northeast@medact.org

Economic Justice & Health Group Meeting
2021-10-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2021-10-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2021-11-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Economic Justice & Health Group meets fortnightly on Thursdays at 7pm.
If you’re interested in getting involved, please get in touch with movement organiser, Ben Eder – beneder@medact.org

Patients Not Passports National Network Meeting
2021-10-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
This is a regular meeting for anyone involved in the Patients Not Passports campaign. Groups from around the country get together to share ideas, learn from each other, and plan the next steps of the campaign. These meetings are only for people already involved in the work, but if you’d like to get involved, you can register for our next New Joiners meeting on Tuesday 23rd November.

‘Kill the Bill’ Research Group: Meeting #6
2021-10-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The government has misleadingly branded the dangerous PCSC Bill a “public health approach” to combating serious violence. In response, we are putting together a briefing in support of the Kill The Bill movement, explaining why police-led enforcement is not the same as public health and why this Bill will actually harm health. This is our sixth project meeting.
We especially want to enable those from groups most affected by the Bill to contribute to this work but all are welcome. For more info, contact office@medact.org.

Nuclear Weapons Group meeting: ICAN Cities Appeal
2021-10-12 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
The Nuclear Weapons Group will be meeting to discuss next steps with our work to support the ICAN Cities Appeal.
For more info, contact office@medact.org.

Speaking out at COP 26 ─ climate media training for health workers
2021-10-16 | Zoom
As world leaders meet to discuss our future at the COP 26 climate talks, health workers from across the UK will take action to demand the transformative changes we need to win both health justice and climate justice. Ahead of the conference, Health for a Green New Deal is running a day-long, specialised spokesperson training for health workers who are keen to speak out to the media.

Giving comments and broadcast interviews to the media can seem daunting, but health workers speaking out can be a powerful way to get our messages across to huge sections of the public. Confidence is key, and this training will help you to feel prepared and ready to speak out with impact – at COP 26 and beyond!

The training, led by Dr Rita Issa, will go through the fundamentals of speaking to the press, preparing for interviews to make sure you nail your messaging, and we will run practice interviews with feedback from your peers.

There are 12 places on this training, and we will prioritise places for people from the health community who are marginalised, from communities who are under-represented in the media. If you are interested in attending, please apply by telling us a bit about yourself in the form.

If you have any questions, get in touch with us on info@health4gnd.uk

[Registration has now closed]

About the lead trainer

Dr Rita Issa is a GP, academic and activist. She’s appeared on the BBC, ITV, Sky News, Al Jazeera and Novara Media, among others, and has trained through a number of media and communications groups, including as part of the NEON spokesperson network. She’s led on a number of social media campaigns, making millions of impressions across platforms like Twitter and Tumbler, and is a columnist for the Independent, most recently writing a series from her time aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. www.drritaissa.com | @DrRitaIssa

‘Kill the Bill’ Research Group: Meeting #7
2021-10-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Refugees Welcome Demo
2021-10-20 16:30 - 18:30 | Parliament Square, London, SW1P 3, United Kingdom, Parliament Square, London, SW1, United Kingdom
Right now, women, children and men fleeing war, persecution and conflict need our support. Yet just when the UK needs to uphold its commitments to refugees, in October the new Nationality and Borders Bill moves closer to becoming law. This bill will make it harder than ever for people who come here to seek safety.
The government has committed to take 20,000 Afghan refugees over the next five years. But that isn’t enough, and lacks the necessary urgency. While we are hearing accounts of mothers throwing their babies over razor wire in desperation in the face of the horrors facing them under the Taliban, the UK government plans to make people wait years for resettlement, and to imprison any who manage to flee to the UK by other means.
We can and must do more to welcome refugees, and not just Afghans. Everyone who crosses borders for safety should be given a fair hearing and a chance to rebuild their lives.
We know that our communities can be generous and welcoming and that many people want to do more for those who come here for safety. Through this rally, we want to show the Government that we oppose this Bill, and that we want to live in a humane and welcoming society.
If you agree, join us outside Parliament. Hear from refugees and add your voice to the movement to welcome them. The event is for everyone who cares about the rights of people to seek asylum.
The rally is being organised by people with experience of the asylum system with support from Solidarity With Refugees, Women for Refugee Women and IMIX, but we want it to belong to us all.

No Borders in the NHS! Week of Action, 23-27 October
2021-10-23 00:00 - 2021-10-27 23:59
The Hostile Environment is turning the NHS into the new frontier of border control. Join us as we take action against patient charging and demand an end to borders in the NHS!

