Who we are and what we do
We want everyone to have the same chance to lead a healthy life, no matter who they are or where they live.
Health inequalities are unfair and avoidable differences in health across the population and between different groups within society. These include how long people are likely to live, the health conditions they may experience and the care that is available to them.
Reducing health inequalities and preventing ill health is a key priority in our five year We care strategy. We have a bold ambition to achieve less than a one per cent gap in missed appointment rates between the most and least deprived communities by 2028.
The Health Inequalities Team provides support for all our services. We tailor our services and interventions to make it easier for people to access our help, taking away the barriers and reaching out more effectively when they need us.
We focus on:
- delivering equitable services
- embedding prevention
- working with partners at place level.
What barriers do our ethnic minority communities experience to screening?
- English is not their first language
- Transport issues
- Digital exclusion/technology barriers
- Lack of representation in resources/information
- Unable to access interpreters
- Religion and cultural differences
- Literacy levels
- Family support
- Locations and accessibility
- Fear over examinations by medical professional of the opposite sex
- Understanding of what screening is
- Fear of deportation, even if in the UK legally
- Travelling back home for months at a time
- Values, privacy and dignity during physical assessments
- Not accessing GP services.
How we can support you
We know not everyone finds it easy to seek advice, explain their needs to a health professional or know what support they could benefit from.
We work closely with communities and community partners to co-produce guides and resources to support services to reduce any barriers to access.
Use the links to access and share our documents, case studies and other pages:
Interpreting and translation 
- When providing an interpreter for me, please…
- When providing me with any translated materials, please…
Community insight reports
- Community insight report on Kent coastal communities
- Community insight report on fishing communities in Kent
- Community insight report on fishermen and seafarers in East Kent
- Community insights report on former coal mining communities in Kent (Deal)
- Community insights report on Folkestone fishermen
Helpful content
- Healthy Communities Steering Group
- Public Health bus
- Equality Delivery System
- Race religion and cultural awareness guide
Contact us
We are always keen to work in partnership with other organisations. Please get in touch.
Health inequalities
kentchft.equality@nhs.net
Public Health bus and events
kentchft.publichealthbus@nhs.net