Medact

Economic Justice & Health: Welfare & Health Workshop
2022-07-21 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Zoom
Healthcare workers are in a unique position to witness how contact with the welfare system can be harmful to people’s physical and mental health.

Healing Justice London’s Deaths by Welfare Project investigates deaths linked to welfare reform and the violence of state austerity. Deaths by Welfare is led by China Mills and co-created with John Pring (Disability News Service). The knowledge and leadership of disabled people fighting fatal reforms is central to this work.

The Deaths by Welfare Project and Medact are working together to better understand how healthcare workers bear witness to the harms of the welfare system; navigate complicity in a system that is often disempowering and enraging; and how they practice, or dream of practising, allyship with those with lived experience.

Register

This workshop is for you if you…

are a healthcare worker who witnesses the impact of the welfare state on people’s health

are navigating feelings of complicity with a system that doesn’t leave you many other options

want to think more about, or share existing practices of, allyship

This will be an exploratory space for sharing, discussion and collective learning, which aims to:

identify and understand the kinds of resources that healthcare workers know about and/or need to support people in their contact with the welfare system

think collectively about what allyship might, and does, look like

Please read before registering…

Everything about the project is distressing, so we’ve spent a lot of time creating processes for supporting people to engage – co-designed and informed by the expertise of people with lived experience.

However, the session will likely be triggering for different people in different ways, especially depending on how folks are positioned in relation to the welfare system, their experiences of cumulative harm, trauma, and distress.

We want to honour the legitimacy of your self-knowledge (that you know yourself best) while also understanding how the violence of the system shows up in so many ways (in our bodies, and our emotions) both every day and sometimes unexpectedly. We would like you to participate in a way that honours how you’re feeling and that prioritises care. There will be other opportunities to connect with us if now isn’t right for you. Please do what’s right for you at this time.

Please find some resources available here:

HJL aftercare menu

The GEN Grief toolkit

HJL’s events including monthly grief circle, weekly breath circle and restorative yoga

Registrations are limited to 30 people. Please only register if you are able to attend. Once capacity has been reached, you will be waitlisted and contacted if a space becomes available.

[Registration has now closed]

Medact Sheffield Meeting
2022-07-19 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-07-05 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-06-21 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-06-07 19:00 - 20:00
Medact Sheffield are currently focusing their campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Health for a Green New Deal.

The group meets fortnightly on Tuesdays from 7pm – 8pm in a hybrid format — in person at the Medical School (room to be confirmed each time) and online on Zoom.

Sign up to the Medact Sheffield email list below to get involved — or email sheffield@medact.org.

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-07-18 19:00 - 20:30
The Economic Justice & Health group meet regularly on Zoom to discuss current and future campaigns, plan events, work on strategy and share knowledge. The group is open to all and welcomes new members. Questions? Email EJ&H campaigner Jordi.
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports National Network Meeting
2022-07-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Patients Not Passports National Network Meetings are for local and national campaigners.
Are you interested in PNP and keen to get involved at a local or national level? Register for our next New Joiners meeting.
If you’ve already attended a New Joiners meeting and would like to join one of our national working groups, you can do that here.
Any questions about PNP? Get in touch with our Campaigns Officer Sarah Lasoye.

Securitisation of Health group meeting
2022-07-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
**Postponed: new date TBA**
A number of policing and counter-extremism measures are embedded by the government into UK health services, at times requiring 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.
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, please email Reem Abu-Hayyeh.

Medact Brighton: An Introduction to Patients Not Passports
2022-07-11 19:00 - 20:30
Are you a health worker or student in Brighton wanting to take action for migrant and health justice?

Medact Brighton are currently focusing on the Patients Not Passports and Health for a Green New Deal Campaigns!

Join the Brighton group for an hybrid (in-person and online) workshop for an introduction to the hostile environment in the NHS, and how the health community is seeking to tackle it through the Patients Not Passports campaign.

The workshop will be facilitated by James Skinner, Medact’s Health & Human Rights Campaign and Programme Lead.

If you are joining in person, please take a Covid-19 lateral flow test on the day, and we welcome people to wear masks.

To attend, subscribe to the Brighton mailing list or email brighton@medact.org

Migrant Solidarity Group meeting
2022-07-07 18:30 - 20:00
Medact’s Migrant Solidarity Group meets monthly. The group develops projects to defend access to healthcare rights for refugees and migrants, and informs civil society about existing rights and barriers to accessing healthcare. They are a friendly and welcoming group of healthcare professionals and students who invite people to join and commit as little or as much time as they feel able. They attend events which raise awareness of forced migration, from theatre, poetry evenings, debates and lectures.