Hostile Environment immigration policies are undermining the founding principles of the NHS. People are turned away from the healthcare they need. People are turned away from the healthcare they need. Immigration checks are becoming normalised in receptions and wards across the country. NHS hospitals routinely share patient data with the Home Office. People are harassed by debt collectors for huge bills they will never be able to pay.

Save the dates! No Borders In The NHS: Week of Action, 23-27 October. People all over the country will take action across five themed days of action, more info to follow!

We must remember all those whose lives have been devastated by border controls in healthcare, continue to resist through collective organising in hospitals and workplaces, and stand in solidarity with all those who are impacted by the hostile environment. Join us!

No Borders In The NHS: Week of Action, 23 – 27 October

People all over the country will take action across five themed days.

Saturday 23rd – Remember and Resist!

We begin by remembering and honouring all those whose lives have been destroyed by racist Hostile Environment policies. October 23rd marks four years since the introduction of upfront charging for migrants in the NHS, and two years since the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants who were found in a lorry in Essex.

Today we remember Nasar Ullah Khan, who died after being denied treatment for heart failure. We remember Elfreda Spencer, who died because she could not pay £30,000 upfront for chemotherapy. We remember Kelema Mulat, who died following a 6 week delay in breast cancer treatment. We remember Elvis, who died of coronavirus without help because he was too scared of being charged or deported if he came forward for treatment. We remember all whose lives have been made disposable at the hands of Britain’s hostile border controls—their bravery, their struggles to survive and their campaigns for a better world.

Join campaign groups across the country holding street stalls and vigils:

London:

12 noon – 1pm @ Lewisham Hospital A&E, SE13. With Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign, Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network and Lewisham Citizens

12 noon @ Whitechapel Underground Station. With Tower Hamlets Keep Our NHS Public

12 noon @ Dalston Farmers Market, St Paul’s Church, N16. With Hackney Patients Not Passports, Hackney Keep Our NHS Public, Akwaaba, and Feminist Fightback

6pm @ Walthamstow Town Square, E17. With Waltham Forest Patients Not Passports, Waltham Forest Save Our NHS, and Waltham Forest Migrant Action

Brighton & Hove:

5.30pm @ Peace Statue, Hove Lawns, Hove. With Brighton Medact

Manchester:

Midday @ St. Mary’s Hospital, Oxford Road (opposite the Whitworth Gallery), Manchester, M13. With Greater Manchester Patients Not Passports, Manchester Keep our NHS Public, Medact Manchester, and The Greater Manchester Immigraiton Aid Unit

Rally against the Nationality & Borders Bill. 2pm @ St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 5PD. With NW Unison, NW NEU, Greater Immigration Aid Unit, Lancashire Association Trades Union Councils(LATUC), Greater Manchester Association Trades Union Councils, NW Unison Black Members Committee, NW TUC Black Members Committee, Status Now, and RAPAR.

Sun 24th – Free for All Forever: No to Privatisation

The introduction of Hostile Environment immigration policies into the NHS goes hand in hand with a wider project of privatising our healthcare system and erosion of its founding principle: that healthcare is a right and should be available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay or where you’re from. The 2017 introduction of upfront charging in the NHS marked one of the most profound changes since it was established, forcing NHS Trust to withhold care from people that cannot pay. The new Health and Care Bill, currently being debated in Parliament will further open the door to privatisation and the undermining of our health system as we know it.

Read this article by Keep Our NHS Public campaigner, Alia Butt, and help us share Docs Not Cops’ video outlining what is happening to the NHS.

Mon 25th – Solidarity Knows No Borders: End the Hostile Environment

Today we stand in solidarity with everyone impacted by the Hostile Environment and the racism of border controls. From schools, to housing, to healthcare, the Hostile Environment seeks to destroy lives and undermine access to vital public services. At the same time, the Government’s new Borders & Nationality Bill – also known as the #AntiRefugeeBill – seeks to create a two tier system for people seeking safety, normalise offshore migrant prisons, and limit migrants’ access to justice.

Today we will highlight that the immigration system is not broken – it is violent and hostile by design. We will stand with all campaigning for an end to the Hostile Environment in its entirety.

