October was not just a month to celebrate equality and diversity in the UK or as it were the sacrosanct month for black history celebrations, it also marked the period when members of the civil service received acknowledgement for their roles in various aspects of service delivery and were formally celebrated too. From the Cabinet Office came the spotlight on Newham with this focus.
A prostate health clinic set up in Newham was late October, 2013 awarded the “Understanding and Engaging with Communities” award at the 2013 Civil Service Diversity and Equality Awards.
These awards are held annually to celebrate the work of the Civil Service in promoting equality in the workplace and share best practices for placing equality and inclusiveness at the heart of Government Policies.
The Department of Health and partners set up the Newham Prostate Health Drop-in Clinic at the Newham African-Caribbean Resource Centre. The clinic was an innovative model aimed at supporting the healthcare needs of men in that community who often felt excluded from accessing healthcare support.
In Newham, reported outcomes for cancer were poor, especially for black men.
322 men visited the clinic and nine new diagnoses of prostate cancer were made, along with diagnoses of other conditions. Men scored the clinic very highly on access and convenience. 25% of men who visited the clinic did so because of word-of-mouth, complementing the advertising campaign in the local community.