Sign up to the MSG mailing list to receive meeting details:

Medact North East Meeting
2022-07-06 20:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.

The group meets at the same time every two weeks. 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. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.

Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.

Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

For more information or to join a meeting, get in touch via northeast@medact.org. Sign up to the North East group’s mailing list –

'The Suspect' Author Talk: Mental Health, Counterterrorism, and the Surveillance State
2022-07-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Brady Arts & Community Centre, 192-196 Hanbury St, London, E1 5HU, United Kingdom
*** RESCHEDULED: from 21st June to 5th July ***
Due to industrial action on the transport network, we have moved the date of this event to Tuesday 5th July. Solidarity with the striking rail workers!
What impact has two decades’ worth of policing and counterterrorism had on the state of mind of Muslims in Britain? The Suspect draws on the author’s experiences to take the reader on a journey through British counterterrorism practices and the policing of Muslims.
Join Rizwaan Sabir and Tarek Younis for discussion on the traumatising effects of Sabir’s surveillance, arrest and detention for suspected terrorism.
Writing publicly for the first time about the impacts of these experiences, Sabir argues that these harmful outcomes are not the result of errors in government planning, but the consequences of using a counterinsurgency warfare approach to fight terrorism and police Muslims.
To resist the injustice of these policies and practices, we need to centre our lived experiences and build networks of solidarity and support.
Please register to receive a 20% discount code for The Suspect when purchasing via Pluto Press.
This is an in-person event with an option to livestream via Zoom. The venue is Brady Arts & Community Centre, 192-196 Hanbury St, London E1 5HU (map).
[Registration has now closed]
—
Dr Rizwaan Sabir is a Lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK and author of The Suspect: Counterterrorism, Islam, and the Security State.
Dr Tarek Younis is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Middlesex University. He researches and writes on Islamophobia, racism in mental health, and the securitisation of clinical settings. He teaches on the impact of culture, religion, globalization and security policies on mental health.

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-07-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Bristol Group Meeting
2022-07-04 19:00 - 20:30
Medact Bristol is one of our more recently established local groups. They are interested and engaged in local, national and international issues that affect public health. Medact Bristol is focusing its efforts on campaigns on climate, environment and sustainability, divestment, and migrant access to health care.

The Bristol group meet every two weeks on Mondays. You can join their WhatsApp group and subscribe to the mailing list for more information.

Prescription for Climate Justice: Health Action Summer/Autumn 2022
2022-07-04 - 2022-10-31
Let’s take our Climate Clinics to the next level!
Last year, health workers across the UK started running climate clinics to engage their communities and put pressure on MPs to oppose new fossil fuels and support the Green New Deal bill.
Now, we want YOU to set up a climate clinics in your community.
Get your action guide
These clinics are a valuable opportunity to speak to those most impacted by government decisions, and ensure our voices are heard in all levels of government. There is so much we can do as members of the health community to reach new people, engage them on the issue and empower them to take action.
We have put together an action guide with everything you need to know about setting up your own climate clinic. It’s up to us to demand a just transition and forge a better future for everyone.
Sign up to receive the action guide when it’s released!
[Registration has now closed]

Patients not Passports New Joiners Meeting June 2022
2022-06-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Want to get involved in the Patients Not Passports campaign?

The best way to get up to speed with the campaign and get connected with work going on across the country is to come to our next online New Joiners meeting. To win, we need everyone working together to oppose NHS charging – you don’t need to work in healthcare to be involved!

In the meeting we’ll explore how NHS charging works, how we can fight back, hear from some of the groups working on the Patients Not Passports campaign, and explore the different ways you can get involved.

The meeting will be held online on Zoom, Thursday 30th June, 7:00pm to 8:30pm.

If you can’t make the next New Joiners meeting, don’t worry as you can see and register for dates for future meetings below. We can also make time for a quick phone call with you or connect you directly with your local group – get in touch by emailing sarahlasoye@medact.org.

If you have time, you could:

check out How NHS staff are fighting back against the ‘hostile environment’ for an overview of the campaign,

watch this brilliant video from DocsNotCops on NHS Charging and the fight for Universal Healthcare, or

listen to this excellent podcast Internal Borders in Britain: Still We Rise Podcast – exploring the development and use of internal borders in Britain, and their particular harms on minoritised communities.