In London, there will be a street stall outside St Thomas’ Hospital to talk to NHS staff about The Hostile Environment and how it will impact their work:

7:30pm – 9pm @ St Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge entrance, SE1. With Lambeth and Southwark Patients Not Passports

In Sheffield, there’ll be a street stall outside the Royal Hallamshire to talk to NHS staff about the Hostile Environment, raise awareness about the Justice for Simba campaign, and find out how to get more involved with the movement for migrant justice:

4pm @ Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, S10. With Medact Sheffield, The Justice for Simba Campaign, South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group

In Newcastle, there’ll be a street stall outside Royal Victoria Infirmary to talk to NHS staff about The Hostile Environment and how it will impact their work:

8am – 9:30am, Monday 25th @ Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, NE1. With Keep Our NHS Public North East and Medact North East

Tuesday 26th – Organise To Win

The Hostile Environment seeks to turn those who care and support the most marginalised in our society into border guards. This is what we must remember when we build our campaigns against racist immigration controls in our public services. The Department of Health will only listen when we organise in our workplaces and in our communities, to raise collective awareness about what is happening under the Hostile Environment and together refuse to be complicit in this system.

It will take all of us to win. That means everybody the Hostile Environment tries to recruit as a border guard, we must now recruit to our campaign: to be fighters for justice and to stand up for everyone’s right to healthcare. NHS workers have a particular role to play to advocate for patients facing increasing barriers to care and to protect the universal principles that underpin the NHS.

Look out for a list of street stalls and leafleting at hospitals and town centres near you, with information about how you can join the campaign wherever you are.

London:

7:30am – 9am @ St Thomas’ Hospital, Westminster Bridge entrance, London SE1. With Lambeth and Southwark Patients Not Passports.

Leeds:

7:30 – 9am @ Leeds Infirmary, Jubilee Wing main entrance, Leeds, LS1. With Leeds Keep Our NHS Public

Brighton:

7.45am and 4.45pm @ Royal Sussex County Hospital, BN2

4.45pm @ Millview Hospital, BN3

Time TBC @ Princess Royal Hospital, BR6

Time TBC @ Eastbourne District General Hospital, BN21

Wednesday 27th – No Borders In Healthcare

Our NHS was founded on the principle of universal healthcare, free at the point of use for everyone – regardless of background, nationality, or ability to pay. The government’s Hostile Environment means this is no longer the case. What we see as a result is people deterred from seeking the care they need, outright denied treatment on the basis of the documents they have, questioned about their entitlement to care because of how they look, the colour of their skin, or their so called ‘foreign sounding name’, and people being forced to choose between incurring huge debts, regularising their immigration status, or their good health.

Today we join forces across the country to make our message clear: no borders in healthcare. The NHS must treat #PatientsNotPassports.

If you’re in Newcastle join their banner drop:

8:30am @ The Dome, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. With North East Keep Our NHS Public, and Medact North East

In Liverpool, campaigners from Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders will be out in the town centre talking to people about the impact of NHS charging and how to join the Patients Not Passports campaign:

Midday @ Liverpool Town Centre (close to Iceland on Kensington). With Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders.

In Bristol, there’ll be a demo in the town centre calling for an end to NHS Charging and the Hostile Environment:

5pm – 7pm @ The Sails, by Primark, Broadmead, BS1. With Bistol Patients Not Passports and Bristol Medact

We’ll let you know how to participate online on the day! Get in touch at info@act.patientsnotpassports.co.uk to help get the message out on Wednesday morning.

‘Kill the Bill’ Research Group: Meeting #8
2021-10-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Movement Builders: Taking Creative Action
2021-10-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Over the last few months, Health for a Green New Deal hubs have been taking action in their communities and in their unions for climate justice and a transformative green new deal, lobbying their MPs for green jobs, organising climate clinics and protesting against the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport.
On the 6th November, we’ll be forming Health Blocs at demonstrations across the UK as part of the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice.
For the October Movement Builders session, in support of coming together for the Health Blocs, we’ll be running a workshop on taking creative action!
Join us at 7pm as we explore together all you need to know about taking impactful, fun and creative actions!
[Registration has now closed]

Race & Health Justice Reading Group: “Policing & Health”
2021-10-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
In our next reading group we shall discuss a short paper exploring the impacts of policing on public health, defunding the police and the abolitionist approach to public health: Deivanayagam TA, Lasoye S, Smith J, et al Policing is a threat to public health and human rights BMJ Global Health 2021;6:e004582
We invite participants to engage with two sets of questions: group A and group B questions. Group A questions are mostly for your personal reflection and you won’t be asked to share your responses during the reading group unless you choose to do so in a breakout room. Group B questions are the issues we will certainly reflect on during our time together.
Group A questions:

How do you instinctively react to the police? How does your community/people you associate with mostly react to the police?
How have your past experiences (direct or indirect) with the police informed your opinion of them?

