About Brent Health Matters

The goal of the Brent Health Matters Programme is to reduce health inequalities in Brent.

Inequality means that the resources required to create better health outcomes are not evenly distributed. Because of this the areas with poorer health outcomes or higher rates of long-term health conditions will have more focus than other parts of the borough.

It is only by working with the local people, groups and organisations around Brent and listening to what they have to say that we can improve the overall health of our borough.

Our shared programme engages with the community on a number of wide-ranging issues to reduce the health inequalities experienced in Brent.

In 2024 the work of the Brent Health Matters team will concentrate on the following priorities:

• Diabetes: We will work with GPs to identify patients with newly diagnosed diabetes, who have not been referred or accessed diabetes education sessions.
• Bowel cancer screening: we will raise awareness, focusing on deprived areas, Pakistani, Black African, Black other ethnicities, and people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) to improve the uptake of bowel cancer screening.
• Hypertension: we will (a) Identify undiagnosed people with hypertension in the community through community events in our most deprived areas; and (b) support 2,060 diagnosed hypertensive patients from a Black ethnic background, who have not had any blood pressure recorded in their GP notes in the last 12 months.
• Severe Mental Illness (SMI) physical health checks: we will follow-up with the 10 to 20 per cent of patients who haven't had a SMI physical health check in the last year and do home visits to understand barriers and complete the checks.

The long term impacts we want the programme to make are:

• Reduce variation in life expectancy and long-term health conditions (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, mental health, and cardiovascular disease).
• System-wide understanding of the cultural and local reasons why patients do not engage in NHS services, which will inform future planning.
• Actions delivered to address the wider determinants of health, from housing to employment and environment.

You can get involved in Brent Health Matters by becoming a Community Champion or joining us at our next Community Forum Meeting.

The Brent Health Matters Children and Young People’s Health Inequalities team was formed in 2024 to reduce health inequalities for babies, children and young people in Brent. This multi-disciplinary team addresses physical health and mental health and emotional wellbeing issues.

The team will focus on three key priority areas identified from reviewing local and national data related to the needs and key health inequalities for children and young people, alongside discussions with relevant partners, stakeholders and organisations working within Brent.

The key priorities identified were:

Co-producing events in the community 

An event to progress the immunisations workstream took place in Wembley just before Christmas 2024.

At an event for the Somali Community, held at Chalkhill Community Centre, the team met Zaitun Said, 60, from Kilburn.

“I learned a lot from different organisations about how families can get help in Brent and the most important things to look after children’s health and development,” she said.

Improving the percentage of children in the community who have had their MMR vaccinations is a key aim of the new Brent Health Matters Children’s and Young People Team. It is important to engage with communities where the rate of immunisation could be better and to explain the virtues of ensuring children are vaccinated.

The visit also allowed the team to take the opportunity to help everyone in the community think about their health needs. As Zaitun explained, “I also had a blood pressure check, and it was up and down, so now I need to see my GP for a check-up.

“Today was a great opportunity to learn about health. More knowledge is more power. I am proud to be Somali, and I am happy that the council and NHS are thinking about our community.”

The event was co-produced with Willesden-based Somali organisation SAAFI and Zaitun heard about the event through a friend who had been notified by SAAFI.

Brent Health Matters has always been rooted in the partnership with the community and producing events with local organisations to ensure it reaches those most in need of support and information.

Brent Health Matters is working with neighbourhoods right across Brent. Our programme is focused around the five Brent Connects areas that cover the borough as follows:

Betania Tzegai is the Brent Health Matters Co-ordinator for Partnerships

Brent Health Matters is a programme jointly managed by Brent Council, local NHS services and the community.

Brent Council is responsible for the delivery of social care services, as well as other services that impact on health inequalities such as housing and neighbourhood services.

The Brent Integrated Care Partnership (Brent ICP) sits within the North West London Integrated Care System (NWL ICS) and works closely alongside a range of health partners to address health inequalities.

Find out about the Brent Health Matters partner organisations:

• Brent ICP
• North West London ICS
• Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
• Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
• London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
• Healthwatch Brent
• Kilburn PCN
• Harness North PCN & Harness South PCN
• West K&W PCN, North K&W PCN & South K&W PCN

The Brent Health Matters programme’s first ever Annual Report outlines the groundbreaking nature of the work and its impact.

With 45 volunteer Community Champions and a network of 428 community organisations working alongside the council and local NHS services, the way in which local communities have their health and care needs met has been redefined.

Over the last year Brent Health Matters has delivered:

• 119 health and wellbeing events in the community, attended by 4,261 residents.
• 4,000 free NHS health checks
• 2,500 with emotional wellbeing consultations
• Grant funding to 46 community organisations totalling £433,000

Download the Brent Health Matters Annual Report 2023-24 (pdf, 1910kb)

Our Health Educators play an integral role equipping residents to better prevent and manage long term health conditions, and access the range of services, support, education and advice available in Brent.

Our consortium of VCS providers (Brent Carers Centre, SAAFI, Community Barnet, PLIAS and Brent Mencap) deliver this service.

Like many of the programme’s staff, Health Educators are recruited locally to reflect the diverse cultures and languages in Brent. This allows them to have conversations with people on streets, shops and community centres. They also support people to register with a GP if needed.

Some residents are keen to get their health back on track after meeting our Health Educators, whether that’s someone with a health condition such as diabetes or hypertension, or someone who’s at risk of developing health conditions.

A personalised approach is taken with individuals to support them to achieve their healthy eating and lifestyle goals in three months.

Health Educators also provide a six-week Diabetes Peer Support Programme that has been creating a safe space for people with, or at risk of, developing diabetes to better manage their health together.

They also provide a six-week Diabetes Digital Inclusion Programme that has been equipping people with diabetes with the skills and confidence to manage their condition online.

Reversing diabetes with peer support

BHM Health Educators began to deliver the Diabetes Peer Support Programme in August 2022, rotating it across different areas of Brent. To date, the programme has been delivered 14 times, with 125 residents completing the course.

Eileen Yarde, 87, lives in Wembley, and recently competed the programme at Chalkhill Community Centre. “I love the group because we come together and support each other,” she said. “I am learning all the time by listening to other people’s experiences.”

Pravina Vandra, 75, from Wembley, was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005 after experiencing frequent thirst and fatigue. She joined the programme after reading about the sessions in the council’s Your Brent Magazine.

“At the programme I learned about diabetes and how it affects your body, but also how to manage the condition with diet and exercise,” she said.

“I am from an Indian culture, with our own foods, fruits, and vegetables – and it was amazing to get advice that was relevant to my culture. So, I could hold on to my traditions and way of life but still control my diabetes.”

Pravina has managed to reverse her diabetes since completing the programme after taking up walking and new dietary habits.

“My GP has actually taken me off Metformin, a medication I was taking for 20 years. It means everything to me. I feel on top of the world.”