[Registration has now closed]

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Medact North East Group Meeting
2022-06-22 20:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.
The group meets at the same time every two weeks. 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. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.
Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.
Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

If you want more information or the Zoom link to join, please feel free to get in touch via northeast@medact.org.

Medact Bristol Meeting
2022-06-20 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-06-06 19:00 - 20:30

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-06-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Economic Justice & Health group meet regularly on Zoom to discuss current and future campaigns, plan events, work on strategy and share knowledge. The group is open to all and welcomes new members. Questions? Email our EJ&H campaigner Jordi.
[Registration has now closed]

We Demand Better: Cost of Living march & rally
2022-06-18 10:30 - 14:00
Portland Place, London | Assemble from 11am | March departs 12pm | Rally 1pm
On Saturday 18 June, the trade union movement is mobilising in London to tell this government that we demand better. Medact will be participating as a health bloc!
We are witnessing the impact of the cost of living crisis on the lives of our most vulnerable patients and communities. We are seeing the biggest squeeze on households in decades, with millions forced to choose between heating and eating. The Spring Budget didn’t do anywhere near enough to lift the hardest hit out of financial hardship and poverty.
Ministers partied while people died. Now they do nothing while living standards plummet and P&O lays off hundreds of workers on the spot—an example of the eroding employment rights in a country where there are more people living in poverty at work than out of work.
We demand better!

A real pay rise for every worker and a real living wage for all
Respect and security for all workers: ban zero hours contracts, ban fire & rehire, decent sick pay
An end to racism at work
Tax energy profits to pay our bills
A raise to universal credit
Boost union bargaining rights

For those outside of London, use this TUC resource to find a free or low-cost coach.
Register to receive updates and more details closer to the time.
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports Action Working Group
2022-06-13 19:00 - 20:00
The Patients Not Passports Network is growing! We’re launching new National Working Groups that will support local organising happening around the country and help plan the big events and actions we run through the year.
The action planning working group currently meets weekly to organise and strategise upcoming PnP actions, with the next action scheduled for June.
Interested? Sign up here.

For Health’s Sake, Stop Funding Fossil Fuels! Protest at the Treasury
2022-06-11 12:00 - 15:00
Location: Her Majesty’s Treasury, Westminster, London. Exact meeting place TBC.
On Saturday 11th June, we’re teaming up with our friends at Doctors for Extinction Rebellion to take the call of the health community for climate justice straight to the UK government on the steps of the Treasury in Westminster. Join us!
Register
Just months after hosting the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, the UK government greenlit the construction of the Abigail gas field off the Scottish coast. Now, the even larger Jackdaw field could be weeks away from getting the same approval.
Yet were construction of the Jackdaw field be approved, the gas extracted wouldn’t come online until 2025— the same year that the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently warned that greenhouse gas emissions must peak.
Instead of investing in the just transition needed to finally switch off gas in a way that’s fair on workers and dependent communities, the UK government is pushing to have gas reclassified as a ‘green investment’.
The IPCC’s recent report is unambiguous. We are facing our last chance to stave off a climate disaster—the health implications of which would be catastrophic for communities worldwide, especially those already impacted.
Stand with us outside the Treasury on June 11 to bring the call of the health community for climate justice straight to the UK government!
[Registration has now closed]

Medact North East Group Meeting
2022-06-08 20:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.

The group meets at the same time every two weeks. 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. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.

Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.

Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

Fore more information or to join a meeting, get in touch via northeast@medact.org. Sign up to the North East group’s mailing list –

Migrant Solidarity Group Ukraine Solidarity Fundraiser
2022-06-08 19:00 - 22:00
ласкаво просимо! Welcome! Join the MSG for a spectacular night of music and dance to come together and raise funds for Ukrainian communities in the town of Mykolaiv.
Mykolaiv is currently under siege and needs your support! The MSG are raising funds to directly purchase medical equipment and kits and protective gear for medics in Mykolaiv as MSG members have personal connections with the city.
We are excited to say that the amazing Shazia Mirza, award-winning British-Asian comedian and writer, will be headlining. She’ll be joined by more incredible artists from the UK and Ukraine, including:

Halyna Balaban

Daniella Tushevska

The Other Brother Band

and straight from Brighton Fringe, comedian Stella Graham.