Group B questions:

How do you encounter policing in your workplace?
What are your views on defunding the police/reallocation of funds as a solution?

Practicalities and accessibility:

We will circulate our group ground rules when you sign up, and ask that you only join us if you are happy to commit to these principles.
Please read the article ahead of the reading group. If you would like an audio version, or to read it collectively with others before the group, please email us.
We expect most attendees will be people working in healthcare, but the group is open to all.
The reading group will be on Zoom – we will run through logistics at the start of the meeting, but if you are new to Zoom there is a user guide here. The zoom application will download automatically when you click on a meeting link for the first time.
We can provide captioning and/or BSL interpreting, please email us
You are welcome to have your camera on or off, and to eat during the session, but please do come willing to contribute to the discussion!
We will have a scheduled break halfway through.
We will cap numbers in order to have a small and active discussion.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to support you to attend.

If you have any queries prior to the event please feel free to email us: racehealthjustice@medact.org
If you are unable to join this session, please do join our mailing list to hear about future events and how to get involved.
Please register to join us
[Registration has now closed]

Health & Human Rights Research Network Quarterly
2021-10-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Health & Human Rights Research Network Quarterly is a space for us to come together, share our work, discuss new projects, or delve into deep discussion about research that has caught your interest. A space to collectively develop our thought and research practices. To join the event, make sure you’ve registered!
Our network meets every 3 months, and is a great way to connect with others interested in research in this area. So if you’re looking for a way to get involved in new projects or invite people to join your own – the quarterly meeting is a great place to start.
As always, we’re inviting you to share your work with the group! This could be talking briefly about a research project you’re recently done, or are currently working on, or a paper you’ve seen that you’d like to share and discuss with the group. You’ll have 5 minutes to introduce the project, and then we’ll have space in the meeting for people to further discuss the projects that interest them. It’s a great opportunity to explain a new idea and connect with other researchers keen to collaborate on your project.
Interested? Get in touch with me, Sarah Lasoye (Campaigns Officer, sarahlasoye@medact.org) and cc Health & Human Rights Programme Lead, James Skinner (jamesskinner@medact.org) and Research & Policy Manager, Hil Aked (hilaked@medact.org) with a few details of what you’d like to talk about!
[Registration has now closed]

Economic Justice & Health Group Meeting
2021-11-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Economic Justice & Health Group meets fortnightly on Thursdays at 7pm.
If you haven’t attended before and are interested in getting involved, please get in touch with movement organiser, Ben Eder: beneder@medact.org
In the second half of this particular meeting, we will be holding a focus group, please RSVP via the form:
[Registration has now closed]

Health blocs @ Global Day of Action for Climate Justice
2021-11-06 11:00 - 16:00 | Across the UK, United Kingdom
What’s happening?
This Autumn, the Decarbonisation and Economic Strategy Bill (otherwise known as the Green New Deal Bill) returns to Parliament. The Bill aims to end licensing for new fossil fuel projects, promote the rapid decarbonisation of our economy, support healthy food systems, safeguard natural habitats, restore biodiversity and tackle inequality, all the while investing in millions of good quality green jobs!
The Bill presents a unique opportunity for the promotion of both public and planetary health ─ one in which the health community has a crucial role to play. The changes we’re calling for are not small. To win, we need to build public support to put pressure on MPs to do the right thing.
What will the action involve?
This action will involve setting up a local ‘Climate Clinic’ to engage the public on the health impacts of the climate crisis and encourage them to take action by signing a postcard to their MP asking that they support the Green New Deal Bill.
We’re encouraging groups to run their Climate Clinics on either Saturday 25th September or Saturday 2nd October – but if this isn’t possible for you/your group, please do still sign up, it’ll be okay to run it on another day that suits you.
We’ve produced an action guide that explains the step-by-step process of how to set up your own Climate Clinic. Additionally, we will be running training calls on 13th and 27th September going over the process of setting up a Climate Clinic and how to have persuasive conversations with members of the public.
Sign up now to join the action!
Signup for this action has now closed!

The People’s Health Hearing: Health Justice means Climate Justice
2021-11-07
The People’s Health Hearing seeks to bear witness to the public health impacts of extractive industries, create a space that connects to people’s struggles and set out a vision for intersectional, transformative climate justice. It is a space for movement building, connecting health and climate activists across the world and laying the roots for ongoing organising.
Sign up to join the People’s Health Hearing
People’s Health Hearing Programme in English
Salud de los Pueblos Guía del participante Espanol
We will hear people and communities at the frontlines of extractivism share testimonies of how these industries are devastating people’s health, share stories of hope and how communities are resisting.

