If anyone was in doubt about the importance of health justice partnerships (HJPs), The Potential of Health Justice Partnerships in Integrated Care Systems, a one-day workshop that took place on 15 February 2023, will have dispelled those concerns. The event was hosted by University College London (UCL) and offered attendees an interactive opportunity to learn about HJPs and their growing success.

The workshop was the brainchild of Professor Dame Hazel Genn and thus it was only fair that she kicked off the proceedings. Sadly, she was unable to attend in person, so appeared, as she described it, ‘Big Brother-style’. She demonstrated the vital need for HJPs in our post-COVID-19 world and urged that we ‘move beyond describing and worrying about health inequalities to practical action that makes a difference’.

Genn has been supported by The Legal Education Foundation (TLEF) to deliver a national strategy on HJPs, ‘targeted interventions that support patients with social and economic circumstances that are root causes of health inequality’. These partnerships enable healthcare professionals to be ‘critical noticers’ and thus to understand when a socio-legal problem may be the underlying root of their patient’s illness.

Following Genn, we heard from other stakeholders in the success of HJPs. Natalie Davis, head of legal support policy at the Ministry of Justice, explained that the government believes these interventions can be used to save money in the long term and has pledged to invest in HJPs and research. Cedi Frederick (pictured left), chair of the NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board, offered an illuminating explanation of the importance of integrated care systems. ‘We need to give greater voice to the people we are here to serve,’ he said. ‘We have to help them add new and different tools to their toolbox so they can challenge us.’

Finally, Paul Sweeting, a specialist support adviser at Macmillan Cancer Support, explained how the charity has used these partnerships to improve its clients’ quality of life. Macmillan has created a direct communication link between NHS cancer care teams and charity-funded local benefits advice programmes that supported 63,000 people in 2021.

The second panel pooled the wide-ranging knowledge of Damon Gibbons, CEO of the Centre for Responsible Credit, Melanie Gonga (pictured left), director of Springfield Advice & Law Centre, Sally Causer, executive director of Southwark Law Centre, and Catherine McClennan, director of Cheshire and Merseyside Women’s Health and Maternity Partnership. This discussion focused on showcasing the diverse range of HJPs. Gibbons, Causer and McClennan all demonstrated vital health-justice interventions that their organisations were making in the communities they served.

Gonga’s speech was arguably the most captivating of the day. She charted the decline of legal aid and explained that the cuts ‘don’t permit us to take a holistic, whole-person approach to our work’. ‘It is time,’ she said, ‘to change the tide before the cycle starts repeating itself, creating a new generation of the disengaged and disenfranchised.’

The final panel discussion was chaired by Sarah Beardon, a senior research fellow in UCL’s HJP team. She was joined by Vicky Smyth (pictured left), acting group manager, health improvement at Derbyshire County Council, and Gary Vaux, head of Hertfordshire County Council’s Money Advice Unit. Together, they described the practicalities behind launching an HJP. Their main messages: funding is critical; employ specially-qualified advisers; and be flexible. ‘It’s important to be able to adapt to changing situations,’ Smyth said.

Matthew Smerdon (pictured left), CEO of TLEF, delivered the closing message. ‘This is about a movement, and about all the different components of a movement,’ he told the audience. The day ended with facilitator-assisted group discussions that allowed attendees to seek advice about starting their own HJPs. The message of the event was clear: the sector has a huge amount to learn from itself and will always support those trying to get involved.