This night of fun, dance and summer celebration is taking place on a magical boat venue with amazing views of the Thames and central London, and will also include a variety of Ukrainian snacks and mini-shop with badges, shirts and solidarity gifts.
If you can’t come but want to support us, please buy merchandise or make a donation through the Eventbrite. If you want more details about the fundraiser, we will discuss it on the night or you can contact us at migrantsolidarity@medact.org.
Brought to you by Medact’s Migrant Solidarity Group, a volunteer-led group of healthcare workers working on refugee issues.

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-06-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
If you’re interested in getting involved, register below. Questions? Get in touch with campaign and programme lead Jordi at jordilopezbotey@medact.org.
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports Action Working Group
2022-05-31 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom

Global Health Watch 6 Launch
2022-05-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
Global Health Watch 6 Launch Event – 30 May 2022Watch this video on YouTube

7PM – 8:30PM BST

Join us to celebrate the publication of the sixth edition of Global Health Watch, the definitive alternative voice on health compiled by activists and academics from around the world.

Order your discounted copy from Medact

We’ll hear from speakers who contributed to this essential volume, which integrates rigorous analysis with stories of struggle and hope for radical transformation, at this once-in-a-generation moment of focus on the issue of health justice.

Speakers include:

Dr Chiara Bodini, co-editor of GHW

Members of the Medact Research Network: Roman Gnaegi, Catia Confortini and Michael Orgel

Dr Annabel Sowemimo, sexual and reproductive health doctor and founder of Decolonising Contraception

Dr Lauren Paremoer, senior lecturer in the Political Studies Department at the University of Cape Town and member of PHM South Africa

Rhiannon Osborne, medical student, organiser with Health for a Green New Deal and Stop Cambo, and member of People’s Health Movement UK.

Global Health Watch (GHW), now in its sixth edition, is the definitive alternative voice on health. Published since 2003, with contributions from activists and academics from around the world, GHW6 integrates rigorous analysis of the social, economic, political and environmental determinants of health with stories of struggle and hope for radical transformation.

The book has been co-produced by People’s Health Movement, Medact, Third World Network, Health Poverty Action, Medico International, ALAMES, Viva Salud and Sama.

We’re pleased to hold this event in collaboration with Health Poverty Action, People’s Health Movement UK and People’s Health Movement Scotland—please check out their work!

This event will be held on Zoom, but we are encouraging people to come together to watch and discuss the event in person, if you feel comfortable.

Medact is holding an in-person gathering to watch the event, so check the box when you register if you want to join us at our office in Hoxton.

[Registration has now closed]

EJ&H Housing and Health London Meeting
2022-05-28 10:00 - 12:00
As part of our Economic Justice Secure Housing campaign, we are holding our first London Housing & Health meeting on Saturday 28 May at 10am at Ark Globe Academy, London SE1 6AF.

Register below!

We will be meeting with HASL (Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth) and their members, talking about the housing and health problems encountered by residents, and elaborating a plan for healthcare workers to support their ongoing campaigns in South London.

You don’t have to be a regular members of the EJ&H group or a health worker to get involved, everyone is welcome! If you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, please get in touch with Jordi.

About the Secure Housing campaign

The Economic Justice & 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 (including housing-first approaches), as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

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

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. In England, the number of people experiencing core homelessness reached just under 220,000 at the end of 2019.
Quality of housing is another serious concern for public health.

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.

Secure housing means housing that is accessible to all, meets good living standards, and where tenants are not forced to live under precarious conditions.

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. We all play a crucial part in advocating for the systemic change needed to win high quality, secure and affordable housing for all.

[Registration has now closed]

Economic Justice & Health Open Meeting
2022-05-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Want to get involved in Medact’s Economic Justice campaigns?
The best way to get up to speed with the campaign and meet other members of the EJ&H group is to come to our next open meeting.
To challenge economic and health inequalities, we need to build power and get as many people as we can involved. You don’t need to work in healthcare to participate! Register below.
In this meeting you’ll:

find out about the group,
what we understand by economic and health inequality,
ongoing projects and campaigns,
how we can fight for economic and health justice,
hear from some of the people working in our different campaign areas, and
explore the ways you can get involved.

There are monthly open joiners meetings and weekly group meetings, so check our calendar or sign up to the mailing list to receive updates.
We can also arrange a call if you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign. Just get in touch with Jordi!
Recommended actions:

Read our booklets on secure housing, liveable incomes and tax justice.
Read our ‘Health vs Wealth’ report
Learn more on this campaign area
Check out information on Medact membership

[Registration has now closed]