Weaving together the testimonies, the hearing will close with reflections from Listeners, who will bring in their own experiences of resistance and organising as part of the wider health and climate justice movements.

The People’s Health Hearing will be online as part of the COP 26 Coalition’s People’s Summit for Climate Justice, which will run from the 7th – 10th November.

The People’s Health Hearing is being co-organised by Medact, The People’s Health Movement Ecosystems and Health Circle, Race & Health, Students for Global Health, Health for Future and Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

On Sunday 7th November, join online from anywhere in the world from 0:30 UTC to 17:45 UTC.

Receive updates about the People’s Health Hearing and other People’s Summit for Climate Justice programme of events via this Eventbrite link –
Register Here
Joining the hearing:

The People’s Health Hearing will all be online on zoom. You will receive the link on the day by signing up to the People’s Summit for Climate Justice.

Programme

The full programme for the day is now available. Here is an outline for the day (all times in UTC):

9:30 – 11:00: Introduction & Session 1
11:00 – 11:45: Break and space to explore the online gallery
11:45 – 13:15: Session 2
13:15 – 14:00: Lunch
14:00 – 15:30: Session 3
15:30 – 16:15: Break and space to explore the online gallery
16:15 – 17:45: Session 4 – Listener’s Reflections and Close

Download the full programme
Salud de los Pueblos Guía del participante Espanol

‘Kill the Bill’ Research Group Meeting
2021-11-08 19:00 - 20:30
The government has misleadingly branded the dangerous PCSC Bill a “public health approach” to combating serious violence. In response, we are putting together a briefing in support of the Kill The Bill movement, explaining why police-led enforcement is not the same as public health and why this Bill will actually harm health.
This will be the final Research Group meeting before our briefing launch on Monday 15th November.
If you are interested in this work, please register for the launch event. For any other info, contact office@medact.org.

Briefing launch: The Public Health Case Against the Policing Bill
2021-11-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The public health case against the policing bill – Briefing launch event, 15 November 2021

Watch this video on YouTube

The government has misleadingly branded the racist and dangerous PCSC (Policing) Bill a “public health approach” to combating serious violence. But health workers in the Medact Research Network debunk these claims in our new briefing The Public Health Case Against the Policing Bill.
Written to support the huge groundswell of opposition to this bill in the #KillTheBill movement, the briefing explains why the measures in the Bill – greater police powers, repression of protest, harsher prison sentences, erosion of confidentiality and increased criminalisation of Gypsy and Traveller communities – will actually harm public health and entrench discrimination.
We aim to articulate and amplify radical public health voices against the Policing Bill’s approach and explore potential alternatives.
You’ll hear from health workers who are members of our Research Network and involved in creation of the briefing, and we’re thrilled to host four fantastic speakers who will discuss public health in the context of crime, policing and prison:
Lola Olufemi – Lola is a black feminist writer and researcher, author of Feminism Interrupted: Disrupting Power and Experiments in Imagining Otherwise. Alongside writing, she is a member of ‘bare minimum‘, an interdisciplinary anti-work arts collective. Lola also facilitates reading groups/workshops, occasionally curates, and is volunteer co-ordinator at the Feminist Library in South London.
Kelsey M – Kelsey is a feminist, abolitionist organiser based in London, resisting state violence and working to explore and build transformative justice and community-led responses to violence. As a facilitator with grassroots collectives she delivers workshops exploring community accountability, bystander intervention, power, and tools for campaigning and movement building.
Chelsea McDonagh – Chelsea is a researcher, Irish Traveller activist and writer. She speaks on a wide range of issues affecting Gypsy and Traveller people including education, health, policy and politics. Chelsea is one of the co-founders of the Rom Belong programme, a KCL Widening Participation programme for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils and is passionate about improving opportunities for young people.
Kavian Kulasabanathan – Kavian is a paediatric A&E doctor and researcher at the University of Oxford. His interests span socio-political determinants of health, particularly pertaining to race and class, alongside community-centered models of care. Kavian organises with PHM-UK and Race & Health collective.
Presenters covered topics such as the future implications of the PCSC bill, different visions of public health, new approaches to care, and approaches to ‘serious violence’ and socio-economic issues that don’t rely on punitive or carceral responses. There will be lots of time for audience questions!
